Novatel 4082 MiFi Hotspot

Novatel Wireless MiFi 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot 4082 

The Novatel 4082 is an attractive little gadget. At 3.5 by 2.4 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and 3 ounces, it's about the size of a deck of cards, with a soft-touch black bottom that sits on little feet, and a brushed-metal top. The Power button is on the top; turn on the unit, and a small e-ink screen lights up showing signal strength, battery status, GPS status, along with how many devices are connected. On the front edge, there's a single LED that flashes blue for 4G and green for 3G, a MicroSD card slot, and a USB connection/charging port. Just turn the hotspot on, wait about 35 seconds for the connection light to turn green or blue.

Highlights
There's MAC filtering along with password, channel and 802.11b/g/n mode setting, port filtering, port forwarding, and DHCP settings. Power settings let you control when the MiFi goes to sleep and activate a Stealth Mode where the display and blinking LED are always off. It's all pretty easy to use.The 4082 runs Novatel's MiFi OS, a stripped-down version of Linux which lets you run apps on the device. Right now, it's limited to showing map and weather widgets when you load up the MiFi's home page, but I'm hoping for more ambitious ideas like VPN access in the future.

The router can also share files stored on a MicroSD card you plug into the front of the device. My 32GB SanDisk card worked fine, and I connected five Macs and PCs to the shared drive.

Performance
In my tests, the 4082 booted in about 35 seconds, and connected to Sprint's 3G or 4G network (whichever was available). I found the 4082 had no problem dropping down to 3G or even 2G, and returning to 4G when coverage became available.

SPEC DATA

Novatel Wireless MiFi 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot 4082
Cellular Technology : CDMA 1X, EV-DO, WiMAX
Service Provider: Sprint
Bands: 850, 1900, 2600
802.11x/Band(s): Yes
Mac Compatible: Yes

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