Pros And Cons Of Smartphone Hotspots
Smartphone hotpots, or mifi hotspots, let a person have access to the Internet almost anywhere he goes. The user of a cell phone that he can tether to his computer can get access to the Internet any place where there is a cell phone tower. The speed may not be incredibly high. A lot of cell phone coverage available in rural areas uses GSM technology.
The most obvious advantage of using a smart phone hotspot is that you can use it in many more locations.The whole story can be found at http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2011/05/04/need-wifi-when-traveling-abroad-rental-mifis-are-getting-cheaper/ The portability lets you access the full power of your computer anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. If you have a cell phone that belongs to one of the major carriers, you are far more likely to get 3G coverage than you are with a cell phone that belongs to the smaller carriers.
The downside of the mifi hotpots is that the number of devices who can connect to the device are limited. The second drawback is that GSM connections are slower than even 56K connections. A person who lives in a small town cannot use his smart phone as a replacement for his Internet service provider.
As with anything else, that is small and portable, there are tradeoffs involved in using Mifi hotspots instead of the traditional wifi hot spots.