Pocket WiFi – A silent saviour instead of 3G-enabled tablets?

Written by Basil Loupis.

Unnoticed and unadvertised. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on this great deal from Crazy John’s – A pocket WiFi modem at half price! For only $39.50 it includes 3GB data for 30 days. I am told by a Crazy John’s representative that you can recharge it for $10 (for 1GB) per month, too (although the online store has some other price points).

It has a rechargeable battery (via micro USB) and provision for a micro SD card. Set up is a breeze too! I used it for most of the day last Sunday and to my surprise the battery lasted till I returned home. Add a micro SD card and you have a great mobile storage device.

The modem is small, light and has an excellent LCD screen and I found it very easy to carry in my shirt pocket. I took the one hour train ride from the Central Coast to Sydney and worked on my Nexus 7 all the way though. While riding through the bush however, reception was very slow and often absent. Near towns was much faster and fluid.

I often compared the speed with my phone on 3G and it seemed to me that the pocket modem was in fact slightly faster. I had lunch with some friends in Sydney and spent a few minutes comparing the speed of my tablet with their PC on broadband WiFi. Obviously the home broadband was faster, but the speed of the pocket modem was more than acceptable.

An extra bonus for the pocket 3G is that it can simultaneously connect up to 4-5 devices (including a laptop) without sacrificing speed. Why pay an extra $100 or so, for a tablet with 3G, when this portable little gem will do?

PS. I just checked the Crazy John’s site and with a couple of their stores and yes, the special is still on. If you’re interested in grabbing on then head over to their online store.