On Sept. 11, AT&T will release the ZTE Mobley, which is the company’s first plug-and-play Wi-Fi hotspot that works with your car.
AT&T’s ZTE Mobley
Most cars nowadays don’t really have immediate access to the internet, and drivers certainly do not need another form of distraction while they’re driving. But if you’re someone with a family, or someone who is frequently on the go, then you have probably found yourself in a position where you wished you could just give someone a tablet with Wi-Fi in an effort to get some peace and quiet.
SEE ALSO: T-MOBILE TO WAGE WAR ON UNLIMITED DATA ‘THIEVES’
AT&T has partnered with ZTE to bring a device that will offer 4G LTE high-speed internet for up to five mobile devices. It’s powered by a Qualcomm MDM9215 processor, and will plug directly into the vehicle’s diagnostic (OBD II) port. That means that most cars (1996 and newer) should be able to run the device.
HOW IT WORKS
When you plug in AT&T’s new hotspot device, it will turn itself on and off in relation to the vehicle’s ignition and engine. In other words, it starts and stops with your vehicle, so you’ll never run the risk of finding someone parked outside your car trying to grab some free Wi-Fi. According to CNET, AT&T states that the device doesn’t conduct any type of shady remote vehicle monitoring, although that certainly doesn’t mean we won’t see a headline about it a few months from now.
AVAILABILITY OF ZTE Mobley
Now for the good stuff: how much is this going to cost you? Well, not surprisingly, it’s pretty expensive. And AT&T isn’t even offering enough data to allow you to use your mobile device outside of light browsing for an entire month.
AT&T customers can grab one of these devices for free if they sign a two-year service agreement, but otherwise, it will cost $100. Now get this: $20 only gets you 1GB of data, though 3GB can be purchased for $30. If you have a family share plan, then you can add the device to the shared data pool for an extra $10, and that’s probably what families will want to do since 1GB probably won’t get you through a full trip.
While it’s cool to see a company like AT&T offering a device like this, simply adding a tethering feature to your plan when you need to make a trip will be much cheaper in the long run.
