What is mobilnet good for?

As I mentioned in a previous HOC TV show, I was lucky enough to talk to one of the European directors of Edimax at the premises of the Hungarian distributor, Kelly-Tech Kft. It was an interesting conversation from which I was able to learn a lot of interesting things about Edimax’s ideas for the near future. I would not go into these now, as the topic of our article does not allow this, so I would single out a single slice of the conversation, which is a miracle of miracles, about mobile internet.

At Edimax, it is believed that reaching the mobile net is the future. It is believed that mobility will become more and more important for us, so more and more people will use mobile services, so and therefore they should also place great emphasis on the devices that allow them to access and share the mobile net. The word is followed by what has been done to them, in our case the word has followed the first means, but that is not the point. The bottom line is that Edimax already has hardware specifically designed to help us enjoy the World Wide Web on the mobile web.

The available products can be divided into two main groups. On the one hand, there are traditional routers that differ essentially from their usual counterparts only in that they are capable of receiving and distributing USB modems, and there are those that know the same but are mobile, that is, capable of running on battery power without an external power source. We, of course, asked for a representative from each of the two groups, as this is how the picture is complete.

Let's start with the "traditional" router! The device comes with 4 RJ-45 LAN ports, one RJ-45 WAN port and one USB connector. The latter is a real interesting feature of the device, as a USB 3G modem can be connected to this port. The device, marketed under the 3G 6200N model name, is therefore suitable for sharing not only traditional cable / xDSL, but also mobile 3G internet connection. One or a half years ago, we would have just shrugged because it was good, but not so useful, but nowadays the situation seems to be changing. The area of ​​3,5G availability is growing and service providers are offering more and more affordable tariff packages. Because of this, in some areas, 3,5G may already be an alternative to a landline provider, but there are certainly areas where, due to low embeddedness, the only available broadband availability is the service of mobile companies. As described in our introduction, the 3,5G service promises a very pleasant speed of 14,4 Mbit / s. To really achieve this, we need to be close to a transmission tower that can provide the service. Without it, we will be doomed to a lower speed. Our office is currently in Budapest, in the XI. district in a panel apartment, so in our test we will test how much the reinforced concrete structure shields the signals around us.

Our second test piece is already a more interesting creature. A solution called 3G-6210n is proud to announce on its box that it is nothing more than a Portable Wireless Router. The small but flashy device measures just 3 x 100 x 70 millimeters, making it suitable for hiding in your notebook bag next to the machine.

As its name suggests, it is also a router, meaning its number one task is to share the mobile net among multiple machines. Because it is battery-powered, it is able to perform its task without an external power source, so we can even hold our meetings in the park with the help of everyone, while everyone will have a net on their laptop. Of course, just as it fits into a router, it not only shares the net, it is also suitable for building local networks, as we have written in a park, on a train, on a bus, or even in a car. There are only three connectors on the box of the device. One is a standard Ethernet port to which you can connect a wired network, if you have one. The second is a Mini USB connector, through which we can charge the goods, and the third is a standard USB port, where the USB modem needed for a mobile connection can be placed. In addition to the connectors, there is an on / off button and a selector switch that allows you to select whether to use a LAN or WAN connection. Another important information is that the battery supplied with the device is a Lithium-Ionos and has a capacity of 1880 mAh. Of course, we will test how long it can perform the task of a fully charged device!

The test of pudding is always eating, so let the tests follow!