The one in which I go all technical on you

I’m feeling a bit smug this evening.

Why? Oh, you know – I JUST WORKED OUT HOW TO USE A PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY.

Sorry. But this is kind of a big deal for me.

Despite being a fully trained broadcast journalist, technical stuff really isn’t my strong point. I’m OK with it once I’ve been shown how it works and which plug fits where. But I’m not, well, a natural.

So imagine my utter astonishment when I was asked if I’d like to review a MiFi on Three. I am the woman who once walked into a café and asked if they had free “wee-fee” afterall.

But never one to turn down a challenge, I readily accepted. They told me this MiFi thing was great for mums like me (busy ones I mean, not short-arse blondes with slight love handles and a penchant for Take That and wine). Apparently, the MiFi on Three would give me more time as I’d have access to the internet “on the go” and would be able to cram more things into my hectic life. It takes multi-tasking to a whole new level.

One MiFi on Three and one hand

Now, for all of you who are rolling your eyes right now and mouthing “she is so behind the times, why hasn’t she got an iPhone?” I take your point. I don’t have an iPhone. And this is something that reduces me to tears on an almost daily basis. It means I am stuck in the Stone Age of not having access to Twitter every second, or access to my blog, or access to my emails. These are all things I didn’t realise I would need to use so much 12 months ago when I was deciding which phone to have. Back then, I just needed my phone to be a phone.

But now I have a blog. And I have a freelance career in journalism. And I have a baby. These are all things which take up lots of time and don’t always complement each other. So the MiFi device was very attractive to me. “Oh, I’ll be like all those modern people and check my emails on the go” I thought.

I didn’t read the small print though. The MiFi on Three obviously doesn’t connect with dinosaur bricks phones like mine. You need a smart phone. So, for the last day I’ve been using the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine’s snazzy iPhone to test out the MiFi on Three.

And it’s really rather good.

The MiFi on Three instantly gives you mobile Wi-Fi, which can be connected up to five devices. This means if you have a phone without 3G technology, the MiFi corrects this problem. It also means you can use your laptop, phone, iPod touch (of course I don’t have an iPod touch – I don’t even have an iPhone) to the MiFi to make the most of the internet connection.

The device itself is around the same size as a small phone and is all soft and smooth, like a lovely pebble. If you don’t want to enjoy its pebble-like qualities in the palm of your hand all day you can pop it in your pocket – it’s light, so you’d hardly know it was there. The battery lasts around four hours before dying. This is just the right amount of time to pop off to the park, have a go on the swings, buy an icecream for your baby, get said icecream all over you, change a disgusting nappy, realise you’ve forgotten the baby wipes and deal with a huge tantrum from your icecream-soaked poo-covered child. All the while keeping on top of your emails and tweeting the latest poo incident to your followers. Perfect.

The downside to the MiFi on Three is that it’s dependent on 3G coverage (well it would be wouldn’t it?). This means that the internet connection is a “slow” broadband speed, not as fast as ADSL. The other thing is that if you have a smart phone with 3G technology already, you probably wouldn’t need the MiFi – unless you wanted to connect other devices to the internet too. There’s also little point having one if you’re just going to sit around at home all day, because if you’re lucky enough to be doing that you may as well just use your laptop with its super-fast broadband connection.

That said, I still think it’s a great device. I’m seriously considering getting a pay-as-you-go smart phone when my contract runs out and this could be a handy addition. The MiFi tots up your data allowance so you can keep track of your usage and avoid hefty, unplanned bills. Three also do a pay-as-you-go deal with the MiFi.

You can find out more about the MiFi and the On The Go Mums campaign here. (It’s worth clicking on that link just to get the time-saving tips and see the competitions they’ve got running. Just saying.)

I didn’t receive any payment for this review. I didn’t even receive the MiFi – I have to give it back tomorrow. Gutted.