Hi All,

Does anyone know if there's a DC-HSDPA version of the three mi-fi on the way? Looking at their web site, there's a DC-HSDPA USB dongle but not a mi-fi. My current three mobile broadband contract is up for renewal and I don't want to go fot the 21meg mi-fi now if there's a 42 meg version round the corner.

I'd thought about going for a Nexus 4 on All-You-Can_Eat data and using tethering, but I don't really need another phone (I already have a Galaxy S3 on O2). I'm also not sure of the wireless range I'd get from a Nexus when tethered - would it be the same as a mi-fi?

I've asked three via Twitter, but they've ignored the question...

Cheers,

Peter

PS Happy New Year!

As you were!

Just got a reply to my tweet - basically:

No, there isn't a DC-HSDPA mi-fi and

No, there's no announcement on one for the future.

Shame.

Next question - can DC-HSDPA be added through a firmware update or is it had-wired in to the chip set?

Yeh it's in the hardware. You can look at the Huawei E587 which is the DC-HSPA+ mifi which you can buy from a third party for a little under £100.

I think thats around £30 more than the HSPA+ one three sell.

Great thanks - I hadn't spotted that. I'm wondering if three will add this to their portfolio soon - it seems to be a gap in the range.

Do you think it would work with my existing SIM, which is two years old and was purchased when three suggested something like 7.2meg (IIRC), or would I need to renew my contract to get a current one?

Actually, I've had an attack of logic and common sense which has calmed the "must have" frenzy!

I'm generally not using the mi-fi much at the moment so speed isn't really an issue (I work around the country but am having an extended spell in Manchester just now and have wi-fi broadband in my apartment plus a desktop PC at work). Maybe that will change in the next twelve months if I move to a different project, in which case I can either upgrade to whatever three offer at the time, or I can buy an E587.

So I'll just let me current deal roll along.

It would work with your existing sim as long as it is still active. Three should add it to their store but i have no idea when. I thought they would have done it by now tbh.

It's up to you if you want to buy one. You mention you're on O2 right now so you can always use the data you have now (i'm guessing 1GB) to tether in emergencies.

Or if you have an old mi-fi lying around just use that. The only thing you'll see with the new mifi is a speed boost. So as long as you get ok speeds on Three atm there's no real need to buy the e587. Maybe end of this year when 90% of the uk population will be covered by DC-HSPA+ (We'll have 4G on other networks then as well). In which case you'd want to buy a Huawei E589 which is DC-HSPA+ & 4G capable.

No need for a mifi, just get a dongle and broadcast the network from your laptop in infra mode with something like this http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/ or this http://www.connectify.me/

Sorry - bit late, but thanks jabbamk1 and danielmeah.

My mi-fi costs 18.65 a month, which I could save if I cancel. I also just cancelled a monthly contract for the car (10.21) when I found my S3 talks to the car over bluetooth (S1 wouldn't so I used an old 6330 I had) making 28.86. So for an additional 7.14 I could get a Nexus 4 on three with a One Plan and use it as a tether for my Nexus 7, and my S3 in emergences (O2 with 1Gb so keen to save it where I can). This would give me:

a new toy to play with
42 meg headline speed
unlimited data (15gb at the moment on the mifi (although that's plenty tbf)

and all for only seven quid a month!

The only thing that puts me off is not knowing the range of the Nexus 4 as a hot spot. Right now at my mother's house I have to put the mi-fi on the window cill in an upstairs room which is the only place I get a good signal. The mi-fi sends it around the rest of the house with no trouble and I can surf the web in the everywhere else. Can I expect the same with the Nexus 4 or will it be significantly lower powered as a signal? Has anyone got any practical experience of the range?

Too many factors to worry about mate. Interference from other electrical devices, make-up/build of house and, probably most importantly, the size of the house.

What are using to connect to your phone also? A laptop I presume? I would imagine that your laptop's wifi card has much stronger signal than the phone so should pick it up. By this I mean that my phone can pick up 2 wifi signals as I type this but my laptop can pick up 5. The laptop simply has better wifi capabilities than the phone.

The mifi will have a stronger signal than the phone but I would imagine that the laptop should pick it up ok. How strong was the signal from the mi-fi? If it was on 1 or 2 bars out of 5 with mi-fi then it may not pick up the phone wifi signal...

Cheers davybhoy - I'm going there this weekend so I'll check the mi-fi signal strength when I'm on the laptop and Nexus 7. I guess I could also try my O2 S3 as a hot spot and see how strong that is. I know it won't be the same but it would at least give me as steer.

This would give you a very good idea as to what you'll get I would imagine