Indispensable

I realize that this is not a technology blog, but I have been traveling quite a bit lately, and there are a few tools that I have found to be indispensable  on the road. Perhaps the best purchase I have made in the last six months is Verizon’s new MiFi.

This device basically works as a wireless router that receives internet access through Verizon’s 3G network. You can use up to five devices simultaneously. At a recent trade show we used it to give lives demos of the new OIAvantagePoint.com research platform and it worked admirably.

Perhaps the best feature of this credit-card-sized device is that it is completely compatible with the iPhone or any other WiFi enabled phone. If you are with Verizon, this doesn’t really give you much of an advantage. However, if you are with any other carrier, it basically gives your phone access to Verizon’s wireless internet network – which has MUCH better coverage than nearly anyone else.

I’ve been in some of the more remote areas of NC, Colorado, Utah and Tennessee with virtually no coverage on my iPhone but once I powered up the MiFi, I had full 3G access. Brilliant.