An O2 community members review of the O2 Pocket Hotspot.
I received the trial unit in a full retail package so can comment from setup.
I unboxed the unit and followed the easy to read "Your Guide to getting started" Installing the sim and battery.
I then left the unit to charge.
The following day after registering the sim and having it topped up by o2 I started to test out all the functionality of the unit.
I installed it as a usb dongle on my pc and it worked as it should (only in a 2g area so slow). Then ensured that I paired my iphone to the wifi (it comes with a sticker with the default code to put on the handy "forget me not" card). I did not test the sd card slot out as I do not have a microsd card. I accessed the devices home page 192.168.0.1 which allows you to check you balance and perform the topup and allows access to advance features on clear and easy pages.
Then gave it a real test took it out with me on a 350 mile round trip. I turned off my cell data and let the O2 Pocket hotspot keep me connected via Wifi. (usually have copilot running so needs live traffic updates)
The result was as expected to be a seamless data connection with speeds varying depending on location as usually seen on the iphone. Streaming to the iphone from the bbc news app was fine for the live video feed(in a busy hospital carpark in south london on 3g). I also took my old laptop and that was fine as well even using logmein to connect to my office pc. I will not bore you with speed test data as that depends on so many factors.
My conclusion is it is a solidly designed unit the battery life is as expected (but can be extended with external power in the car or a usb battery pack). The included manual is clear and concise (with a handy tip to show units password). The unit performs as expected with multiple devices.
Suggested uses:
1. As a mobile hotspot in the car to help users of non cell enabled wifi devices get online (has an external antenna connector you could make some sort of fixed installation for it including external power and fixed external cell antenna)
2. Just to share data amongst friends whilst out and about (festivals etc taking a solar charger for all your devices).
3. As a backup Internet connection if your adsl fails (assuming in a 3g enabled area for speed)
4. To create a wifi hotspot for multi player games that need to be on the same wifi network (untested)
5. To save on initial purchase price of cell enabled ipad by buying the wi-fi only variant
6. To save your small data allowance on your mobile phone.
7. To enable old legacy customers that have no tether options to get there non mobile data devices online.
Overall A handy unit that only requires you to load data when you need it or run out of the allowance you topped up, that has many practical real world uses.
