davieG Posted 23 June 2011 Share Posted 23 June 2011 Are they the same thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 23 June 2011 Share Posted 23 June 2011 No. A dongle gives you wireless capabilities, but you still need a hotspot to connect to. A MiFI, from my understanding, acts as a hotspot, that other devices can connect to. The best example I can think of is mobile phones. If your mobile phone has 3G, then you can enable (on the iPhone at least) 'Personal Hotspot', which turns your phone into a router so devices can connect to it wirelessly and use your 3G to browse the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Barry Hammond Posted 23 June 2011 Share Posted 23 June 2011 Isn't a MiFi one of those characters on Wii sports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 23 June 2011 Share Posted 23 June 2011 Isn't a MiFi one of those characters on Wii sports? That's a 'Mii' I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Barry Hammond Posted 23 June 2011 Share Posted 23 June 2011 That's a 'Mii' I think Ooooh - so a MiFi is a Mii character you don't F'in like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 23 June 2011 Author Share Posted 23 June 2011 No. A dongle gives you wireless capabilities, but you still need a hotspot to connect to. A MiFI, from my understanding, acts as a hotspot, that other devices can connect to. The best example I can think of is mobile phones. If your mobile phone has 3G, then you can enable (on the iPhone at least) 'Personal Hotspot', which turns your phone into a router so devices can connect to it wirelessly and use your 3G to browse the internet. So if you've got an iPhone in the middle of nowhere you can surf the web on a laptop using the Iphone as a go between if there's not a normal Wifi available? I thought a dongle enabled you to connect your laptop to the internet as you would with a phone. Am I confused as to what a WiFi hotspot is, I thought it was something like BT Openzone whereas something like an O2 dongle used the O2 3G Network to connect to the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zingari Posted 24 June 2011 Share Posted 24 June 2011 I thought MiFi sold self assembly furniture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted 24 June 2011 Share Posted 24 June 2011 So if you've got an iPhone in the middle of nowhere you can surf the web on a laptop using the Iphone as a go between if there's not a normal Wifi available? I thought a dongle enabled you to connect your laptop to the internet as you would with a phone. Am I confused as to what a WiFi hotspot is, I thought it was something like BT Openzone whereas something like an O2 dongle used the O2 3G Network to connect to the internet. You can get two types of dongle, one lets you connect to a wireless network (hotspot or BT Openzone) if your laptop doesn't have built-in WiFi connectivity and you can also get 3G dongles that let you use the mobile network to browse the internet much like how phones do so essentially 'anywhere' where you can get a mobile signal although the speeds vary depending on area, 3G being the quickest however still slow. You can also 'tether' your iPhone/Blackberry etc so that it acts like a 3G dongle and lets your laptop use the mobile network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 24 June 2011 Author Share Posted 24 June 2011 You can get two types of dongle, one lets you connect to a wireless network (hotspot or BT Openzone) if your laptop doesn't have built-in WiFi connectivity and you can also get 3G dongles that let you use the mobile network to browse the internet much like how phones do so essentially 'anywhere' where you can get a mobile signal although the speeds vary depending on area, 3G being the quickest however still slow. You can also 'tether' your iPhone so that it acts like a 3G dongle and lets your laptop use the mobile network. Ok, well I was referring to the 3G dongle, so the difference is the dongle connects via 3G and the MifI though WiFi hotspots even when it's nowhere near them. Anyone knowlegeable enough to explain, in simple language how the MiFi can do that and why they don't have MiFi pre-fitted in laptops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted 24 June 2011 Share Posted 24 June 2011 Ok, well I was referring to the 3G dongle, so the difference is the dongle connects via 3G and the MifI though WiFi hotspots even when it's nowhere near them. Anyone knowlegeable enough to explain, in simple language how the MiFi can do that and why they don't have MiFi pre-fitted in laptops? The coverage would be the same if using a 3G dongle or a MiFi router. All a MiFi router does it allow people to connect wirelessly to your phone's 3G connection (why you'd want to do that I don't know, it's slow enough just using it yourself). They both use the mobile network, MiFi just creates a wireless network by using a phone's 3G connection and a dongle lets your laptop use it (the network) directly. The other option is connect your phone and use your phone's 3G connection directly, essentially acting like a dongle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 24 June 2011 Author Share Posted 24 June 2011 The coverage would be the same if using a 3G dongle or a MiFi router. All a MiFi router does it allow people to connect wirelessly to your phone's 3G connection (why you'd want to do that I don't know, it's slow enough just using it yourself). They both use the mobile network, MiFi just creates a wireless network by using a phone's 3G connection and a dongle lets your laptop use it (the network) directly. The other option is connect your phone and use your phone's 3G connection directly, essentially acting like a dongle. Ok so if I'm on the move with my laptop the 3G dongle is as good as anything to get online, well I hope so because that's what I've just bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted 24 June 2011 Share Posted 24 June 2011 Ok so if I'm on the move with my laptop the 3G dongle is as good as anything to get online, well I hope so because that's what I've just bought. Yeah, it will get you online although you'll have to pay the network provider. It won't be fast especially if you're not in a 3G area but it'll let you browse and the coverage is obviously widespread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 24 June 2011 Author Share Posted 24 June 2011 Yeah, it will get you online although you'll have to pay the network provider. It won't be fast especially if you're not in a 3G area but it'll let you browse and the coverage is obviously widespread. I'll mostly need it for browsing yes I realise about the paying and the coverage, does the Mifi provide better coverage and how do you generally pay for it. I have done some searching but frankly I find all these companies involved in internet access make the details deliberately complex and hard to determine which is the best deal/option. Maybe it's my age Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted 24 June 2011 Share Posted 24 June 2011 I'll mostly need it for browsing yes I realise about the paying and the coverage, does the Mifi provide better coverage and how do you generally pay for it. I have done some searching but frankly I find all these companies involved in internet access make the details deliberately complex and hard to determine which is the best deal/option. Maybe it's my age You connect your phone to the MiFi so in theory there is no charge for using it (never used one, but would be very surprised). The coverage is the same because it's the same mobile network (depending on provider). The only advantage of the MiFi is that you can connect up to five laptops wirelessly and let them use your phone's 3G connection within 10 feet or whatever. If you're using one laptop then a 3G dongle would do the same job but obviously plugged into a USB port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 24 June 2011 Author Share Posted 24 June 2011 You connect your phone to the MiFi so in theory there is no charge for using it (never used one, but would be very surprised). The coverage is the same because it's the same mobile network (depending on provider). The only advantage of the MiFi is that you can connect up to five laptops wirelessly and let them use your phone's 3G connection within 10 feet or whatever. If you're using one laptop then a 3G dongle would do the same job but obviously plugged into a USB port. You just have to pay the extra connection charges assuming you've already coughed up for the phone mobile network. Anyway thanks for the time, effort and info it's a bit clearer now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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