The Huawei E587 is a high end wireless modem (aka MiFi, Mobile Hotspot, Mobile WiFi) supporting Dual Carrier HSPA+ making it one of the fastest 3G devices available.

The E587 is not a true 4G device as many websites are suggesting (probably for marketing reasons). It uses the latest 3G technologies to get high download speeds of up to 42Mbps. As always, in the real world this speed is not achievable and expect top downloads speeds to be more in the region of 16Mbps. Networks that don’t support DC-HSPA+ will see the max download speed considerably lower. None the less, the reported real world speeds we’re hearing about are very impressive.

Note: Sadly no UK networks currently support DC-HSPA (up to 42Mbps) so only expect HSPA+ speeds (up to 21Mbps).

As with just about all wireless modems the E587 can support up to 5 Wi-Fi devices connected simultaneously. Considering how mobile broadband speeds have gone up dramatically compared to the first wireless modems (e.g. Huawei E5830) it would make sense to enable more Wi-Fi connections.

The Huawei E587 can be bought independently and is available from the following network operators:
-    T-Mobile (USA) - called the Sonic 4G Mobile Hotspot
-    Telus (Canada) – called the E587
-    Three (unconfirmed reports)

 Overview
The Huawei E353 is a new breed of budget USB modem capable of download speeds reaching 21.6Mbps and upload speeds up to 5.76Mbps. These speeds can only be achieved (theoretically) when using the latest HSPA+ mobile networks.

The E353 uses the latest Qualcomm 8200a chipset which features network enhancements to provide a better mobile broadband experience while on the move.

The modem is backwards compatible with older network technologies, including HSUPA, HSDPA, HSPA, UMTS (WCDMA) and GSM/EDGE.

The E353 has a CRC9 connector for attaching an external antenna.

There is the option of attaching a strap to to the modem so the lid covering the USB connector and modem stay together....very useful.

Review
For our tests we used the E353 supplied by Three (UK) and also used the Three network.

Speed
Unfortunately the area we tested the modem does not have HSPA+ coverage. So we were unable to use the modem to its full capacity. However we were able to test the modem on HSDPA (theoretical maximum speed of 7.2Mbps) and it was fast, averaging just over 5.5 Mbps for downloads. Using Three's E353 predecessor (ZTE MF112) in exactly the same area running the same speed tests we only managed to get a maximum of 1.5Mbps.

** Update **
We've now managed to test the modem on a HSPA+ network and achieved a maximum download speed of 14.6Mbps. Thats about 1.8MB/s download, which is considerably faster that most UK home users fixed ADSL connection!