Recently, we have presented the Vodafone LTE Carstick. And at CeBIT, we had the opportunity to look at the device in more details. The name “Carstick” is just the marketing name, the full name is “Vodafone Mobile Wi-Fi W5101” and of course the stick is again manufactured by Huawei. Apparently it is a customized version of the Huawei E8278 Hotspot stick.
LTE Cat 4 to 150 Mbit/s
The Carstick W5101 allows downloads at speeds of up to 150 megabits per second in the LTE network from Vodafone. These speeds are available but initially only in cities and in places with high traffic available; since the 150 Mbit/s can be realized only in the frequency band around 2600 MHz (Vodafone deployed this band in central areas). In much further developed LTE800 network, speeds up to about 70 Mbit/s are possible, realistic more than 50 Mbit/s should be expected.
Wi-Fi only limited
The Vodafone Carstick is a so-called hot spot stick, so you have the ability to connect multiple devices via Wi-Fi with the stick. Therefore, the Carstick W5101 is well suited for use in the car and the marketing with this application is quite reasonable. The full rate of 150 Mbit/s is available but only via the USB connection, since the performance of the WLAN module is limited. Since most users are probably not going to use such high speeds anyway, this limitation should have few notice.
First impression & Fittings
Both the W5101 Stick and the included USB adapter for the car make a good impression. Fortunately, the USB port is also provided with this stick, so that the unit can be placed as inconspicuously as possible in the car. On the side two connectors for external antennas are installed, which are protected by flaps. Under the cover you can insert on request, a memory card next to the SIM card, the data is then available to all registered users on the stick, provided that an appropriate share of the access is done.
From the spring of 2014 in the commercial
The Vodafone LTE Carstick W5101 will be available in a few weeks in the color black on 4gltemall.com . A price has not yet been released Vodafone at CeBIT.
