Difference between ZTE MF831 and MF823

ZTE MF831 is the new 4G LTE Wireless modem which supports TDD & FDD networks. It’s a LTE Category 4 Internet USB Stick, which support peak download speed up to 150Mbps on FDD network and upload speed to 50Mbps. Since we had introduced the predecessor ZTE MF823 USB Stick, what’s the difference between the two sticks? Today, we will have a look at the difference between them.

Model

ZTE MF831

ZTE MF823

Form Type 4G Datacard 4G Datacard
Brand ZTE ZTE
Category LTE Cat4 LTE Cat3
Network Technology 4G TD-LTE/FDD-LTE/UMTS/DC-HSPA+/EGPRS/GSM 4G FDD-LTE/UMTS/DC-HSPA+/EGPRS/GSM
Frequency Bands LTE-FDD 800(B20)/900(B8)/1800(B3)/2600(B7)/2100MHz
LTE TDD 2600(B38) OR 2300M(B40)
LTE-FDD: 800/900/1800/2600MHz
UMTS 900/2100MHz UMTS 900/2100MHz
GPRS/GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz GPRS/GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Data Rates LTE Peak Download Speed to 150Mbps
LTE Upload Speed to 50Mbps
LTE Peak Download Speed to 100Mbps
LTE Upload Speed to 50Mbps
DC-HSPA+ DL Speed to 42Mbps, UL Speed to 11Mbps DC-HSPA+ DL Speed to 42Mbps, UL Speed to 5.76Mbps
MIMO Yes Yes
Interface USB USB
Antenna Built-in Antenna Built-in Antenna, Two external Antenna Connectors
Storage SD card MicroSD card expandable to 32GB MicroSD card expandable to 32GB
SMS ? YES
Supported OS Win7, Windows XP, Vista, Win8, Mac OS Win8,Win7,Vista,Windows XP,Mac OS
Online Upgrade Yes Yes
Dimension 90×28.4×13mm 90×28.4×13mm

 

From the blank, we can see ZTE MF831 and MF823 are in the same dimension. ZTE MF831 is the upgraded version of ZTE MF823. MF831 is LTE Category 4 Stick which supports peak download speed to 150mbps, and it’s first ZTE LTE Cat4 Stick. With the support TDD network, ZTE MF831 could work well with more network providers. It supports more LTE Bands than MF823, and data rate speed is almost 1.5 times than MF823.

 

They are both compatible with 3G UMTS 900/2100MHz networks; with DC-HSPA+ technology, they could reach peak download speed to 42mbps. When LTE networks are not available, they would automatically switch to UMTS network to get the reliable network with fastest speed. But ZTE MF831 support upload speed to 11Mbps while MF823 supports 5.76Mbps.

 

However, it seems there is no external antenna connector in MF831, while MF823 has two external antenna connectors which will be more useful for MIMO connection. They both support microSD storage card expandable to 32GB. And they can both works with the latest operation system: Win7, Windows XP, Vista, Win8, Mac OS etc..

 

So ZTE MF831 is better with upgraded function, but if you want the 4G datacard with antenna connector, MF823 seems to be the right model.

 

 

Huawei Honor 6 LTE Cat6 Smartphone Test

Following the release of Octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 920 chipset, Huawei Honor then debut the world’s first new Category 6 4G LTE Smartphone based on this platform. The model number is Huawei Honor 6. The main core A15 and A7 will help this new phone improve the performance obviously. As the successor of the 4G technology, Huawei Honor 6 brings the new LTE Cat6 Standard, the theoretical downstream speed could reach up to 300Mbps, and the total configuration of honor 6 is better than any models ever. So what’s the real performance of this new phone and what it means to Huawei, let’s have a test of the new smartphone.

Octa-core up to 300Mbps Peak Speed

 

Huawei Honor 6 has a 5 inch screen and is based on the Hisilicon Kirin 920 processor; the CPU of Honor 6 has two parts in the form of big.LITTLE, one is qual-core A12 and the other is qual-core A7. The GPU has 3GB RAM based on ARM Mali-T628 qual-core.

Like other mobile phones, Huawei Honor 6 has two cameras, rear camera is 13 mega pixels with Huawei own smart engine, and front camera is 5 mega pixels. With the support of Huawei 4G modem, Honor 6 could reach peak download speed up to 300mbps theoretically, which is the double speed of LTE Cat4 downstream, and 14 times of 3G HSPA+ link speed.

