Review: Huawei E1691 data stick from Mobilicity

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Mobilicity's Huawei E1691 data stick ($79.99) is targeted to mobile notebook users who need fast Internet access and who happen to live and work within Mobilicity's coverage area. A plug-and-play solution, that works with any Mac or PC computer with a free USB port.

Out of the box, the Huawei E1691 resemble a large USB thumbdrive and because it has a microSD port, it can handle up to 8GB of additional memory for storage. This is convenient and makes the Huawei E1691 doubly useful.

We plugged the Huawei E1691 into a MacBook Air as well as a Lenovo ThinkPad x100e and had to install the driver software that is contained in the stick. Installation was fast and set-up was straightforward enough for even inexperienced users.

The Mobilicity Connect application controls the connection, collect and presente data statistics as well as manage a phonebook application. We tested the Huawei E1691 in different spots in the downtown Toronto core and found that it worked almost flawlessly in most surface coffee shops, hotel lobbies and even pubs. it wasn't useful at the lower level of Metro Toronto Convention Centre and, unsurprisingly, had no signal whatsoever within the Rogers Centre and inside some of the buildings in the downtown core.

So, while Mobilicity's $40 unlimited data plan is attractive and does offer reasonably fast aaverage download speeds of 2.22 Mbps, you need to consider that once you're out of the coverage area there's no way to access the network. Mobilicity currently services slect sections of Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

For accessing websites, email and updating blog posts, the Huawei's E1691's speed was completely adequate. We did experience some lag and data drop-offs from time to time but this is common with most data sticks that we have tried.

It's affordable price and attractive data plan cost are make the Huawei E1691 data stick a good option for corporate users, road warriors and those who need internet access to city centres and the coverage areas.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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