The Cell Phone Junkie

Walking the trade show floor all day at CES, staying connected is one of the most important things on a tech blogger’s mind. Sure, the 3G/4G connection in your smartphone is great, but what if your network is overloaded, and you’re without a plan B? This situation happened to me during CES 2011, where my iPhone 4 on AT&T was little more than a paperweight through most of Las Vegas. As it turns out, not only are there a lot of people using the AT&T’s network as subscribers here in the states, but with all the international attendees pushing their GSM roaming traffic through them as well, the network could not keep up with the demand. So this year, I’m taking the situation into my own hands, and have a homemade portable extended-life hotspot that I’ll have with me at all times. Now before you say “couldn’t you get the same results with a MiFi with multiple batteries”, the answer is yes, but I think my solution is more useful. It has the flexibility to work under a variety of circumstances, and many of the pieces to the solution are useful apart from this configuration, and will be used for 2 or 3 different duties during the week. So as we dive into CES week, here’s an in-depth look at how Joey and I plan to stay connected at CES 2012.

Hardware involved

• CradlePoint PHS300 Personal Hotspot – $40 on Amazon
• 3 – ZAGGsparq 2.0 – $50 on Amazon
• Verizon LG VL600 4G LTE Modem – $40 on Amazon
• USB DC Power Cable – Z4 with optional plug-tip with 5.5×2.5mm Connector G4 – $10 on bixnet
• 6” USB 2.0 patch cable – $3 on Sewell
• Neoprene case with front pockets – $15 on eBay

Connection

I’ve been using the Verizon LG VL600 4G LTE modem since late summer, and am constantly impressed with Verizon’s solid LTE connection and great coverage. Last year during CES, I had along the same LG VL600 modem, but at the time, only Windows drivers were available, and I used it only in the hotel for file uploads. Initial speeds that were in the 30Mbps download range have settled down a bit, but I generally see 10+Mbps on the down side, and 3-5Mbps on the up. For my purposes, this is plenty fast for checking email, reading news feeds, and posting website content.

As a backup, I also have my Verizon BlackBerry Curve 8330 with Modem Mode Enabled. This serves as a good backup when the LTE stick is unavailable.

CradlePoint PHS300

I’ve mentioned my interest in CradlePoint products many times, as they offer a great way to share an existing 3G/4G connection with up to 32 devices. Though support for CradlePoint devices was not available at launch, a few months after the release of LTE USB modems, Mac drivers became available, and CradlePont support arrived. Using the modem in conjunction with the CradlePoint PHS300 is my ultimate mobile setup. The CradlePoint allows me the flexibility to plug in nearly any USB modem, or many different types of smartphones that allow tethering. Both the VL600 and the Curve 8330 I mentioned below are supported, so I have two choices for the connection.

Use is very simple, just plug in the device to the USB connection, and use either the battery, or a wall plug to power the unit. Battery life on the 1800mAh replaceable battery is limited to about 2 hours, so plan ahead.

ZAGGsparq 2.0

The ZAGGsparq 2.0 comes in for our power needs. With 6,000 mAh of juice, the ZAGGsparq allows for charging via a 1 or 2.1 Amp USB connection. The AC adapter for the CradlePoint puts out 2.5 Amps, but the 2.1 Amps on the ZAGGsparq works just fine in our setup. Thanks to ZAGG, I have 3 of these units, which should help me easily get through the 18 hour days with this setup and the power on to the CradlePoint constantly. I’m thinking the stress on the LTE network and the general use that we’re expecting to get out of the modem should have each one last about 6 hours. See below for more about my initial tests.

Z4 DC Power Cable with G4 5.5×2.5mm tip

One of the hardest things to find in the setup was a way to connect the CradePoint to the ZAGGsparq. The connection is a 5.5×2.5mm tip, which is not as easy to find as I would have expected. Through quite a bit of searching (and one failed “that might work” Amazon order), I found the correct cable with changeable tip through bixnet. $10 later, I was in business.

USB Patch Cable

A simple patch cable used to get the LTE stick away from the CradlePoint.

Putting it all together

Now that I have the CradlePoint, ZAGGsparq, USB modem, Z4 power cable and USB patch cable, the Neoprene iPad case with pockets comes into play. This is a lot of stuff to carry around all day, but put it all in a case, and it becomes a lot more manageable. The case I found has 2 pockets on the front, which allows me to put the CradlePoint in one side, and the LTE stick and ZAGGsparq in the other. I used the Z4 power cable and the USB patch cable to connect the 2 sides through small holes I cut in the corner of each pocket. Plug it all together, flip the CradlePoint on, and you’ve got yourself a charging, powered extended-life hotspot.

Real world use

While the setup sounds good in theory, how does it work in the real world? Hopefully, pretty well! My initial control tests for battery life saw a combination up-time for a fully charged internal CradlePoint and ZAGG battery at 10 hours and 21 minutes. While the Mediaroom WiFi at CES can’t be beat for overall speed, when on the show floor, in the hotel and just generally around Las Vegas, having my mobile hotspot with over 10 hours of battery life should allow use of a functional iPhone, iPad or Laptop anywhere we go. More to come throughout the week with this setup.

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