Main Specifications of Huawei Honor 6

Huawei Honor 6

Screen Resolution

1920 x 1080 pixels

4G Network

TD-LTE,FDD-LTE

3G Network

China Unicom Version: 3G(WCDMA), 2G(GSM)China Mobile Version: 3G TD-SCDMA, 2G

Supported Frequency

2G:GSM 850/900/1800/1900
3G:WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz3G:  TD-SCDMA 1900/2100MHz

Operation System

Android OS 4.4

CPU

Hisilicon Kirin 920

RAM

3GB

ROM

16GB/32GB

Camera

Rear 13 Mega Pixels/ Front 500 Mega Pixels

 

 

7.5 mm Thickness and 5 inch 1080 Screen

 

Huawei Honor 6 has a 5 inch screen from JDI, from the configuration; we can see honor 6 is the flagship of honor series smartphones, so the resolution reaches 1080p. The whole screen occupies the 75.7% space of the front body with 2.86 mm super narrow side. The screen is protected by the Gorilla Glass3 from Corning.

The inserted button follow the tradition of Huawei Honor series style, which can save the body size and increase the screen occupy rate to some extent.

 

3D flare texture and Diamond composite texture

 

The back of Honor 6 adopts the design of 3D flare texture and Diamond composite texture. The whole back of honor 6 is with good touch feel like glass, just like the Huawei Ascend P7. The main camera on the back is 13 mega pixels with two LED flash, which seems not to improve double color temperature and just for flash lightness.  There is also loudspeaker and logo on the back, the position is very similar to Ascend P7.

 

The three quarter of honor 6 is covered by metal in silver color and many buttons are listed in the metal side. On the top side, there is infrared transmitter, which is used for remote control of home electronics and reduces the noise from microphone. On the right side in middle, there are two Micro-SIM card slots and one SD card slot. User need open the tip and plug Sim card and then use the phone.

Considering the power consumption of Qual-core A15, Huawei Honor 6 has inserted battery of 3100mAh, which is under the back cover. The dimension of 139.6 x 69.7 x 7.5 mm is good for user to take in one hand.

 

Dynamic screen lock and Emotiion UI 2.3

Honor 6 combines the Android 4.4 and Emotion UI 2.3 operation system, which makes the Honor brand younger and simple design is more popular in young users.

Honor 6 adopt the dynamic lock screen, which will update the status from blog, news on the screen without unlock the screen. User could customize the information they are interested in and get update freely. In addition, the lock screen has a shortcut menu like iOS 7, which help use to easily open the calculator, calendar, and flashlight etc..

 

Honor 6 also provides own mobile phone manager and power saving management, the former is for the apps with large power consumption, files clearance and Harassment interception; the latter is to save power with multiple solution. The basic logic is to adjust the CPU or close the GPS and network connection etc..

With the infrared remote controller, Huawei Honor 6 can control Huawei wireless routers and air conditioner or TV in other brands, the supported equipments are the common well-known.

 

Hisilicon Kirin 920 Video and Game Compatibility Test

Huawei Hisilicon has always the compatibility problem for long time based on Vivante GC CPU. Now the Kirin 920 has improved the performance and with Qual-core Mali-T628 GPU, the compatibility problem will disappear then. Now we will take tests on the Video and Game compatibility.

In the Video, only RMVB can’t be supported well and no voice comes out on MKV, other 1080p video can play smoothly without delay.

In the game test, we run the game “Need for Speed 17”, “Asphalt 8”, “Modern warfare 4” and they all works smoothly. The GPU will not be a problem for Huawei Honor 6.

Big.LITTLE Structure and Kirin 920

 

As the typical models of processor made-by-China, Huawei Hisilicon Kirin 920 is the new star with Octa-core. Kirin 920 is produced based on 28 nm technology and octa-core big.LITTLE structure, including Qual-core Cortex-A15 and Qual-core Cortex-A7. The main frequency of A15 could reach 2GHz. The two cores could work simultaneously and GPU is Mali-T628MP4.

 

Kirin 920 has inserted co-processor named i3, so it can run in low power consumption. And ISP is also made by Huawei, which can reduce the noise and supports video decode 4K H.265, but 4K is not supported.

In the telecommunication, Kirin 920 dominates the Huawei LTE Advanced module, supporting LTE Cat6 standard, and supporting TD-LTE/LTE FDD/TS-SCDMA/WCDMA/GSM five network modes. And it also support SGLTE/CSFB and VoLTE 4G voice call etc.

 

Below are the test screen shot for Kirin 920:

 

CPU-Z:

 

AnTuTu Test:

3D Mark Test:

Vellamo Test:

Kirin 920 Octa-core working:

 

 

From the debut of Honor 6, the key point is on the Kirin 920 platform. And from the test, we can see Kirin 920 is much better then predecessor K3V2 not only on the performance but also the functions. So we can conclude Huawei Honor 6 is on the top series smartphones with improved performance and compatibility ability.

 

Vodafone R210 Mini LTE Router

The Mini LTE Hotspot Vodafone R210 Mobile Wi-Fi Router can be seen everywhere stationary or mobile use. You can use the R210 Mini hotspot at home as a DSL alternative for multiple devices. The R210 Mobile Wi-Fi LTE Router has integrated a powerful battery. So you can use the R210 Mini mobile hotspot on the road to access internet through smartphone, laptop or tablet via WLAN. The R210 Pocket router is ideal for business trips or holidays.

