Huawei E5 is the better portable 3G / WiFi router

I predict that pocket WiFi routers will be selling like hotcakes in the near future especially for those who want to be connected on the go while sharing the connection to friends or families at the same time.

There’s the Globe MiFi and the recently launched Smart Bro Pocket WiFi but both of them are locked into their own carrier which means if you have a poor Globe or Smart signal in your area, you’re out of luck. Or you can have them unlocked but the problem with these model of MiFi routers is that once you plug it into your USB to charge, it won’t connect to the internet until you pull it out.

The Huawei E5 is an unlocked MiFi device that can support either Globe, Smart or Sun SIM cards. It’s also a quad-band device so you can use it with other SIM cards worldwide. It is better than older generation of MiFi routers because it will still connect to the internet and share it even while it’s charging. Another improved feature is that it’s capable of 3.5G speeds but of course, it’s still dependent on what your carrier can give you. Oh and the LED display is significantly more friendly than the color-coded LEDs of the older version.

Battery life is still the same as the previous model that Globe’s been using. You’ll get around 4 to 5 hours on a single charge.

You can connect up to 5 devices wirelessly (including printers) and also use it as a tethered modem at the same time so that’s actually 6 devices. Unlike Globe or Smart’s MiFi routers, you have full control of your network with the Huawei E5. Set security or limit access via MAC address to name a few all in one portable device.

The Huawei E5 can also be used as a USB flash drive. There’s a microSD slot that can turn it into a portable network drive. Dump or share files on the Huawei E5 within its network making it a must-have for any mobile office.

According to its distributor, Gcomm Business Corp., the Huawei E5 will be available within the month for an SRP of Php5,995. It’s not uncommon for a household to have multiple mobile wireless devices these days and the Huawei E5 would be a really useful device for the family to get connected especially on trips. I was informed that Apple resellers might bundle the Huawei E5 with their iPad WiFi.

 

*via: PinoyTechBlog

MiLi Power Pack Review

The iPhone is not known for its long battery life. My brother complains that he has to charge his iPhone daily or else risk running out of juice in the middle of the day. But what if you’re in the middle of the trip? Or you somehow forgot your iPod cable?

What you need is a way to extend the battery of your device. The MiLi Power Pack is a casing-type battery pack for the iPhone. You can choose to attach your iPhone onto it if you’re into bulky phones or just use it for charging on the go where you can still use it to place calls without any dangling wires connected to it. It can also charge other iPods and devices that use USB for charging as well.

Design

We got the white MiLi Power Pack for review which has a glossy, hard plastic finish. The iPhone fits snugly onto its dock and will protect the back and underside of your device. However, I won’t completely trust it to hold the iPhone intact having no other way to keep your phone connected to the dock, like a top lid perhaps.

There’s a single button surrounded by four blue LED lights that serves as the battery indicator (25% per light) for the Power Pack. The button is there just to check how much charge is left on the Power Pack.

There’s also two USB ports on the underside. You use the IN to charge the Power Pack and the OUT to charge another device via USB, like another phone perhaps. A USB cable is provided in the package.

Performance

Based on an actual test, charging the 2000 mAh battery of the Power Pack took about 4 and a half hours.

As for charging another device with it, I tried it on my iPod Touch 4G and I was able to charge it from 2% to 100% in about 2 and a half hours. There was still two lights left on the Power Pack after fully charging my iPod Touch.

There was no effect on making calls with your iPhone while attached to the Power Pack when using it in handset mode. But when we tried to put it in speaker mode, our recipient heard soft static noise during our call.

While your iPod device is connected to the Power Pack, you can still plug it into your PC to sync with iTunes so you don’t need to remove your device.

Summary

The Power Pack is compatible with the iPhone 2G, 3G, 3GS, and the iPod Touch. Aside from that, you can also charge other mobile devices with it making it really handy for traveling. However, I would not really advise using it as your primary iPhone case because it might get dislodged from constant handling.

If you want a more secure extended battery case for your iPhone, MiLi has the thin Power Skin, Power Spring and also the Power Spring 4 for the iPhone 4. Do note though that these only supports the iPhone and not other devices. If you want a universal battery charger, check out our review of the MiLi Power Crystal.

