VODAFONE Pocket WiFi Pre-Paid Mobile Broadband + 1G Data/30days - $99 - @DSE

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• c64 on 28/09/2010 - 18:37 Comment score below threshold.
  • 

    Mnke on 28/09/2010 - 18:41

    +2

    The point of this is that it is mobile and runs on batteries and if any of your devices have wifi, then you can use that on the go to share internet, instead of getting a data plan for each or tethering your mobile.

    • 

      c64 on 28/09/2010 - 18:43

      -8

      meh, carry about a 12v sla battery in your pocket :)

      TP-Link TL-MR3420G 300Mbps Wireless N 3G Router $71

      how often are you going to be wanting to connect "all your WiFi devices such as your laptop, smartphone, iPad, iTouch, gaming console, etc" in a bus?

      • 

        Gecko on 28/09/2010 - 22:57

        +4

        You're comparing apples to oranges.

  • 

    anthony on 28/09/2010 - 19:05

    +2

    You do understand that that device then needs a USB device with a sim card.

    This device does wifi AND takes a sim card so no USB device is needed

• 

  tonyjzx on 28/09/2010 - 19:03

  +1

  you'd be surprised how useful it is to have a router in your pocket… full desktop routers like that tp-link are useless to many people when they want ultimate portability

  • 

    StewBalls on 29/09/2010 - 02:20

    +5

    Lol, is that a router in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me? :p

• 

  Teddo on 28/09/2010 - 19:24

  these are a great little hotspots - though locked to Vodafone. Avail not only at DSE but Vodafone agents as from tomorrow for $99.

  Currently $119 at your local 3/Vodafone shop with 300mb. I guess that'll change tomorrrow.

  • 

    scupper on 28/09/2010 - 20:47

    Got mine 2 weeks ago at $119 with 1Gb (bought from the vodafone website)

• 

  tonyjzx on 28/09/2010 - 19:27

  pretty sure vodaphone will allow a free unlock on spending $80 credit

• 

  tonyjzx on 28/09/2010 - 19:27

  btw. i'm off to the local DSE… this is a good deal!

• 

  sonicentropy on 28/09/2010 - 20:04

  edit doesnt work on voda model

• 

  footywiz11 on 28/09/2010 - 20:06

  same deal at OW

• 

  tekken on 28/09/2010 - 20:08

  It's a wonderful device for portable wifi. However it seems some people are having problems with it on Vodafone Prepaid - see the Whirlpool forum : http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1504315 (warning : long thread. lol)

  Postpaid account, on the other hand, seems ok. I have friends using it without any problems.

• 

  dmc900 on 28/09/2010 - 22:43

  +1

  I would say tethering your mobile is a better option particularly if you on a data plan. Both Vodafone & Virgin offer 1GB on their $29 cap and 2GB on $49 cap. Noting Vodafone is now better than Virgin with their data included in their monthly cap.

  A mobile phone will often last 2-5 hours with WiFi enabled and can be powered up via USB. If the phone you have doesn't have USB then grab a charger on eBay for a couple of bucks.

  This saves the customer in a numerous amount of ways. No need to buy a "Pocket WiFi", no need to recharge with data as the data is already included in your monthly cap. This is only good if the customer is willing to sign up-to a $29 minimum contract for 24 months to get a WiFi & Tethering Enabled phone.

  But not necessary, you can even run a third-party app on a Nokia 5800, 5233 or even N95, N70 ect… (as long as the phone supports WiFi)

  $29 a month gets you a gig of data and $150 worth of calls. Sounds like a great deal to me.
  Already got a phone that supports WiFi and has a compatible Third-Party app then you could join up-to TPG and Live Connected plans that offer min 500mb data on as low as a $12 month plan.

  Just an idea for those who don't want another device floating around and make full use of their mobile. If we could do everything through our mobile phones imagine the environmental impact we wouldn't need to make as many separate devices cluttering up lives.

  • 

    llama on 28/09/2010 - 23:04

    I do that with my iPhone, but use Bluetooth tethering. It's nowhere near as slow as you'd imagine, but of course it's slower and covers less distace than proper WiFi. Nothing to buy, nothing to spend, just "works". I have the option of a dongle type thingy if needed for work, but I don't want one.

    • 

      simonlau on 29/09/2010 - 09:48

      This is what im doing now, the only issue is the battery of my phone doesn't last long. And I don't want to miss calls if the battery is dead. :/

  • 

    mech4bg on 29/09/2010 - 09:37

    If you want to support multiple devices or use tethering for something other than a computer you're out of luck though, which is why these things are useful.

