Today UK mobile network Three have announced they’re now selling their MiFi ‘personal hotspot’ devices with a bundle of accessories to make them suitable for in-car use, including mains and in-car chargers as well as a windscreen mount. This, plus the MiFi itself with a ‘pay as you go mobile broadband‘ service and 1GB of data pre-credited costs £59.99.
The bundle isn’t something you couldn’t have purchased as separates previously, but with the device alone costing around £100 previously and some competing devices costing around £250 (albeit not network-locked) this has bargain written all over it.
When I reviewed the device I was impressed with the speed and ease of use, although I felt it needed some refinements in the connection process and support for configuration from Mac computers, but at this price it’s now a no-brainer and anyone with children to entertain on a long journey or who needs to work whilst being driven can justify buying one… And of course you don’t need to keep it in the car - when your iPad arrives you can bring it on the train with you without needing to shell-out for the 3G version and a separate contract.
Three are now my regular recommendation for people wanting data-only products. Their recent network upgrade has seen big improvements in service reliability everywhere I’ve tested it with my own Three contract dongle. OFCOM agrees too - they have more of the UK covered in 3G than any other operator. With some of the keenest data rates around, customer service (or specifically, customer service by phone) is the only serious remaining compromise, but not one to dissuade me from these prices…
I’m a fan… a paying fan with several contracts.
See Three at the Elonex stand at Gadget Show Live, where they announced this deal today and you can win some.