I never knew I needed a mobile hotspot.

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Sprint. I received a mobile hotspot product sample to facilitate my review.

I really never did know I needed a mobile hotspot…until I had one.  Holy moly, I’d like to know why I didn’t do this sooner!  Having wi-fi wherever I go means I can get work done on the fly…and I’m on MY network, not a public or borrowed one, so I can feel more secure in using it.  Just yesterday, I was at the airport waiting (and waiting…waiting some more) for a delayed flight update and I sat down to work on a few posts- I had time, I had no kids to be with…why not, right? I turned on my NETGEAR Zing Mobile Hotspot that Sprint sent and once again was thanking my lucky stars that I have my own hotspot now.

Within 10 seconds I had my own wi-fi, wasn’t on the airport wi-fi with I don’t know how many others (no one was leaving who was supposed to be travelling to Cleveland, Washington DC or Chicago anytime soon, so there were many people in my situation) and I didn’t have to share bandwidth or airtime…just little old me on the floor by the outlet I found.   I had no worries about my security because I know that this device is equipped with the latest wireless encryption technology.  (Yes, this is the airport floor.  I’ll be disinfecting the pants I wore before they are worn again, rest assured!)

Having a mobile hotspot has been helpful in other avenues of life besides being a blogger. We were able to use my laptop in a meeting with the kids to be able to do some quick research for a Girl Scout meeting, something I couldn’t do with just my phone- simply not feasible with 18 kids and 3 adults.  Having the ability to set up my laptop and let the girls or leaders be able to look things up or search on my laptop has been and will continue to be a huge help.  We’re going to be talking about internet safety later this year and I absolutely will be using a hotspot for this (our school doesn’t have wi-fi accessible for non staff and we meet in the school) so the kids can actually be ON the internet and see what we’re talking about during the meetings when we discuss.

Of course, I can also use the hotspot for fun things like shopping, checking Facebook or Pinterest, or (truth be told) checking Pinterest, getting ideas, and ordering supplies right then and there….. and I can set up evites, chat with friends, even Skype with family and friends who aren’t close by.  All with the security of having it be my own hotspot, no one else’s. We’ve been using the hotspot (me, and fellow dance/gymnastics parents) to look things up and plan things.  Fun stuff. Not just work-y stuff.  It’s been grand.

Do you have a mobile hotspot?  Have you considered one if you don’t?