Three is opening up its MiFi portable wireless hotspot to less well-heeled users with a budget device from Huawei.
The Huawei E5331 Value MiFi is the world’s slimmest portable WiFi hotspot, measuring 55 x 45 x 23mm.
It can still connect up to five devices for wireless broadband over Three’s network at up to 21.6Mbps HSPA+ download speeds and up to 5.76Mbps HSUPA uploads.
Battery life is said to be up to 4.5 hours and it can connect to devices using a single button-press (slightly-insecure WPA2 security, we assume).
The older Huawei E586’s large OLED screen has been swapped for a simple row of LED indicators for signal strength, battery power and message alerts.
Mark Brewer, head of mobile broadband at Three said: “As the market leader in mobile broadband it’s great to be able to bolster our range with yet another high speed mobile Wi-Fi device.
“The Value MiFi offers fast browsing and a seamless streaming experience, all on Three’s award winning mobile broadband network.”
A launch date and pricing will be announced in due course, but will the E586 stay on as a premium model?