The MiLi Power Pack is available for Php3,200 and you can get it from Power Mac Center, The A.Shop, and Switch.

 

*via: PinoyTechBlog

P5,995 Huawei E5 Pocket MiFi is your own Wi-Fi hotspot

Anyone who has a Globe MiFi, please stand up. Well, kids, starting end of November, you’ll be seeing a pimped-up version of that 3G router, the P5,995 Huawei E5 Pocket MiFi. This one now has a screen that shows your connection, how strong your signal is, and how much juice you have left. You gotta stop groping in the dark at some point, you know.

The nice thing about the Huawei E5 is you can always stick your middle finger to slow Internet connection because this one’s open line. Crappy connection in Makati? Just stick in a SIM card from another telco. If all of them give you a Pong Pagong connection, then that’s the Man Above telling you to get off the Internet. But we digress.

You can turn this one into a network storage device because it’s equipped with a microSD card that can read up to 16GB. The rechargeable battery will last you up to 5 hours of continued use or 100 hours of standby. Pretty decent, we must say. And like the Globe MiFi, you can still connect up to 5 Wi-Fi-capable devices to it. Talk about having your own Wi-Fi hotspot. Hey, why don’t you charge people, even friends, who want to connect to your Huawei E5? No? Just sayin’.

 

The Huawei E5 Pocket MiFi fondled

Sitting pretty next to an iPhone

Back view

An order of Wi-Fi

Bottom’s up

View from the top

The new IP admin page

Giving you access to features such as password settings, profile management, firewall, and message sending

*via:  Techie.com.ph

Smart Bro Pocket WiFi Portable 3G Router

Smart now has their own version of a portable 3G+WiFi router they called SmartBro Pocket WiFi. This new product competes head-on with Globe MyFi launched back in July.

The SmartBro Pocket WiFi is only available on a postpaid Plan 495 for 50 hours of 3G internet every month. You will also need to add another Php150 per month for the Pocket WiFi device for the next 24 month lock-in period (that makes Php645/month for 24 months).

An extra Php10 per 30 minutes will be charged on top of the MSF when you exceed the 50 hour allocation. The promised speed it up to 2Mbps. They even have a promo that if you pay on time, you get 5 hours free on top of your monthly allocation.

As of the moment, they do not have an unlimited plan, probably because this will compete with the SmartBro Share-It Unlimited Plan. However, unlike the SmartBro Share-It that is restricted to your area/city/province, the SmartBro Pocket WiFi has nationwide coverage.

Likewise, since this is a postpaid account, the Smart UnliSurf offers (Unlisurf200) are not applicable on this device. Not sure if this is also a Huawei device (probably a ZTE by the looks of it) but it can handle up to 5 WiFi devices at the same time.

 

*via: YugaTech

Geohot released iOS 4.1 jailbreak called limera1n, trumps Chronic Dev Team

Perhaps the biggest news today in the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch world is the very much-awaited jailbreak for the iOS 4.1 firmware. We thought it would be Jailbreakme-maker Chronic Dev Team and their greenpois0n patch that will release the first jailbreak for iOS 4.1, but blackra1n’s geohot beat them to it with his limera1n patch.

Before the weekend, Chronic Dev Team announced that they will release their greenpois0n jailbreak on Sunday, 10-10-10. That’s today. A lot of people were excited about this iOS 4.1 jailbreak even if it only supports 4th Gen devices (iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch 4G).

Sunday came and it was geohot who stole the show with his limera1n. The limera1n jailbreak is also based on the same exploit as greenpois0n but what’s good about limera1n is that it also supports the iPod Touch 3G and iPhone 3GS. In fact, Chronic Dev Team’s p0sixninja is going to inject limera1n into their greenpois0n hack and release it tomorrow.

According to geohot, his limera1n jailbreak is unpatchable which means you can update your iOS firmware without losing your jailbreak or having to re-jailbreak.

Want a step-by-step guide on how to jb your iPod/iPhone? Click here.