3 Ways to Create Your Own Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot
Techlicious editors independently review products. To help support our mission, we may earn affiliate commissions from links contained on this page.

Novatel MiFi

Sierra Wireless Overdrive

CradlePoint PHS300

Sony Vaio Y Series
It seems like just about all of the digital devices we carry today—netbooks, mp3 players, digital cameras, the iPad to name a few—either can or do make use of Wi-Fi. So when you travel, it makes sense to bring a Wi-Fi hotspot with you.
To create your own mobile Wi-Fi hotspot (most can support up to 5 devices), you’ll need to subscribe to a mobile broadband service. If you don’t already have mobile broadband service, there are mobile Wi-Fi hotspot devices like the Novatel MiFi for AT&T and T-Mobile ($280) or Verizon
($30 with a 2-year contract) and the new Sierra Wireless Overdrive with access to Sprint’s 3G and 4G networks ($49 with a 2-year contract).
If your mobile phone has a data plan and you can tether the phone to your computer, or your computer already has built-in mobile broadband, you can get a device that just creates a hotspot, like the CradlePoint PHS300 ( $180).
If you’re in the market for a new computer, you can get one of the first laptops with the built-in ability to create a hotspot—the new Sony Vaio Y Series ($770) and Vaio Z Series ($1,950).