Too Geek To Be True

If you remember, in my previous post, I wrote about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the original 3 MiFi Wireless Mobile device.  Last week, 3 has unveiled their shiny brand new MiFi to replace the original one.   And I am pleased to tell you that 3 has managed to turn the Bads into the Goods!

First let’s have a look how it looks like, compare to the original one:

Photo attribution: MyPocketOS.com

So what’s changed?

Noticeably, here are some of the big changes:

• The new MiFi now comes in Black and Gun Metal (smart!).
• The 5 ‘confusing’ indicator lights are now replaced with an OLED screen showing clear information about what’s going on in any given time.  This information includes: signal strength indicator, battery indicator, status indicator, information on how long the device has been connected and how much data has been used.  The light indicator on the original device was one of the Bad things I mentioned on my previous post.  Replacing these indicators with the OLED screen is not only making it less confusing and more useful, but also it’s resulting in an increase in battery life (another Bad turns into Good).  Awesome!
• The too-complicated 3 buttons (also one of the Bad things), is now replaced with … One Button!  YES!  This ‘simple’ change, in my opinion, counts a lot in the device’s usability.  As I said before, the simplest thing sometimes is the best solution.

OK, What Else?

Another change that is not immediately apparent is the Companion Software.  The original software was totally useless, but 3 said that they have overhauled the software and replaced it with a web-based dashboard application, which means no more platform dependent installation, and more importantly it’s finally Mac compatible! Woohoo!

What about that RSI-Inducing Buttons?

One of the things I was complaining about was the fact the the buttons were all on the right-hand side of the device.  On the original MiFi, with those 3 buttons, it was just too painful (I have RSI) for me to operate the buttons.  In the new MiFi, the button is still on the right-hand side, but because I need to care about ‘only’ one button, it feels so much better and less painful.

Anything Else?

Another ‘behind the scene’ improvement is, once the device is on, it will always be on, until you turn it off.  If during this time the device get disconnected, it will actively try to reconnect automatically.  This is a big change from the original one, which would just remain disconnected, forcing the user to reconnect the device manually.

Wait, and the Ugly part?

Ah, yes … the lack of Network Coverage?  Well, if you remember, I wrote that 3 has ‘merged’ its network with T-Mobile.  I quizzed a 3 representative about this, and he told me that the merging as well as the network improvement is well underway.  All nice and great, but for me, I will believe this when I experience it myself.

Great! I’m Sold! When Can I Get One?

According to 3, the new MiFi will be available from early July, and priced at £49.99 on Pay As You Go (the same as the existing one).

For more hands-on report, we will have to wait until I could get my hands on one :)

Final Thoughts

What made me feeling impressed was that 3 had really ‘listened’ to the users complaints and suggestions, and came out with a much better product. A product that reflects on what the users actually want and not what ‘they think’ the users want. The fact that they fixed most of my Bad points was clearly a testament for this. Well done 3!

Special thanks for @ThreeMobileBuzz for organizing the event, the rickshaw ride and especially for the cup-cake!

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