Review of HuaWei E170 USB Stick Modem

Introduction

In these recent years, with 3G and 3.5G beingness accepted as a common and popular mobile network, HSPA (High-Speed Package Access) goes very important for route warriors, as they are much faster than GPRS web and easy to use.

A individual will necessitate a 3G or 3.5G-enabled devices to utilize this high-speed web (of course, this service is dependent on the Telecommunication Company of the country). It can be in-built in the devices already or it can be in an external unit.

This reappraisal is based on HuaWei's USB Modem E170. HuaWei Technologies Co., Ltd have been aggressively promoting their USB Modems.

Main Content

HuaWei's up-to-the-minute USB stick modem is much littler than its predecessor (E220). Technically, this USB stick modem is actually a modem, an USB flash, a practical CD-ROM drive.

In this review, I will be using the modem from Capital Of Singapore Telecommunication operator, Starhub.

The Package

The bundle from Starhub come ups in lone achromatic coloring material with a Starhub logo. It is packaged into a DVD size screen with the modem itself and an drawn-out cable. The major difference between E220 (the predecessor) and this E170 is that E170 itself have already a USB connexion point. In normal operation, you will not necessitate to utilize the drawn-out cable. In the operation manual, it says that this cablegram may be used to heighten the signal. You will necessitate to buy the SIM Card separately for this modem. Or you can utilize your existent SIM Card on it. Starhub bundled this bundle with an limitless Data SIM Card that is easy to put in onto the device.

The Modem

The modem is very light and the finishing is of high quality. The size is slightly larger than a convention pollex drive. The Dimensions is 80.5mm long by 24.1 millimeter on the breadth and 11.8 millimeter thick. It is satin achromatic in colour and extremely well made. The USB connexion is hidden with a screen that is quite sturdy. The screen come ups with a Ag hinge for you to hang this device around. Near to the USB connexion port is the SIM Card holder. It is carefully hidden and flushed with the overall design. I wouldn't be too certain about that as the device may drop off if it is being pulled (and you are left with a screen only).

The Connection
As mentioned previously, this modem is a practical CD-ROM drive. Reason being that the software system is flashed into it and it is detected as a CD-ROM thrust when plugged in. A Dell laptop computer was used for this connexion check. It took about 5 proceedings to apparatus the modem automatically. You will be on clip for the first time to put in the software system into the computer. It is a mandatory step. After the installation, the Starhub connexion panel will demo up and you just necessitate to chink on the link icon. Starhub connexion is based on HSDPA/HSUPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM.

It takes a minute for it to link (the modem that I have got is without password. Therefore, it is automatically connected when I force the link icon).

The chief panel will demo connected once it is done and on the underside right manus corner of your computer, you can see the Starhub modem logo.

On the chief panel itself, you can switch over to the statistics page to see the upload and download velocity with a nice graph. There is also the textual matter and telephone book page that I did not explore. Basically, according to Starhub, the SIM Card is a information card that could not be used for calling. However, basic textual matter messaging is possible. As for the telephone book, it is the contacts storage of the SIM card. For this bundle, there are 500 contact slots.

The Performance

Ideally, the download velocity for this modem using the Starhub service should be 7.2Mbps. However, the existent public presentation showed otherwise. This could be owed to the signaling strength and download sharing factors.

A few diagnostic tests were done on a website by clicking a nexus on it to a heavily pictured page and also by bracing this same page. Both consequences were satisfactory as it can be loaded within a minute.

The connexion is stable. In fact, this unit of measurement was tested with Skype and webcam. It have a small slowdown but this may be owed to the other political party radio connection. Therefore, this is not conclusive.

The Usage

This small device is best for Road Warriors to download electronic mails and breaker the Internet. As the word form factor is small, it can be easily carried around. With an limitless Data plan, this unit of measurement can be connected to the Internet all twenty-four hours without worrying about the bills.

The HSDPA Downlink is 7.2Mbps & HSUPA Uplink 2Mbps, it is still not the fastest as compared to a local area web network. It is not intended for gambling and if you have got many heavy information files to upload, you may experience the lagging.

If you mean to utilize it overseas, delight bank check with your Telecommunication operator on the abroad data rate. It may do a immense dent in your wallet.

Conclusion

Overall, this device functions the basic intent of connexion on the move. With is little word form factor, it can be carried anywhere. The connexion velocity is very dependent on the telecommunication operator. With testing on the former theoretical account (E220) at a 1.8Mbps to 3.6Mbps, some connexion heavy undertaking could be quite taxing. You should seriously see the lower limit criterion of 7.2Mbps downlink if you wish to utilize it frequently. It is a Must-Have point for Road Warriors at this moment.