Customer Reviews

R206 Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot + SIM with Preloaded 2x1GB Data. Connect your Kindle Fire Tablet to the Internet on the Go

I tried this out. Got no signal, could not connect. Signal rubbish. Money wasted. Only chose 1 star as there isn't a zero star.

Living in a rural area, broadband isn't really an option, as a carrier pigeon would be faster. So, as I'm fed up with having to take my Kindle with me when I go out at lunchtime / weekends, this was a good option. Ok - I admit it's not as easy as it looks to set up - as I'm using this with my Kindle 4, I had to get it linked to my main PC, which was surprisingly fast, and then get a datapack linked to my device.

Then the fun started. It turns out that you have to register with Vodafone to get the device set up, as well as buying the datapack. That's ok, but the directions for getting the datapack on the web were less than clear, so thankfully a friend was able to assist with that. If you ignore that gripe, this is a good system - and a darn sight cheaper than using other options. �10 per month gets me 1GB of data - more than enough for what I want to do.

So, in essence, provided that Vodafone has a good signal where you are, I would certainly consider this little device - just make sure that you can get help getting the first datapack onto your account!

The device is compact and light. It can be charged via USB direct to computer or via the included wall charger plug.

I charged it for the recommended 3 hours, but on unplugging it and beginning to use it, instantly the level on the device dropped to 90% battery charge.

The device has a claimed 4 hours battery life.

There were a few hiccups in getting the thing set up. A call to Vodafone customer care revealed that they had done a software update on the website but that the thing should resolve by next week or so. In any case, with the assistant's help, I got the device set up and working.

The manual was good enough but small print. Tells you most of what you need to know. You can plug the device into your computer to view the status of the device, but in order to use the device, you have to create an account on the Vodafone site, where you can add or view your credit, and other key information.

As this was a promo review device, I had received it with some credit already applied to the included SIM card, to the value of �40.00 which, it turns out, equals 4GB of data for internet use so I can use this device on the go for the next 4 months. �10.00 a month is quite pricey I think, but if you are regularly on the move this might suit you. Most people have internet on their phones; I do, 2GB per month which I don't come anywhere near close to using, plus the reception (Virgin) is patchy and seldom affords a decent performance. On the other hand, this device uses the superior Vodafone network, and in my house and out and about, it performed well, even allowing me to watch Youtube videos.

I traveled from N. Ireland (UK) down to the Republic of Ireland to try it out, but sadly it doesn't work without putting more money on it - you need to buy credit at a whopping �8.00 for 24 hours use. What a rip-off. We should see the day when the operators stop exploiting consumers and allow European customers to roam freely with the credit they already have, but obviously this won't happen because there is too much money to be made from 'roaming'.

All in all, if you need a reliable mobile internet connection for your laptop, tablet, or reader, this is good, but if you already have a smartphone with mobile internet included, perhaps you don't need this, since you can access internet on that device.

There is an app you can download from Google Play free which allows you to check the status of the wifi hub on your Android phone.

As I live in an area without broadband, I needed to a way to get a conection, friends had a similar device from 3 and it worked fine, as 3 doesn`t work here but Vodafone does I thought I`ll get it.

Despite getting a strong signal, I was unable to register, so I went to an area with 3g and guess what? still no luck, either the site is down for maintenance or I still can`t register the device.

�40 wasted, don`t buy this!

After 3 weeks still unused because of awful customer service from Vodafone. Spent several hours on phone and despite promises to help and call backs that did not happen I am still no further on. Why do they make it so difficult? Amazon should not recommend this for use with kindle fire. My advice is do not buy.

This is a neat little product. The description says it's for kindle fire's but really any gadget that is able to use wi-fi to get on the internet can make use of this. It supports up to 5 devices so handy if there a few friends with internet needs and no way to hook up to a router.

I can think of lots of uses for this and really there are probably lots more where it would be a benefit. Camping, traveling, hotels with expensive wi-fi even when you change provider and have a standard two week wait for transfer. It's very easy to charge up and use with the pre-loaded airtime. Handy thing to have for when you're out and about but I imagine it could get expensive to use as a main supply as it's 1GB (or whatever you load at a later time) or 1 month's time whichever runs out first. If you're internet usage is high you might be loading it up quite a lot and over time it might work out cheaper to just buy a new unit with the loaded time.

It's a great small and portable way of taking the internet with you when you're in situations where wi-fi isn't easy or practical to reach.

Went for this one as it stated 2 x 1gb of data but was actually 2 gb so wasted all data setting up thinking I could use 2nd gb on holiday later. Could have bought much cheaper without data.

Product description is a bit misleading. Yes, you can get connected easily enough but if your using a Kindle Fire there is no app available to manage the device. You need to register with Vodaphone so that you can use the device properly so you have to phone Vodaphone Customer Services to get started. So, not as simple as is seems but seems to work okay once it's going

it connects to the hardware easly but registering and getting it to connect to the vodafone network was hell on earth.. it says its easy to get it started but believe me its not. your best bet is to phone vodafone and get them to do it. thats what i had to do in the end. it was a nightmare. but after it was set up. its easy to connect to. only problem is now i have to phone vodafone each time to get them to apply the credit that it came with..

I received this with a pre-loaded SIM card (worth �40). Set-up was easy, until I came to use it.

The problem was that I didn't realise that I had to call Vodafone to tell them how to apply the �40 - I had mistakenly thought that it would just be taken in 1GByte chunks at �10 a pop...

However, their customer service was very helpful and sorted out everything for me. Five mins later, all was working.

Once in use, the performance is fine so long as you have a good 3G signal (about 3Mbit/s download speed achieved). Even over GPRS it is usable, but don't expect great performance (about 0.2Mbit/s achieved).

Basically, for use when out on the road or in some hotels with poor / expensive WiFi this is a good solution.

Recommended you're out and about a lot (or have a tablet that is WiFi only and doesn't have a SIM card built in).