MiFi lets you share your portable Internet connection

Anybody with a BlackBerry or an Apple iPhone knows what it's like to carry the Internet around in a shirt pocket. But what about the person sitting next to you? Perhaps you'd like to share your cellular data stream with friends, family members, or business colleagues. Novatel's found a nearly painless way to do it: a tiny black rectangle about the same size as a business card case that acts as a portable Internet hotspot.

MiFi is presently available to customers of the Verizon Wireless cellphone service. A version for Sprint Nextel Inc subscribers will go on sale next month. The device combines a 3G cellular data modem with a compact Wi-Fi router. When switched on, it automatically connects to the 3G network, then relays data to laptops, netbooks, or even handheld game machines via a short-range Wi-Fi network.

Imagine the possibilities: A team of office workers, laptops blazing, can share documents and images during an off-site meeting. Or a family on a summer road trip could carry MiFi in the car, allowing each of them - except the driver, of course - to use a different Internet service while barreling down the Interstate. Suddenly, my 3G Internet connection isn't just for me anymore. This isn't MiFi. It's OurFi.

But 3G sharing carries an hefty price. The MiFi device costs $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, but you must also sign a two-year contract for Verizon cellular data service. For $59.99 a month, you can send and receive a total of five gigabytes of data per month, or you can pay $39.99 for a mere 250 megabytes. An alternative plan might appeal to infrequent users. You can buy a MiFi for the full retail price of $269.99, then pay $15 for unlimited access for 24 hours.

When it's switched on, MiFi looks to your computer like just another Wi-Fi hotspot. Punch in a password, and you get secure encrypted access. Laptop computer users may want to install the MiFi control software. There's no fussing with CDs; the program is built right into the device. To install it, just plug MiFi into the computer with the USB cable that comes in the package. The device carries software for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh computers. Surprisingly, the Windows version is a little easier to install.

MiFi can run off a wall socket or a laptop's USB port, but it also carries a rechargeable battery. Novatel says you can expect four hours of use per charge; when data's not flowing, MiFi goes dormant to save power. But you can't network an entire house with a single MiFi. While standard Wi-Fi routers offer a range of 200 or 300 feet, MiFi's indoor range is only 30 or 40 feet.

Novatel's engineers squeezed a global positioning chip into the MiFi, so that the device almost always knows exactly where it is. Combine that with some clever software, and MiFi users could easily locate the nearest hotel or hamburger joint.

Yet for some reason, Verizon hasn't activated GPS on the MiFi. Sprint plans to offer GPS-based software with its version of MiFi, a sensible decision that Verizon ought to emulate.

Even at their best, 3G services are barely fast enough to qualify as broadband. Novatel allows no more than five devices to connect to a MiFi device at the same time, to avoid overwhelming the network. But you can use any Wi-Fi device, not just laptops but also handheld game machines, MP3 music players, even other phones. It works just fine with Apple's iPhone, for instance.

As with so many wireless devices, performance has a certain hit-or-miss quality. Apart from the usual Internet glitches, you must allow for the variable service quality of cellular networks and architectural oddities, which can dilute incoming radio signals.

At home, Internet access was almost sprightly, with download speeds that approached 800 kilobits. That's far slower than a cable modem or even a DSL connection, but about the best you can expect from a 3G cellular service. Yet at my desk at the Globe, the same MiFi device could download only 57 to 96 kilobits per second, not much better than an old-school dial-up modem.

But the limitations of Verizon's 3G network aren't Novatel's fault. Their marvelous, misnamed MiFi device is a smart little gadget that proves our parents were right: It really is nice to share.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.

>Correction: Because of incorrect information from Verizon Wireless, a story in yesterday's Business section about the company's MiFi networking device stated the wrong price. When sold without a service contract, the MiFi costs $399.99.

Correction: Because of incorrect information from Verizon Wireless, a story in yesterday's Business section about the company's MiFi networking device stated the wrong price. When sold without a service contract, the MiFi costs $399.99.