Cradelpoint vs. the other 3G router you own

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1743

Many of you who now own a cradlepoint router, may have also owned one or more of some other brand of 3G router.

We get asked a lot about how the cradlepoints compare directly to the KR1, Linksys, TopGlobal... etc. etc -- but our opinions rarely count for much because we're the salespeople Shocked

If any of you are willing, please post to this thread and elaborate on the finer reasons why you think your new cradlepoint is superior to a past router that you've actually owned. thanks in advance!

firedude · EVDO Junkie Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 317

I'll take the risk of replying here...

I had a KR1 and was with Verizon. The KR1 performed well as a "basic" broadband router. I was happy with it at that point. Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to switch carriers and went with Sprint. Little did I know (I should have researched more) that the KR1 would not support my new Sprint U727.

I opted for the CTR350, BUT after doing my research a little better this time I finally went with the MBR-1000 and the of course the U727.

Comparison?
Cradle point hands down. Why? More features like the MIMO technology along with the draft N mode and many more. The MBR-1000 beat the KR1 hands down on range which I needed and has performed flawlessly for me.

Support....
The MBR-1000 as noted has a few small bugs to be worked out and I'm sure they will be, but nothing that has affected my experience yet. Cradle Point's customer service and support are way above any I've seen in as far as I've gotten personal replies to all my questions the same day and my recommendations/suggestions have been advisably taken under consideration unlike Kyocera lol. They almost hung up on me for Pete's sake! Rolling Eyes

KR1 and Kyocera/D-Link? I called the tech support one time and that's all it took for me lol. I had an issue and was told basically I was SOL and was treated very rudely. It only takes once for me. Step on my toes once shame on you, step on my toes twice you had better run and hide. Evil or Very Mad

Also the fact that Kyocera and D-Link discontinued support for a product that still sells as a new item was a downer for me. In my humble opinion as long as a manufacturer has a product on the open market they should support current market devices for that device. Just my humble opinion.

All being said I do feel the Cradle Point is a superior broadband router with some great features and great support from both the manufacturer and the reseller (3G Store). In my very humble opinion I feel a Cradle Point product is probably the best you'll do for a 3G router under current market devices. This post was not meant to be argumentative nor dso I wish to be cross examined lol. Alex asked for a view and I gave it. Smile

Tony

tz1 · Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:53 am Post subject:

The only reason I use the cradlepoint at the moment is its support for the UM-150, but that should change if they fix the firmware.

It loses configuration if the power is intermittent, and I've had trouble restoring the configuration (which is nasty when I'm mobile since it defaults to requiring passwords).

The worst part are the bounce pages. So if it has had a config hiccup, I will lose my browsing history since it will replace everything with a bounce page - even coming up is difficult since the browser and components check for updates and instead of getting the correct nothing, it gets a "your page is really the bounce page". I have a one-off beta firmware that fixes it (but has other instabilities).

The KR1 would reboot occasionally but it wouldn't lose its configuration. The CTR doesn't reboot, but is nearly unusable with bounce pages (when I switch coverage areas I get bounce pages - for things like pages which refresh every few minutes I will lose the page AND THE URL). The one-off - after I spend about 5 minutes reconfiguring it to turn bounce pages off after one of these power hiccups - is at least tolerable.

The KR1 was easy and simple to configure, the CTR is annoying. Part of this is their technoextravaganza javascript instead of plain HTML so that the pages rerender dozens of times (they must have gaming level pcs when they browse to those pages). So instead of clicking a checkbox and hitting submit, then a reboot or return, I'm running something which seems like Doom or Quake to completely reconfigure the browser page, check everything, maybe pop up a bunch of other boxes for whatever reason. I don't like the Nanny theory of configuration where you have to say please and thankyou for every change no matter how small. The KR1 doesn't have this, the Cradlepoint does.

Upon a configuration clear and login, it should have a screen that with the status asked "Newbie / Expert", and "Secure / Open" on a simple single page so I could switch to Expert (disabling the 20 layers of checking, bounce pages and other junk), and Open (so I don't have to try playing their Javascript scrabble game to gain access).

The KR1 uses plain HTTP authorization, so my browser works quite well with it including remembering the credentials.

It is like CradlePoint goes out of their way to make sure I can never be able to write a program or use a browser extension, much less the ordinary things like "remember username/password for this page".

And instead of letting it timeout, or using the normal, standard, interoperable HTTP "Page is unavailable" return codes which won't zap my history, cache, etc., they return a code saying their "Modem is out of service range" is the true and real cnn.com page. The KR1 doesn't do that.

The KR1 pages are plain HTML, not the self-reconfiguring javascript that must be rerendered for every checkbox change. And for all their programs, they aren't stupid enough to give you the page you asked for after you successfully login. The KR1 in the earliest firmware did. I'd ask for an admin page, it would present the login box, and I'd get the admin page. The Cradlepoint brings up the login page, insures there will never be any way I can store any password anywhere automatically, then takes me to the status page even if I wanted some other page.

All this javascript nonsense the CTR350 uses doesn't make it more user friendly, easier to use, or more secure, it just makes it annoying and in the case of destroying my cache and history it is practically malware. They could fix properly (WC3 standard HTTP unavailable errors with try again link) it but I doubt they will - leaving me with the choice between the bounce pages and timing out if I shut them off. The firewall at work does the proper thing, the code is simpler, so it can be done.

