It’s a cold Colorado evening and I am sitting with my notebook, typing my reports from my visit with HP—a very impressive day, I should say! I have already transferred my video report from my camcorder to the HP EliteBook, and even edited a three-minute piece. The hotel’s terribly slow WiFi reminded me why I should always be using my Verizon MiFi device.
After trying to work on the establishment’s snail-paced network, I retrieved the MiFi hotspot. Believe it or not, the download speed was 22 Megabits! This was a spark for celebration (and relaxation), so I pulled up The Bitter Rice on HULU Plus, just to ease my tension for a bit. Then I opened CWB’s admin site and, in a matter of minutes, I edited three articles (while adding photos and videos) without any difficulties or maddening loading-times. The MiFi hotspot travels with me for a reason: it is a pleasant surprise every time I put it to use (Okay, except a certain location in Palm Springs, CA with download speeds under five megabits/second, but I won’t get into that!)
To validate my hands-on experience with the MiFi, I utilized simple broadband speed-test websites like SpeedTest.net and BandwithPlace.com. All of the speed-tests confirmed my experiences with the hotspot!
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While enjoying some drinks in the lobby with a number of other attending reporters attending, we shared our painful stories of access the internet while constantly traveling. One universal gripe was with hotel WiFi systems (coffee shops and libraries got ripped as well). Many of the other media members were using “internet-anywhere” USB dongles, but they took notice when I mentioned the numbers that Verizon’s MiFi had been putting up. There was even a freelance writer from New York who confirmed my claims, as he was also a MiFi user—his only wish was for an unlimited data plan in the near future.
Verizon’s MiFi was one of our best products of 2011; what’s astounding is that the service continues to grow and improve. The device has found itself in the running for our honors for the second year in a row!
