14 replies to this topic

[PaulOBrien]

Here's an interesting snippet from a PC World mailout I just received, showing that 3 are to release a Mobile Broadband WiFi router. This looks set to be a hot new market segment, with T-Mobile showing a very similar device at their recent Winter Showcase.

There really are no other details other than what you see here at the moment, but it DOES at least look pretty slick i'm sure you'll agree!

I'm assuming the target market is those using Mobile Broadband instead of a home internet connection, but i'm sure you - the talented readership - can come up with some cool use cases! I quite fancy one of these plumbed into the car somewhere... hehehe...

P

[awarner]

Wonder what the cost will be of the unit, and what sort of tariff deal they will do.

[huwwatkins]

awarner (MVP), on Oct 8 2008, 09:51, said:

Wonder what the cost will be of the unit, and what sort of tariff deal they will do.

Hopefully they will have the network capacity to back this sort of thing up when their newly signed contracts with BT kick in.

[Mysterious Stranger]

Paul (MVP), on Oct 8 2008, 09:29, said:

Here's an interesting snippet from a PC World mailout I just received, showing that 3 are to release a Mobile Broadband WiFi router. This looks set to be a hot new market segment, with T-Mobile showing a very similar device at their recent Winter Showcase.

There really are no other details other than what you see here at the moment, but it DOES at least look pretty slick i'm sure you'll agree!

I'm assuming the target market is those using Mobile Broadband instead of a home internet connection, but i'm sure you - the talented readership - can come up with some cool use cases! I quite fancy one of these plumbed into the car somewhere... hehehe...

P

It's just a wifi router with a USB socket. Hot new market segment?...had this type of thing for years......'Just insert your mobile broadband modem into the top of the router' so nothing special as many routers now have USB support - and it's not an all in one like the linksys / vodafone device from last year.

All very so-so...

M.S

[PaulOBrien]

Mysterious Stranger, on Oct 8 2008, 11:06, said:

It's just a wifi router with a USB socket. Hot new market segment?...had this type of thing for years......'Just insert your mobile broadband modem into the top of the router' so nothing special as many routers now have USB support - and it's not an all in one like the linksys / vodafone device from last year.

All very so-so...

M.S

Sure, but T-Mo and 3 are looking to do a real consumer push, not something that's been done to date...?

P

[tsutton]

Looks good...

[Mysterious Stranger]

Paul (MVP), on Oct 8 2008, 14:49, said:

Sure, but T-Mo and 3 are looking to do a real consumer push, not something that's been done to date...?

P

Unless it's free ( unlikely) then they'll ask for what, an extra £50 - £100 or so for it? And you still need a USB 3G modem under contract or PAYG so in reality they're just selling an accessory that's available elsewhere, most likely cheaper and not locked to use only a Three modem.

Vodacom / Linksys routers were locked and T-mobile's Wifi only 'broadband share 100' is locked to their own dongles - it looks pretty but how would you ever unlock without f/w updates etc?..and although free on £20 pm 18 month contracts with a dongle it's allegedly £99 'offline'.

I'll be giving it a miss unless it's cheap. There's better stuff out there with built in firewalls and more functionality etc and I have too many different dongles / PCMCIA cards to tie myself in with just one type / network with an overpriced network supplied router. Some routers allow you to use mobiles over the USB connection too.

Hardly a new market segment just diversification of the current one - they still need a USB broadband dongle to use it and that segment is key.

If you already have a router and windoze computers it's fairly simple to share a USB dongle anyway....

M.S

[psionandy]

awarner (MVP), on Oct 8 2008, 09:51, said:

Wonder what the cost will be of the unit, and what sort of tariff deal they will do.

I suspect it will be incredibly similar to the price of their current data tarrifs...

From the networks point of view,  low users will stay within the monthly limits, and people using it heavily will generate lots of extra income per extra MB over their monthly allowance

[vinaymanro]

psionandy, on Oct 9 2008, 08:23, said:

I suspect it will be incredibly similar to the price of their current data tarrifs...

From the networks point of view,  low users will stay within the monthly limits, and people using it heavily will generate lots of extra income per extra MB over their monthly allowance

It's a standalone unit priced at £69.99.
£34.99 if you purchase it with a phone, and mobile broadband deal (yes both together, not one or the other).

Should be in stores by the end of Oct.

Edited by itsnotmeeee, 10 October 2008 - 09:59 PM.

[PaulOBrien]

Decent price IMHO...?

P

[PaulOBrien]

Would be cool if you could somehow put chilispot on these and charge people for access...

P

[vinaymanro]

Paul (MVP), on Oct 10 2008, 23:13, said:

Would be cool if you could somehow put chilispot on these and charge people for access...

P

Well from the image I've seen it has an ethernet port on, so there may be possibilitys for hooking it to another wifi router.
Also many wifi routers these days have USB ports on, so it *may* be possible to plug a 3G USB Broadband dongle into one,  but who knows....

[Mysterious Stranger]

itsnotmeeee, on Oct 11 2008, 08:01, said:

Well from the image I've seen it has an ethernet port on, so there may be possibilitys for hooking it to another wifi router.
Also many wifi routers these days have USB ports on, so it *may* be possible to plug a 3G USB Broadband dongle into one,  but who knows....

Pic in the top post of 3's unit clearly shows an ethernet port. Haven't yet seen the 3 unit in the wild. Sadly t-mob's £99 one is wifi only. Many routers already have 3G dongle compatability ( and some also connect to symbian handsets with a USB cable but I've never tried one ;-) so this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff.

http://www.mobiholic...1256/3g-router/

M.S

[Mysterious Stranger]

itsnotmeeee, on Oct 10 2008, 22:58, said:

Should be in stores by the end of Oct.

It's out now.

http://threestore.th...lt.aspx?id=1201

Made by Huawai and only works with Huawai '3' modems. Battery powered as well as mains seems a useful feature.

M.S

[chrisbpr]

a company worth checking out is billion, i have been using one of their routers with a 3g dongle and this works superb.
so much so that i have ditched my BB fixed line and am just running on the dongle.