If I didn't have to completely manually reconfigure the Cradlepoint at least once every long drive because of the power problem and the bad config file problem, I might not mind it (though even navigating to the restore page can be a chore). I haven't changed how I configure it for two months (basically when I got the bounce page one-off). But there is the problem in that I would prefer lower power and longer battery life in the car or mobile, but the full Wifi range on AC, but to change it I have to go through the painful javascript arcade and play the game for a few minutes. So I don't bother setting it.

The KR1 has simple configuration and just works as it ought (giving me and my browser the option to remember the username and/or password), and reboots or lets my browser timeout if there is some problem which is what should be done.

Maybe after the next release I'll get a firmware or something so I can shut off the bounce pages, save configuration, and it won't lose its configuration if the power shuts off for a half-second (like when I start my car). Until then, if the KR1 supported my UM150 I would be using the KR1.

JoeCHecht · EVDO Junkie Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 240

mhtyler · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 124

Can I just add that my CTR 350 has serious cool factor. People come over, and I tell them I've got wireless, point to the router and say, see that? Thats it. They can't believe it.
_________________
Mostly Harmless

Michael · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:18 pm Post subject:

JoeCHecht · EVDO Junkie Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 240

JoeCHecht · EVDO Junkie Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 240

jackrodgers · EVDO Addict Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 1043

JoeCHecht · EVDO Junkie Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 240

tz1

It is a low voltage problem, but that is only part of it and at some point I have to turn it off and it has no power switch so I have to jiggle something to apply and remove power and sometime within that (or as it moves around on my car's seat) it can hiccup. If they had a debounced version (even beta) of the one with the internal battery I would get that, but I don't, and that is the worse problem and one I can't get around.

At least when it gets zapped, I can tell (the name resets and I don't reconnect). This way I can fix things so it won't pollute or confuse my browser or other tools with its bounce page garbage.

As I've said, I'd be running my KR1 if it supported my new EVDO unit.

gregh2000 · EVDO User Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 28

I used to have a Dlink dir-450 router before I got the Cradlepoint 350. I think the big improvement for me was the quick startup time and stability of the router. I bricked my first dlink by trying to upgrade the firmware so it would work with my px-500 card. I now have a Sierra 595u with Sprint as well. It is nice that you can power up the Cradlepoint and plug and unplug the aircard while the router is running. I have the router installed in my car with the power cord from the 3Gstore. It works great even when it was cold and cranking the car over I never had the config loss problems others have talked about.

It is also nice that you can plug it into a wired connection and share it over wifi. I was at a hotel for work and it didn't have wifi and evdo reception was very poor in my room so I used the router to share the hotel's wifi to my laptop. Works great.

Really I have no issues with the Cradlepoint except the supported hardware list could be bigger. However the list grows all the time, I am glad to see AT&T HSDPA devices are supported in the latest firmware. Gives another option from Sprint. Way better than the dlink, there were barely any cards that worked on that router.

khelben · EVDO Newbie Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 10

This is going to be a bit lengthy, so I apologize in advance.

Being a regular proponent of Linksys devices, when I went searching for an EVDO solution for mobile business I was pleased to see that Linksys offered the WRT54G3G-ST solution. So, I bought one. It arrived DOA, the PCMCIA slot would not power the card, evidently this is not a an uncommon occurrence. So I sent it back (at my expense) for replacement. I received the replacement product about a week later, and when attaching the WiFi antenna to the router housing the antenna literally disintegrated in my hand. The screw piece split and the metal insert on the antenna fell right out. Outraged, I contacted Linksys to see if they could send a replacement antenna so that I might regain some WiFi range and minimize downtime by not having to return yet a second device. After being bounced to several departments looking for a qualified technician, and eventually being told to contact customer service by hanging up and dialing a different number, I was told that they can't support my product because I bought it online. I almost exploded, right there in my chair. Instead I asked them to clarify, and the woman responded that they can only provide support if I bought the product from a store. I asked her if that means to assume that the send the inferior products to online retailers and the passable products to brick and mortar stores. She replied that there was no difference in the products they sent to either place. So I responded, "What would it matter if I bought the router online or on Mars then?" I didn't get an answer for that.

To make a long story shot I got no assistance and was left with a very bitter taste in my mouth from this once good company. Being a responsible consumer I immediately drafted a letter to the CEO of Cisco systems, Mr. John Chambers, to notify him of the goings on in his Linksys division.

A day or 2 later I got a hurried voicemail from Brian, a case manager at Cisco who was more than happy to help me in any way he could.

I informed him that I was currently holding my new Cradlepoint MBR-1000 that came that day and that his services were no longer required.

While I may have had a unique experience in the failure rate of the Linksys device, the sheer bliss I experienced when installing the MBR-1000 was ridiculous. I attached my U720, and plugged in the MBR1K, before I could connect the ethernet cable to my laptop the indicator light on the U720 was flashing as it was already connected to my service provider's network. The throughput speeds are great, no upload fixes or buggy firmware. Some of the nomenclature in the software config is a bit different, and I haven't seen a full fledged user manual for the device, but, pound for pound, this is an excellent device. And the mirror black finish gets bonus points.

tz1 · Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject:

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1743