Despite the proliferation of smartphones that include built-in mobile hotspot capabilities, the market for dedicated mobile hotspot routers like Novatel Wireless’s Mifi line of products is seen growing significantly over the next five years. According to a new report from market research and analysis firm ABI Research, 7.1 million dedicated mobile hotspot devices will ship in 2011 carrying an estimated end-user revenue value of $1 billion. In 2016, ABI expects annual shipments to reach 60 million units,...

Despite the increasing popularity Wi-Fi of integrated tethering functionality across a variety of smartphone platforms, sales of dedicated portable hotspots continue to remain strong. Novatel Wireless, a pioneer in personal mobile hotspots, on Monday announced that lifetime shipments of its MiFi mobile hotspot line has now surpassed 3 million units globally. Beyond the tried and true reliability of Novatel’s MiFi devices — anyone who follows BGR’s live coverage of press conferences knows we re...

Sprint confirmed last month that beginning October 2nd, unlimited mobile hotspot plans would become limited mobile hotspot plans, affording users of the optional smartphone add-on 5GB of tethering data per month. Now, Sprint has added a second service to the unlimited data cemetery: mobile broadband. “If you have a mobile broadband device such as a tablet, netbook, notebook, USB card, connection card or Mobile Hotspot device, effective beginning with your next bill following notification, your on-netwo...

AT&T on Tuesday revealed the first two 4G LTE devices that will launch on its forthcoming LTE network later this summer. The AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G will christen the new cellular broadband network, which is set to launch in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio this summer before extending to at least 15 markets later this year. AT&T says 70 million Americans will be covered by its 4G LTE network before the end of 2011. Both the Momentum 4G U...

Verizon Wireless announced on Tuesday that it will expand its 4G LTE network to cover several new markets on July 21st. The following areas will receive coverage at that time: Huntsville, Alabama.; Augusta, Georgia.; Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.; Springfield, Massachusetts.; Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro-Winston, and Salem-High Point, North Carolina; and Knoxville, Tennessee. The carrier also said that it will expand the size of its current 4G LTE network in San Diego and Los Angeles. Read on for a press...

We’re big fans of Verizon Wireless’ Novatel Mi-Fi 4510L 4G LTE hotspot, and now you can pick one up for just $49.99 with a new two-year contract — a $50 savings over the original launch price. If a hotspot isn’t quite your style, Verizon is also offering Novatel’s USB551L 4G LTE USB modem for just $19.99 with a new two-year contract. We’ve been blown away by Verizon’s 4G speeds, and we’re told the sale will only last until July 18th, so be sure to check these out if...

In the mobile space there are leaders and followers, and our friends over at Novatel Wireless are clear leaders. The company’s MiFi devices set the market abuzz as people rushed to replace their older mobile broadband devices with portable mobile hotspots capable of connecting multiple devices to cellular data networks via Wi-Fi. Now, Novatel is extending its lead in the space by updating the AT&T MiFi 2372 with DLNA streaming media support. We’re big fans of making good gear even better, and ...

While we’ve been testing out Samsung’s 4G LTE mobile hotspot for a couple weeks, there’s just something about Novatel that we can’t shake. After all, they were the first with a MiFi device. If you have been holding on to the thought of a 4G LTE MiFi ever since CES, today is the day. The Verizon Wireless MiFi 4510L 4G LTE mobile hotspot is now available for purchase from Verizon online, and will be available in stores on April 21st for $99 after a two year service agreement and rebate...

Intel gathered by blog TmoNews suggests that T-Mobile’s HSPA+, 4G mobile hotspot will be released this Wednesday, April 13th. First seen at CTIA last month, the hostspot will provide connectivity for up to five Wi-Fi enabled device’s on the company’s wireless network. While we don’t know which HSPA+ radio the device will be packing — 21Mbps or 42Mbps — we do know that it will have a built-in VPN client and “optional SMS” support. We snapped a few images of the little, p...

Sprint was nice enough to shoot us over its brand new Sprint Novatel 3G/4G MiFi, and while we saw it at CES, there’s just nothing like getting one in your hands (or paws) and taking it for a spin. We’re huge fans of Novatel Wireless, and we definitely prefer its MiFi products to USB data sticks or tethering our phones when we need mobile internet — so we’re extremely glad the company introduced a 4G WiMAX version of its popular MiFi device. Our quick impressions: it’s a tad thicker...

Recently, Sprint took to its community forums to let customers know that its new Novatel 3G/4G MiFi mobile hotspot is now available. “Sprint is the first carrier to launch a 4G MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot preloaded with MiFi OS™, widgets and application support, adding capabilities beyond just pure Internet connectivity and ensuring customers a reliable device that can easily be upgraded with the newest widgets and applications,” reads the press release. The device, which will allow up to fi...

While Verizon Wireless just announced two new 4G LTE devices that are going to serve up insanely fast mobile broadband speeds, Samsung’s 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is the first one in our hands. We’ve been rockin’ and rollin’ over Verizon’s 4G LTE network for a little while thanks to the new mobile hotspot, and we’re happy to report extremely fast speeds around 12Mbps down and 5.5Mbps up on average — the fastest speeds that the device is rated for. In terms of size, it’...

Looking to lasso yourself some of those sweet, sweet LTE airwaves being emitted by Verizon Wireless towers? Don’t really need a new smartphone? You’re in luck. In a pair of press releases today, Verizon announced two, new LTE-enabled network devices, the Verizon USB551L modem (made by Novatel) and the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. The USB551L is a standard USB data-stick modem capable of connecting your Windows or Mac-based machine to Verizon’s ultra-fast, LTE network. The Samsung 4G LTE...

Just because it’s most likely going to be acquired doesn’t mean T-Mobile is going to be a no-show at CTIA this year. The carrier just introduced its latest smartphone, the T-Mobile G2x, which is a new Android handset from LG. It is powered by a 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor with a 4-inch display, an 8-megapixel camera, and Android 2.2. In addition to the new handset, T-Mobile is continuing the company’s 4G onslaught with an announcement that it will be doubling its HSPA+ speeds —...