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Tuesday June 22, 2010
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 Prepaid carrier Virgin Mobile will be introducing a Novatel MiFi router next week, the company told us after the device appeared at a Best Buy summer preview event this morning.
Virgin Mobile's MiFi, like the models available for Sprint and Verizon Wireless, is a slim little router that turns 3G signal into a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices.
Since this is Virgin Mobile, this MiFi will be entirely prepaid - $149 for the device, and then anywhere from $10 for 100 MB to $60 for 5 GB. When you need more data, you can re-up. (Virgin has a full chart of their data rates on their Web site.) Activation is simple and there are no activation fees; you can top up
your account with credit or debit cards, or Virgin Mobile top-up cards
bought at local retailers.
Virgin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprint and uses Sprint's 3G EVDO Rev A network, so I'd expect download speeds around 1 Mbps. The device has 4 hours of battery life while online and 40 hours of standby time, the company said.
We reviewed Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go USB modem last year, and Virgin has since improved their service plans. You get 5 GB for $60 on both Sprint postpaid and Virgin prepaid now, but you can also buy smaller buckets of data on Virgin, and you don't have to sign up for a contract.
The MiFi will be available at Best Buy, Radio Shack and online starting next Monday, June 28.
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June 23, 2010 1:32 PM
It seems as though Sprint is looking to make money as the same a crack dealing homeless guy who would even roast a park geese if it ment survival. I have high expectations for the next generation of devices similar to this one. Viva portable Wi-max for people in third world countries that would like to get some signal to there mobile devices via proximity.