Huawei E169

The E169 (aka Vodafone Modem Stick (UK) or Vodafone K3520) is Huawei's follow up to the highly successful E220 mobile broadband modem. The E169 is a mid-tier device, key features of the stick-style dongle include:

• Download speeds of 7.2Mbps
• Receive diversity (twin antennas) to provide improvements in speed and performance, especially in areas of poorer coverage
• MicroSD card slot allowing the device to be used as a USB pen drive (4GB maximum card size)
• Antenna connector to allow an external antenna to be used in areas of fringe coverage
• Dual band support, allowing the device to take advantage of future mobile broadband networks running at 900Mhz

The E169 is a vast improvement on the entry level devices, such as the E156, E160 and the older E220. However the E169 does not and will never support HSUPA (for higher upload speeds and lower latency) - sported by higher spec devices such as the E170 and the Option Icon 431. If you're looking to purchase a mobile broadband modem investigate the price of these higher specification devices first - the difference may be minimal and well worth the upgrade.