Vodafone Launch LTE Category 4 Stick

Vodafone offers LTE network now speeds up to 150 megabits per second (LTE Category 4). The speeds are initially available in the cities of Dusseldorf, Munich, Dortmund and Dresden, but are offered in the coming weeks in other cities. It is important to note that the 150 Mbit/s can be achieved only through LTE2600, in the well-developed network LTE800 only about 50 Mbit/s are possible. The smartphone tariffs and data tariff through Vodafone Mobile Internet Flat 50.0 can use the higher speed at no extra charge.  

The hardware for Vodafone is from Chinese manufacturer Huawei. As the first smartphone with LTE Category 4 is the Huawei Ascend P2 in the Vodafone shops, the first USB surf stick with LTE Category 4 is the Vodafone K5150H, which is also manufactured by Huawei. Might come in the next few weeks to other smart phones and modems, it is speculated, that the iPhone 5S (or whatever it is called) already support LTE Category 4.

Many of the customers may of course ask the meaning of 150 Mbit/s whom you look at the availability and the rates. My opinion: on the one hand, it is for Vodafone a great marketing tool for some users, it is certainly important to be able, at least theoretically reach 150 Mbit/s. On the other hand, the total capacity will be increased so that more people get good data rates simultaneously. And since I see the true sense: in places where currently LTE2600 is used, is expected anyway with a heavy load of networks.  

In the coming days and weeks, the Huawei E3276 4G LTE Category 4 Surfstick will come available, and we will take a few tests on the Vodafone 4G network, so that data rates are achievable in reality. And we will have a clear review about the 4G LTE Category 4 network from Vodafone.

ZTE MF822 4G Modem VS ZTE MF823 4G Aircard

Since more and more people are using 4G network for their home or office, they improve the communication efficiency through high network connection speed. As one of the important telecom equipment sipplier, ZTE had releases many 4G Aircards for various operators. And more and more people know ZTE and ZTE 4G modems.    

ZTE MF822 and MF823 are two of the hot 4G dongles. ZTE MF823 is the world's slimmest 4G USB dongle. Due to the compacity requirement, the inner part of a 4G modem usually contains more contents so as to fulfill more functions and high demand for network. This feature makes 4G dongle in bigger body than 3G modems. ZTE optimized this feature and let MF823 in slim size, actually, some predecessor model of ZTE MF823 is also very big, many users feedback they don't like the big body..

 

ZTE MF823 4G USB Stick is now available for O2 contract, the O2 LTE USB 4G could support 4G LTE FDD bands 3/7/8/20 (800/900/1800/2600MHz), which is for Germany 4G network. However, the unlocked ZTE MF823 would in other European countries, such France, Portugal, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands and Finland. Most of the 4G network frequency bands are similar, which makes the roam of ZTE MF823 come true. What's more, ZTE Mf823 could work with most 4G operators in Asia and Middle East.    

By the way, unlike the first generation 4G dongle from ZTE, MF823 is in compact USB design, the USB can't rotate. The other model ZTE MF822 is one special one, it's a 4G USB Modem for North America. It could support 4G LTE frequency band 4 and band 7 (1700/2100/2600MHz), which is mostly deployed in Canada and USA. ZTE MF822 is already available for Canada operator "Rogers". To work with Rogers, the FCC certificate is necessary for the device. As we know, ZTE MF822 is the only model that combines 4G band 4 and band 7. So unlocked ZTE MF822 could work in Canada and also roam to work with some operators in USA. Frankly speaking, ZTE MF822 could also work with the operators in Asia and Europe who provider the LTE band 7. So MF822 is also powerful in the compatibility with global operators.

   

ZTE MF823 and MF822 are not brother models, but they are both LTE category 3 USB modem. They both support the peak download speed up to 100Mbps and upload speed up to 50Mbps. The speeds are amazing for the user to trip or surf outdoor, if you want unlock MF823 or MF822, welcome to visit http://www.4gltemall.com/4g-usb-modem/zte-4g-lte-modem.html .    

