Verizon, Novatel Turn Broadband into Wi-Fi

Verizon Wireless has teamed with Novatel Wireless to offer the MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, which will be available May 17.
With the MiFi, Verizon Wireless customers can create a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of connecting up to five devices, such as notebooks, netbooks and gaming devices, at 3G mobile broadband speeds.
The travel-friendly MiFi measures 3.5 by 2.3 by 0.4 inches and weighs just 2.05 ounces. Combined inside are integrated internal CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and Wi-Fi antennas, and security and authentication technologies.

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When only one device is connected, the MiFi’s rechargeable battery offers 4 hours of use; a single charge holds 40 hours of standby time.
“With projected growth rates of over 30 percent for Wi-Fi mobile phones, MiFi will be of great benefit to both business customers and consumers,” Mike Lanman, a vice president with Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. “It gives customers the flexibility to transform their Wi-Fi-enabled consumer electronics into mobile broadband devices and to choose how and when they need to be connected at a price point that will match most budgets.”
The MiFi has a retail price of $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a new two-year customer agreement. Monthly service pricing is either $39.99 for a 250MB monthly allowance and 20 cents per megabyte overage or $59.99 for a 5GB monthly allowance and 5 cents per megabyte overage.
When the device is purchased at full retail price, without a monthly service plan, a 24-hour DayPass will be available for $15.