There’s nothing like a road-trip to really test out the ‘portability’ of a so-called product. A post-Christmas trip up the coast for a few days of sun and r&r was the perfect environment to test out a few devices.
Of course with a couple of teenagers in tow, internet connectivity is the #1 priority over anything!
Thankfully D-Link has hit the market with a portable 4G/LTE WiFi HotSpot. In Australia this means compatibility on all three telcos with 4GX support on the Telstra network and 4G Plus on the Optus network.
The DWR-933 4G/LTE Cat 6 WiFi HotSpot is a great unit about the size of a small wallet. What’s super impressive is what is packed into this form-factor:
The battery is charged via a MicroUSB connection and takes about 2 hours to charge from dead-flat. Once charged 14 hours is at the very top-end of the battery life you can expect. Something more like 8-10 hours was typical under reasonably heavy use (it was raining!)
Alongside the microSD slot, there is a Micro-SIM slot which is super easy to get the SIM card in and out of. We tested the D-Link 4G/LTE Cat 6 WiFi HotSpot on both the Optus and Vodafone networks.
Set-up is super easy and anyone with experience configuring your router/modem at home will be able to customise any of the settings required.
Once a few customisations were made, we were in business with multiple devices connected. Then, into a world of pain we descended…
As much as the telcos will tell you “…we cover 98.5% of the Australian population” what they don’t tell you is that in many locations – particularly regional and rural Australia, the bandwidth is shocking and when the local population triples overnight, there just isn’t enough internet to go around.
Thankfully, the D-Link 4G/LTE Cat 6 WiFi HotSpot means you can take advantage of environmental factors and move the HotSpot around wherever you are to get the best 4G/LTE or 3G signal available. The other god-send is that this prevents everyone from burning through their data allocation on their devices and running up eye-watering bills to come home to.
At the beach, the cafe, in the bunk-room – the D-Link worked a charm! The only moment of terror was when the all black HotSpot disappeared under the couch. Perhaps a white or silver version – or the addition of an LED light might be a good idea.
The other great use-case we hadn’t expected was in the car on the long drive home – barely a peep from the back seat as the kilometres whizzed by.
We certainly look forward to a few more trips away during the holidays where the D-Link 4G/LTE Cat 6 WiFi HotSpot will be very welcome to tag along.
Priced at $249.95 from D-Link and loads of other retailers.
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