Vodafone R210 MiFi Specifications:

 

* No SIM lock or Netlock (Unlocked)

* Manufacturer: Huawei (identical for the Huawei E589u-12)

* Supported network standards:

– 4G: LTE800, LTE1800, LTE2600 to up to 100 Mbit/s

– 3G: UMTS Broadband, with DC-HSPA+ 900/2100 MHz up to 43.2 Mbit/s

– 2G: GSM: Quadband 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, EDGE support

* Download speed: up to 100 Mbit/s

* Upload speed: up to 50 Mbit/s

* Wi-Fi b/g/n up to 30 Mbit/s with encryption: WEP, WPA, WPA2

* Button for WPS encryption on the mini router

* WLAN supports up to 5 mobile devices

* TFT screen display for the battery charge status, the reception strength and connection technology.

* Antenna connector for external antenna TS-9 (Buy Vodafone R210 Antenna)

* Micro USB connection – only usable as a power supply

* Micro-SD memory card slot: The internal memory is expandable with an SD memory card to 32GB.

* App for iPhone or Android for operating the Vodafone R210 Mobile available

* Battery: 3300mAh permanently installed for up to 4 hours continuous operation

* Housing: Plastic

* Dimensions: H 113 x W 62 x D 13.5 mm

* Weight: 140 grams

* Color: black

 

The Configuration of Vodafone R210 Mobile WiFi Hotspot is very simple.

 

Step 1:  Plug the SIM card to R210 and then turn on the mini router. The MiFi Router can operate with SIM cards of all LTE providers in Europe. Usually, the R210 Router would automatically read the operators’ information and get connected with wireless network. After LTE connection is made, user can log in the web management page to setup the WiFi key, SSID and other parameters if necessary. For all other simcards from LTE provider, you just need log in the Web page to create a new connection profile with the APN of the existing LTE provider.

 

Step 2: Computer, laptop or smartphone can connect to the R210 Mobile via WLAN. Wi-Fi password is on the back of the mini router.

 

Step 3: Visit website 192.168.1.1 and you can manage the settings of Vodafone R210. Vodafone Mobile Wifi could be monitored in iPhone, iPad or Android by the “Vodafone Mobile Wifi Monitor”. It’s a useful APP with the obtained information on battery status, power and signal strength and consumed data volume.

 

Conclusion:

The R210 Mobile is easy to use with the APP Vodafone Mobile Wifi monitor. The battery has enough power sufficient to normal daily use. Up to 4 hours working time is enough for outdoor use. The R210 MiFi supports web standards EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+ and LTE. The mini router automatically logs itself always in the fastest network available. With changing in 2G, 3G and 4G reception, we were able to test extensively at a car on the A8 motorway, we have found no problems and no download aborts. The little mini Hotspot is absolutely practical especially on vacation. You can then save expensive fees for the use of WLAN in the hotel. The Vodafone Mini Router R210 is highly recommended. Through WiFi, the maximum connection speed is limited to the LTE network to 30 Mbit/s which is also confirmed in our speed test. This is sufficient for most LTE users.

How to unlock Netgear 341u Aircard

Netgear Aircard 341u is a latest new 4G USB Modem; it follows its predecessors Sierra Aircard 320u and 330u in appearance. But after Netgear acquired the Sierra Wireless Aircards, Netgear didn’t change the body design, the good news is that there is improvement on the application. There is LED screen which will help user read more information about the connection status about the Aircard, which is much more user-friendly than Aircard 330u and 320u.

 

However, since Netgear 341u is presented to public by US operator Sprint, the Aircard 341u is locked to its network and can’t use other providers’ SIM cards or roam over the world. So if you want to use the Netgear Aircard 341u with other SIM cards, or take the Aircard 341u with you to overseas, it’s necessary to unlock the 341u. But many people don’t know how to unlock it. Today we will give instruction about how to unlock Netgear Aircard 341u, below is the unlocking guide:

  1. Download the unlock tool here: https://www.dc-unlocker.com/downloads/get/HtYMTyib and install it to your PC
  2. Plug the Aircard 341u to your PC and install the driver.
  3. After driver installation, run the DC-unlocker
  4. Login the tool at the right side(if you don’t have account, you need register a new account)

 

5. In the Dc-unlocker window, Select manufacturer in step 1, Select model in step 2 and press detect in step 3 (check below image for reference)

 

 

6. After the DC-unlocker detect the full information about the Aircard 341u, press the unlocking at the right side.

 

7. After get the unlock code, you can unlock the Aircard 341u easily.

 

 

If you want to unlock Netgear 340u or other Sierra Wireless Aircards, you could also use this method. However, you need buy credits to enjoy this service.