Virgin Mobile Broadband MiFi: Initial Thoughts

The last time I went on a road trip was in August this year. Through Northern California and up the Oregon Coast to Washington State. It was a fun 10-day trip. Before setting out I had contemplated getting a MiFi device to be able to connect to the internet on my Wi-Fi only iPad while on the road. The thought of activating AT&T's iPhone 4 Tethering service had also crossed my mind but the fact that I would lose my unlimited data plan for doing so had crushed those plans. Back in August I decided to wait till the holiday season to get a mobile broadband device and to be honest it was a pretty good decision because the road trip was fun as there was lots to see along the way and the motels/hotels we stayed at had decent internet services. So I hardly missed being able to get online at the time.

Now, this coming weekend I have a trip planned to Los Angeles
with stops at the Hearst Castle, Pismo Beach and Solvang along the way. It's going to be a 5-day trip and I'll be sharing the driving with my friends. I've been down the 101 to LA quite a few times so I'm guessing having internet in the car would make the trip much better. I had already decided on which MiFi service I would get back in August. It was going to be the Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200 simply because their Broadband2Go plans are the least expensive. And Sprint's data coverage (which Virgin Mobile uses) is very good around here in California.

The Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200 Mobile HotSpot

Virgin advertises two plans on their website: $40/Unlimited (30 days) and $10/100MB (10 days). The $40 plan looks great especially since there are no contracts and you buy service as and when you want. While on the road having a MiFi device is great since you can connect up to 5 devices to it. I remember paying $12/day for internet at a casino hotel in Reno a few months ago and it wasn't even that fast. With a MiFi device I wouldn't have to pay exorbitant prices like that anymore.

Virgin's MiFi device prices have hovered around the $150 mark for quite a while now. Sometimes there was an eBay seller or two selling one of those for $120 but used, with a missing cable or dents on the device. Not worth it. Then I heard rumors about a Walmart Exclusive $20/1GB per month plan which was available only on devices purchased at Walmart. The catch however, Walmart's prices, which were at $199 for the device; a whole $50 more than buying at BestBuy or RadioShack. It made sense to get the MiFi for $149 to me. I mean, I'd rather get the $40 Unlimited plan then but if I could get the $20/1GB plan, to kinda try out the service for starters, I wouldn't mind at all.

So I went to BestBuy and purchased the MiFi for $149 yesterday. The sales guy told me I could add credit online using my credit card so I was all set. Just out of curiosity I decided to step in to Walmart which is in the same shopping area. I saw an ad showing the $20 Walmart exclusive plan which works only on devices purchased at Walmart. And then, I was pleasantly surprised to see the MiFi device priced at $139 and not $199 as mentioned on their website. Bummer! At this point I had to get the Walmart deal. So I purchased an additional MiFi there along with a $20 top up card which was selling for $19.88 (saved another 12 cents there, woohoo!) and the first thing I did thereafter was go back to BestBuy and return the first one. Now I feel good!

Setting up the MiFi was a breeze, just followed the steps in the quick start guide (yes, I read those). It does tell you to write down your account number and activation codes to be entered during the registration process. When choosing a plan it did give me the option to choose a 'Walmart Exclusive' $20 plan. Maybe it's linked to the serial number of the device and only works with devices purchased at Walmart because that's what the ad in the store said. I have read forums where people haven't had that option when trying to activate devices purchased elsewhere so there must be some truth to the 'Walmart Exclusive' deal.

I did a speedtest on the connection using my MacBook Air and the speeds are decent where I live. Take a look.

Decent speeds on the Virgin Mobile MiFi

Now I must note that I don't live anywhere close to Wichita, Kansas; I live on the west coast in Northern California. I have read, however, that the MiFi will connect to a different server every time you connect with it so some servers are bound to give you better speeds than others. Also, the device does heat up a bit while it's on or charging. Connecting it to the computer disables the wireless service but using the provided AC adapter doesn't do so. The USB cable has been provided to charge the device in a car using a 12 Volt charger (not included in the package). One of my concerns was the wireless signal getting disabled during charging which was rumored all across the web. But it only gets disabled if connected to a computer, not otherwise. So it's all good. 

I will use the MiFi on my upcoming trip and gather speedtest results along the way. It will be a good way to evaluate the service. I'm pretty sure I'll get my money's worth. More on this soon.