Unlocked Telstra USB 4G (ZTE MF821) 4G USB Modem Review

Today, we get a new 4G LTE USB datacard, the 4G aircard model number is ZTE MF821. The 4G modem is packed well in a box, there is the operator's logo "Telstra USB 4G" on the front box, and the information is telling user this 4G USB modem. The ZTE MF821 is already unlocked by our group, so users don’t need worry about the lock issue.  

 

At the side of the box, we can see that LTE Frequency bands that ZTE MF821 could work with. The specification indicates MF821 could support FDD LTE 1800/2600Mhz, but per our information from the manufacturer ZTE, the modem MF821 4G aircard could support band 1, band 3 and band 7(1800/2100/2600MHz), we suppose this band is not activated because the operator Telstra is not providing the LTE band 1 (2100MHz).  

   

 

And the 3G DC-HSPA+ Tri-band (850/1900/2100) is backward compatible. Under the 4G LTE network, user could enjoy high speed up to 10Mbps. Even on 3G network, ZTE MF821 could reach speed to 42Mbps.  

 

   

 

Open the package, we can see the 4G dongle ZTE MF821. There is a logo of "4G" and "T", which means Telstra 4G. On the side, we can see two small icon of signal; they are two hidden connectors for external antennas. This feature is important for 4G data transmission, and it lets MF821 different from MF820 or MF820T. On the other side, there is no slot.  

 

   

 

The USB of ZTE MF821 is rotatable for 180 degree, user could hide the USB in the body of MF821. User need open the back over and find the SIM card slot. On the SIM slot, we can see the model number, IMEI number, place of origin (Made in China) and manufacturer ZTE Corporation. And close to the SIM card slot, there is a slot for MicroSD memory card. The MF821 could support maximum 32GB SD memory card.  

 

   

 

 

Comparing with other ZTE 4G Aircard, such MF880 or MF820D, ZTE MF821 is really very slim, the size of MF821 is as big as a 3G datacard.  So if a user prefer a small size USB dongle, ZTE MF821 is a good option and without any contract. But before purchase, user should concern about the 4G frequency band  compatibility, if you want a 4G Aircard for FDD band 20 (800MHz) or TDD band 38 (2300MHz), or any other bands that are not same as MF821 supporting, you may need check other model and choose the right one. You can check here more 4G Aircard for various LTE frequency bands:   http://www.4gltemall.com/ue-by-spectrum.html             

ZTE MF820T TD-LTE Modem VS ZTE MF820D FDD-LTE Modem

Most of ZTE 4G modems looks the same, and the first generation of ZTE 4G Dongles are all using same appearance design, so it becomes much harder to identify them. No wonder what the difference between them is. We open the blog especially for clear out the similar 4G devices and let users know more about the details of the LTE modems they had used.    

ZTE MF820T and ZTE MF820D are two similar 4G LTE sticks for first generation ZTE 4G USB modems. Most of the modems, appearance similar or not, their difference are mainly on the core part, that is the platform chipset, which decides what LTE frequency bands that could support and where they can be used.

 

ZTE MF820T is based on Qualcomm MDM9600 chipset, it could work TD-LTE bands 38 and band 40 (2300/2600MHz). ZTE MF820D is based on Qualcomm MDM9200 chipset, it would support FDD LTE band 3, 7 and 20 (800/1800/2600MHz). Unlike ZTE MF880, they can only work on single TD-LTE network or FDD network, MF880 would support LTE dual-mode (TDD&FDD).    

As the typical features of ZTE first generation 4G USB stick, there is no external antenna connector in the dongle, so the LTE MIMO transmission can't make true. But there is built-in antenna which is still reliable to connect network in high speed.

 

What's more, there is no MicroSD card slot available in MF820T and MF820D. We suppose they are not for single user, it's more like designed for large data in project test or other research terms. However, the 4G aircard may be more reliable when there is no SD card sharing function. According to the experience in 3G modems, SD card usually causes the application of wireless dongle in trouble.    

And we can see the big body of the 4G modem ZTE MF820D and MF820T is not user-friendly. It's almost twice bigger than ZTE 3G modems. We hope there will be some smarter or slimmer models available in near future, and this will not only need the improvement in the design for inner part, but also the function more powerful.