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This summer if you’re out and about and want all your devices to stay connected you either have to use WiFi hotspots like Starbucks, which are often unsecure. Or use your phone as a mobile hotspot which takes up your mobile data allowance and drains your phone battery.

Netgear’s solution is the Netgear AirCard 810, a mobile hotspot that you put a SIM card into and then it gives you your own private network that you can connect your devices to for internet access.

The device is smaller than a smart phone with a colour touch screen. One you have your SIM card in there is a quick setup and you can pair up your devices to it via WiFi. The colour display shows the SSDI and password so it’s easy to get devices connected. You can monitor the data usage and set your monthly data allowance so you don’t end up with any unexpected bills.

Network

Another good feature is that you can connect it up to a PC via USB and then the PC can use it as an external network adapter. This means even PCs without WiFi (or you don’t want to use WiFi).can use the device. Another nice feature is the ability to receive SMS messages. You can also use the network to transfer data between devices, you can have 15 devices connected at once.
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Jump Boost

The Aircard has an 11 hour battery so you can stay connected and even better is the feature called “Jump Boost”. With the supplied cable you can plug a phone or tablet into the Aircard 810 and use it as an external battery and charge your phone.

Connectivity

The Netgear AirCard 810 works with 4G LTE and 3G up to 600bps and the wifi support is simultaneous dual band 5 Ghz and 2.4Ghz. There is an option in the settings to set the WiFi range, it has three modes: Standard, Medium and Long. This means if the device is next to your tablet or PC you can set the range to standard and reduce the power of the transmitter which increases your battery life. There is a guest Wifi mode so you can let other people share your connection without giving them the device password.

Conclusion

The Aircard is SIM unlocked and costs £199.94 on Amazon and comes with all the cables and chargers you need. It’s a great way to have connectivity without the risk of public WiFi or draining your phones battery, in fact it also works as a portable charger so it can keep your phone topped up.

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