Novatel Wireless has some competition on their hands and it’s coming like a thunder from down under. NetComm, a leading player in Australia, recently revealed their portable, credit card size traveling hotspot, or as we like to say, a PocketSpot.
Given the specs are in metric measurement with some quick math it appears the NetCom PocketSpot is lighter and thiner than the Novatel MiFi, and that means it will tuck in just nicely behind my iPad in it’s new snappy case.
I have a Novatel Wireless 3G router (aka mifi) — and love it. But to me, the missing “killer” feature is tethering to the iPhone. As you are well aware…here in Canada, Rogers has graciously given us the right to tether our iPhones to our laptops. However, their TOS still says you can’t use your iPhone data plan in any other device except your iPhone. So, technically, “if” I slip my Rogers iPhone SIM card into the Novatel MIFI to grab some net with my iPad, I’m violating the TOS. What I would really like to do is simply get into the car, connect my iPhone to the Mifi (via cable or even better, bluetooth) and start sharing my data plan with the rest of the devices in the car. The main objective being so I (or the kids) can get data on the iPad.
I’ve looked for this type of device…but nothing has seemed to fit the bill.