Need 4G in your car for that addiction to Pandora or Apple Music? No worries, because where there’s a USB port, there is now a way.
This week, Telstra is launching a dongle designed specifically for cars, with a mobile USB dongle that can plug directly into the USB port found in a car, or even a 12 volt cigarette port with a USB converter.
Plugged in, this will switch the Telstra 4GX Car WiFi dongle on, connect it to the Telstra servers, and provide 4G mobile service over WiFi just like a wireless hotspot, which means your phone, tablet, or WiFi-capable car radio will be able to talk to a WiFi network that stays with you in your car.
In fact, up to five devices can jump onto the Telstra Car WiFi dongle, and the car doesn’t even have to be the only place it runs, with it plugged into a USB port or USB power converter making it useful in other places, too.
“With coverage across more than 2.4 million square kilometres of land, this product will help Aussies connect to the Telstra Mobile network in more places when they’re travelling,” said Nick Broomfield, General Manager of Emerging Mobile Devices at Telstra, adding that “because it moves so easily from car to home, it’s ideal for families, weekend adventurers and business travellers as well”.
We’re checking with Telstra to see if the Car WiFi dongle is dramatically different from its current 4GX Prepaid USB dongle which too supports up to five devices over WiFi.
If anything, it won’t be a huge change from people using one of the mobile hotspots with a screen, with the major differences being this doesn’t have a screen, a battery, and only has its power when the USB port is charged, such as when the car is switched on.
Pricing for the Telstra Prepaid 4G Car WiFi dongle comes in at $79, where it will come with 3GB data with a 30 day expiration.
The data on this device is prepaid, however, so if you need to top it up, you’ll need to do so when you want or need to with either a three day, one week, 30 day, year long, or two year passes, all of which are available from Telstra.