    • 

      anthony on 29/09/2010 - 10:07

      There are applications for the iphone which add the same functionality as these devices.

      • 

        anthman on 30/09/2010 - 09:06

        If you have a jailbroken iPhone, there is a third party application (accessible from Cydia) called MyWi - it is 19.99 to purchase, or you can trial it for 3 days. There are obviously illegal versions floating around - 19.99 isnt too much considering what it does.

        What does it do: MyWi turns your iphone into a router and shares your iPhone's 3G connection over wifi. you can customise the wifi connection to only WEP security (which sucks) but you wouldnt be leaving it on for lengths at a time.

        battery drain is moderate - nothing dramatic or unexpected. I believe for 30minutes of browsing the net on an iPad wifi tethered to an iPhone 3GS with MyWi, it will drain about 10% of your iPhone's battery. Note usage is intermittent (i.e. not consistently pulling data, only when loading websites initially = light usage).

        • 

          anthony on 30/09/2010 - 10:55

          @anthman:

          There are obviously illegal versions floating around - 19.99 isnt too much considering what it does.

          I thought getting a "free" version of a paid app was hard on the iphone because of all of apples security stuff (I dont have an iphone so do not know much about them)

          only WEP security (which sucks)

          Could have something do with the iphone doesnt have enough processing power to do higher encryption without crashing.
          More encryprion would also drain the battery faster.

          • 

            anthman on 30/09/2010 - 11:03

            @anthony: considering your phone needs to be jailbroken to begin with to even get the MyWi app, im not surprised that its feasible to get a "free" version.

          • 

            eug on 30/09/2010 - 11:10

            @anthony:

            I thought getting a “free” version of a paid app was hard on the iphone because of all of
            apples security stuff (I dont have an iphone so do not know much about them)

            I think iphones are the most insecure phones in history, in terms of OS integrity. The security on every single iteration of them, with every single iOS release, has been rooted/jailbroken. Previously you just had to view a photo on a webpage to root your phone. Recently you just had to open a PDF. Now you can just plug your iphone in, click a button on your computer, and your phone is now jailbroken and unlocked. I don't know of any other phone where it's just as easy to remove a network lock for free.

            Its popularity is probably what drives people to crack it, but it shows how Apple is unable to secure their phone from hackers…. unlike devices like the PS3 which was uncrackable for several years.

            Could have something do with the iphone doesnt have enough processing power to > do higher encryption without crashing.

            Phones that run Android 2.2 can do WPA tethering. They can't be more powerful than the iphone 4 (yet)… they'd be equal at least. Maybe it's more difficult to implement, and WEP works fine for short sessions.

  • 

    eug on 30/09/2010 - 10:46

    Wifi tethering eats up battery power like nuts. If I used my phone to wifi-tether for a while, my phone's battery would be drained, which means I won't be able to make or receive (many) phone calls after that.

    Keeping tethering in a separate costs more, but it means you can still use your phone after your internet session. Hooking up the phone to the laptop via USB to charge it will just drain the laptop's battery more quickly.

    Modems like this aren't for everyone. For those with heavier usage patterns (where tethering to your main phone is not a solution), this is excellent as it has its own dedicated power source.

    A friend of mine is renting a place and likes the 'safety' of prepaid 3G (can't rack up ridiculous charges), so she uses this very device (3-branded) at home to provide internet access to 2 computers.

    Oh I haven't tried it, but you can run it as a mini NAS too. Insert a microSD card into it and the 5 computers will be able to access it over wifi, presumably via UNC.

• 

  luztra on 29/09/2010 - 12:36

  Just grabbed one from DSE Rockingham, WA. Had plenty in stock.

• 

  murkywater on 29/09/2010 - 15:03

  +1

  Well my Nexus One can do this out of the box on Froyo 2.2 :D

  Anyways, seems like an alright deal, though I'm not too impressed by Vodafone's prepaid broadband prices >.<

  • 

    Marty131 on 29/09/2010 - 23:41

    Did your Nexus One come out of the box with Froyo 2.2? :D

    But in all seriousness, this is a decent price for what you get. Any news on unlocking fee / terms?

    • 

      eug on 30/09/2010 - 00:31

      +2

      cough dcunlocker cough US$15 cough

• 

  [Deactivated] on 30/09/2010 - 11:20

  they work ok on ps3's