Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile EVDO Rev.A Hotspot Announced

Verizon have officially launched their own personal internet gateway, the MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot.  First tipped back in March, the Verizon MiFi 2200 is based on Novatel's MiFi device and packs an EVDO Rev.A 3G connection into a battery powered WiFi b/g router.  That means users can share the mobile broadband hook-up with up to five WiFi devices at the same time.Video overview of the MiFi after the cut

According to Verizon, the MiFi 2200's rechargeable battery is good for up to 40 hours of standby or four hours of use.  It'll be an expensive way to get online, though; faced with the prospect of people dropping their 3G USB modem subscriptions in favor of a single MiFi 2200, Verizon will be charging $40 per month for 250MB of data, or $60 for 5GB.  Each subsequent MB is $0.05.

Alternatively, you can pay the unsubsidized price for the router and buy $15 "DayPass" access, which gives you one-off data usage for a single 24 hour period.  As for the MiFi 2200 itself, it's priced at $100 after a mail-in $50 rebate, and should be reaching Verizon shelves on May 17th.

We were hugely impressed by the Novatel MiFi units when we last saw them at ShowStoppers in April, though Verizon's pricing has put a dampener on our enthusiasm.  We're also a little more excited about the upcoming GSM HSDPA version, which will work in Europe and could be a must-have travel accessory.

Our review unit drops tomorrow, so feel free to drop us a line with questions or concerns might have.

[vms d3c3b8269faf0ba7491d]