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08/10/2011 Authored by: Todd Knapp
Broadband Wifi Face Off: Samsung Vs. NovaTel MiFi
This afternoon, while traveling to VT, I stopped by a Verizon store because my 4G mobile access point was having issues. While there, I did three things:
- I picked up a new Samsung 10.1 Tab
- I had my Samsung 4G-LTE access point replaced
- I purchased another 4G access point made by NovaTel (the MIFI)
I have had a 3G Novatel for a couple years and it’s been bullet proof. So, I was skeptical when the Verizon store in Warwick upgraded me to the Samsung 4G. That unit had issues immediately (hence my trip to Verizon today). Over the past 20 minutes, I have had both the Samsung and NovaTel devices side by side and I have been testing them against each other. Here are my observations:
Summary: Samsung SUCKS… NovaTel MIFI Rocks.
Samsung 4g Mifi
Novatel 4G MifiExplanation
Display: The Samsung has two LEDs, one for 4G and one for 3G. This is clean and understandable. However, there is no indicator (aside from vague LED color) as to available battery or signal strength. The NovaTel has both battery and signal displays that are bar based (like your phone). There is also a status LED, Green for 4G and blue for 3G. One other interesting note, the NovaTel shows a dot on the display for each device connected to it. So, you always know how many devices are connected to your WIFI. Visual security system? Winner: NovaTel.
Admin Interface: Samsung has a complicated default admin password that varies per unit. Secure: Yes, convenient: No. Default password on the NovaTel is “admin” for all devices. Be smart, change it from there. Both units allow for customization of IP addresses, VPN passthrough, and port forwarding. However, it’s much easier on the Novatel. Novatel also offers in-interface firmware upgrade detection and patching. The Samsung unit HAS NO DISPLAY (that I could find) that even shows what firmware it is running! You have to install the updater on your PC, connect the unit with USB, and attempt to upgrade to figure out if you are current or not. Winner: NovaTel
Community Feedback: The reason I stopped at verizon is that the Samsung was randomly powering off every 1-10 minutes. A quick (because if it wasn’t quick, the unit would shut off) search of the internet showed that LOTS of people are complaining about this. Most believe that the batteries are defective and found that after two or three battery replacements they would get one that would charge and not result in the random shutoffs. Couldn’t find info one way or the other on the NovaTel which I take to be good news. Winner: NovaTel
Bottom Line: Performance - First I watched the connection status. For almost 20 minutes, I was connected to 4G with the Novatel as we traveled up Rt. 91 while the Samsung persisted on only seeing 3G. This is an issue I noticed on the train to NJ last month as well. The Samsung was really slow to connect to 4G. Once both were connected to 4G, I used speedtest.net to get a rough bandwidth assessment. The reality is that any 4G is good 4G. A user going from 3G to 4G on the Samsung would be blown away by the performance (as I initially was). However, the Samsung got 6.5 - 7 meg down and about 5-6 up. The Novatel got a reliable 9-10 meg down and about 7 up. WAY better. Winner: NovaTel
Price: Samsung (after rebate) $99. NovaTel after rebate $49. Winner: NovaTel
If you need mobile access, or don’t like your current setup, I strongly recommend NovaTel.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Assessment of Samsung Galaxy 10.1 coming soon. Let’s hope they used a better 4G technology in that than they did in their access point!
Comments
This is exaclty what I was looking for. Thanks for writing!
Posted by Latricia on 01/02 at 07:55 AM