The Three MiFi (which is a re-branded Huawei E5830) combines the functions of a mobile broadband 3G modem and a battery powered wireless (Wi-Fi) router into a single device.

The benefit of such a device is that the mobile broadband connection can be shared between (a maximum of 5) Wi-Fi enabled devices. It’s your own portable hotspot.

The MiFi is only slightly bigger than the current bunch of USB dongles on the market. Making it a very portable and convenient way to share an internet connection on the move.

The device has a 1500mAh battery which Three claim gives 5 hours of usage. In our tests with three devices intermittently connecting to the web and downloading email we got 4.5 hours before the MiFi failed on us. There is a main power adapter included and power can also be provided via a USB port.

The MiFi controls are kept simple with three buttons mounted on the side. These turn on the device, start \ stop the broadband connection and start \ stop the WiFi. This could have been made even easier by having one button to turn on or off all the functions at once. After all the sole purpose of the device is to share mobile broadband over WiFi so you will always need all the functions on at the same time.

As with all modern dongles the MiFi comes with a microSD card slot. This can only be accessed when connected directly to a computer via USB and not over the WiFi connection.

The MiFi indicates status using 5 LEDs

1. Power on / off
2. Mobile signal detected or not
3. Roaming or not
4. WiFi on or off
5. Battery indicator

The LEDs are very simplistic and give no detail e.g. how strong the mobile signal is or how much battery power remains.

More detailed information can be found by connecting the MiFi directly to a computer (PC or Mac) via USB and using the management software. The management software also allows numerous configurations changes e.g. DHCP, Wireless settings etc.

The device is fully pre-configured, so for none technical users it’s just a case of turning the MiFi on and connecting using the WiFi settings that are provided on a card.

The MiFi only supports the wireless B and G standards, not N. Although the lack of N doesn’t really matter as most laptops new and old support the B and G standards.

The WiFi signal is surprisingly strong for such a small unit and was able to provide the same coverage as our purpose built wireless access point.

Pros:

• Small
• Easy setup
• As it uses WiFi it will work with a large number of devices (no drivers required)
• Good performance
• Very cheap to buy

Cons:

• Fairly poor build quality
• Doesn’t always automatically reconnect when the 3G signal is lost
• Requires 3 buttons to be pressed to get connected
• Battery doesn't charge while MiFi is in use

Click here to unlock the Three MiFi