Several months ago, I brought my laptop to school to work on a research paper during a four-hour gap in between classes; after beginning the first two lines of the paper, I was less than thrilled to discover the school's wireless Internet was temporarily out of service. Of course, with my luck, all my sources were Internet-based. It is instances similar to this one that induce my yearning for my very own, personal hotspot.
I’m sure you have had similar longings during those inconvenient instances in which you were unable to connect due to network failure, traveling in a car, or temporarily residing in a location that lacked an established wireless network. I often imagine a world where I no longer need to rely on an already existing network to have an Internet connection. That’s right, I crazily wish for a portable device that can provide me with Internet access no matter where I am, whether or not there is a wireless hotspot to pick up on.
Well folks, I am pleased to announce my prayers have been answered with the Clear Spot 4G+. The device (which is about the same in size as a Post-It pad and weighs approximately 4.5 ounces) can easily be transported wherever you go, to create your own personal hotspot on up to five wireless devices. The battery life is three hours, but keep in mind that it gets easily drained in an area of weak signal strength. The Spot 4G+ works in conjunction with any Wi-Fi enabled device; laptop, Ipad, game console, netbook- you name it. As far as cost goes, a 2-year contract can be purchased for $225. Monthly leases are available for $6 a month (2-year rental minimum required).
For those of you who struggle with newly marketable technological devices and are hesitant to use a device that sounds as if it dropped from another planet – don’t be. Let me break it down for you.
- Place the cable into the Spot 4G+ and plug the adaptor into an outlet, so it can charge. The screen will light up and notify the user on the charged percentage completed.
- When fully charged, press the power button. When the screen indicates that a 3/4G network has been established, you can look for the “Clear Spot” network under the networks that are available to your wireless device.
- Enter the password that you created to ensure the network's safety, and you’re ready to surf the web!
Overall, I found the device extremely simple to use (and I am definitely not a techie). The speed was a bit slower than what I’ve become accustomed to in this day and age of ADD. Perhaps it was my computer, or the signal strength, but I found myself getting slightly agitated during the several seconds I had to wait for web pages to load. The device turned off by itself once or twice, but worked fine again after pressing the power button.
The Clear Spot 4G+ review bottom line: The ability to create your own hotspot and surf the web in the middle of Central Park?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I bought this item hoping to replace my home and on-the-go data services, and was told of free trial period of 14days.
I received the item in a timely manner. Device set up very easy and straight forward.
Lets talk about what really matters; the connection! I live in Baltimore, which is supposedly covered very well. Nevertheless, the device signal indicator kept changing from green (excellent signal) to flashing red (searching for signal)!
I called the customer service to return the device. They spent a lot of time to convince me to continue with the service, until I accepted but only when they told me the trial period is actually 30days.
Service was always poor, and I figured I will cancel it anyway. I called again on day 16 of trial, to realize the truth. This company is faux. They spent about an hour arguing that device is a good fit, they found out about my prior call for cancellation but denied the 30days trial period that was offered to me. I found myself responsible for the cost of the devices (which I now own), first month of service for two devices (which was supposed to be free), and for an early termination fee (US$130)!!
I was even more determined to cancel this nonsense
I’ve had this device for about a week and haven’t had any major problems. The signal strength was better in some areas that other but over all I was comforatable with the downloadupload speeds and the performance of the device has been better than the Verizon MiFi I used to own. I live in Dallas, TX so I don’t know if the city has something to with it but I plan on keeping this device.