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Another Reason the MiFi Rocks – No Drivers Needed

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We talked yesterday about the explosion in netbook and MID tailored-OSs. Part of the struggle with these tailored OSs and targeting ultra-mobile computers, like I experienced with HP’s Mini Mi 1000, was the lack of driver support + geeky type procedures for getting a WWAN modem working. A big draw for these devices is the internet-on-the-go experience, but if you can’t get on to the net when you are on-the-go, that’s a problem, right?

Well, the MiFi solves that problem because it is a wireless access point with an embedded WWAN modem. No driver issues, no installation, no geeky command line syntax to type in to get it working. Just hop on the wireless network being broadcast and you are in business. With the iPod Touch and MIDs, you can also have  a working telephone experience when plug Skype in to the picture.

Man, I love the mobile life. The possibilities are endless when you remove the obstacles!

Clarification: a reader, Kevin Purcell, suggested that I clarify the above with the following and he is right. it is worth noting that the MiFi only runs for about 4 hours before needing to be recharged. You can recharge it using the included AC adapter, or you can plug it in to the USB port on your computer. If you plug it in to the USB port on your computer, you will need drivers, install files, etc to use it as a USB modem. Also, to initially activate the modem, it has to be plugged in to a USB port and the VZAccess Manager software installed – typically a Windows or Mac process. Most people have a primary windows or mac machine to take care of that with, but just wanted to make that point.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Xavier Lanier

    05/21/2009 at 11:42 am

    That’s an excellent point Rob. The more you tell me about the MiFi, the more I want one…

  2. Kevin Allen Purcell

    05/21/2009 at 1:05 pm

    You may want to be a little more clear about this, Rob. True you don’t have to use it with drivers. You can just connect via your wifi. However, the battery life is only 4 hours. So you will want to plug it in somewhere before using it or you can just use it as a USB device. If you use it like a USB modem you do in fact have to have the drivers and the VZW software installed. Not a big deal, but that does clarify it a little. In fact, I had to set it up via the USB the first time as per the instructions.

  3. Rob Bushway

    05/21/2009 at 1:15 pm

    thanks for that clarification – very good points.

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