Meet my pocket-size lifesaver — the NetZero 4G Hotspot. Under five ounces, and a little over three inches, this little guy hass a range of up to 150 feet (easily the length of my apartment), and can have up to eight devices connected to it at once. For me that entails: my laptop, iPhone, iPad, and Roku, plus all of Fashion Pulse fiancé’s techie items too. That also means that I can literally grab it and throw it in my bag when we go on vacation and I don’t have to worry about paying the hotel a premium for Internet service or scrambling to find the closest Starbucks so that I can get a few hours of work in while away.
As far as services go, it really varies on your needs; I am using the hotspot device with the Platinum service courtesy of NetZero, which gives you 4GB of data per month. I conferred with a NetZero sales rep, and that means that it should certainly cover me checking E-mail, surfing the web, watching videos and even playing games DAILY, plus the usage that I need working from home. If, by chance, I am literally glued to my Internet browser and run out of the data, NetZero will notify, but not charge me until I give the go-ahead for extra data that month, which ranges from 250MB for $6.95 -1GB for $19.95.
I’m also going to have my new hotspot pal with me during my New York Fashion Week adventures, which often require a tight turnaround with editing and posting. Luckily, the device gets up to six hours of battery life, so as long as I remember to charge my laptop, I will be in good shape! I’m also excited to use it at the airport, in the car (as a passenger, don’t worry!) and even while relaxing with a good e-book at the beach, iPad in one hand, cool beverage in the other.
If you plan on using the hotspot occasionally with not a high data need, you have five plans to choose from, which go from a free option of 200MBs per month to the aforementioned Platinum option at $49.95 per month — just remember you’ve got to still purchase the device (on sale right now for $49.95– down from $99.95, when you sign up for a plan). I will be using the device and Platinum service for the next 10 months, so stay tuned for a little tag at the bottom of some of my posts that have been written while using the ultra fast and convenient NetZero 4G Hotspot!
-Julia DiNardo
