On Saturday, 28 March 2020 10:07:24 PM AEDT Andrew Mather wrote:
The cheapest new Android phone that Kogan offers is $159. Second hand phones are cheaper. Why do you want a dedicated Wifi device when you could get a phone that does it as well as other things?
I have an ancient Telstra 3G/4G Hotspot device and have found it performs way better than my iPhone as a data hotspot. By performance, I mean the hotspot has better reception in marginal areas and data transfer speeds are higher. It also has much better battery life and is quicker to recharge. Obviously this may be affected somewhat by the number of other applications running on the phone, but that doesn't account for the whole difference.
Newer phones recharge quickly, USB-C can deliver up to 90W. The size of phones does limit the antenna size and phones generally aren't designed for external antennas. A few years ago Samsung phones had the antenna in the back cover with spring clips connecting it to the phone body, so putting an external antenna on probably wouldn't be that difficult. But having a device designed for it would be better.
I suspect that being a dedicated device, it's optimised for data transfer in ways that the phone isn't. It also sounds like the people in question already have phones, so the extra features aren't required.
I don't think it can be more designed for data transfer. But designed for a better antenna is likely.
The main downside is it's locked to the Telstra network, but given a lot of the time, I'm using it in remote 4WD touring situtaions, is not an issue because there's often no other network out there.
Yes, Telstra is definitely better for most outer areas, with a few annoying exceptions of course. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/