ZTE Flare 4G LTE Cat6 Mobile Hotspot

The Chinese producer “ZTE” has announced a new hotspot routers at the 2014 Mobile World Congress, which is to support LTE-Advanced with up to 300 MBit/s for the first time. The device name is ZTE flare and is equipped with the latest wireless technology. Below are the more key data about wireless hotspot.

LTE features and characteristics of ZTE Flare

Manufacturer and model

ZTE Flare

Download rate

Up to 300 MBit/s

Upload rate

50 MBit/s

Compatible LTE Bands

still unknown

backward compatible with:

still unknown

Support of LTE-Advanced

Yes

MIMO Support:

MIMO 2×2

Connector for external antenna

Yes; 2 aerial socket type TS-9 available(Buy ZTE Flare antenna)

LTE Category:

LTE modem of Category 6 (CAT6)

Chipset

Qualcomm Gobi ™ 9×30 with RF360

Others

Dimensions (LxWxH)

still unknown

USB standard

USB 2.0

Memory card expansion

Yes; MicroSD up to 32 GB

Compatible Operating Systems

Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 & 8, Mac OS (from 10.4)

Release

Summer or Fall 2014

Manual PDF

Unfortunately not yet available online

 

 

 

Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and probably O2, are about to launch the next generation LTE – the so-called “LTE-Advanced”. For now, data rates of 300 Mbit/s are possible with the new LTE technology. In order to use the “LTE 2.0”, however, customers also require new hardware. And those of LTE devices Category 6 (CAT6) supported. Both ZTE, as well as the main rival Huawei want punctually prepare enough for the start of such models. With the “flare”, ZTE announced its first CAT6 device for the 2nd half of the year.

 

ZTE Flare – Portable Router

 

Behind the “ZTE Flare“, hides a so-called hotspot wifi router. The device is therefore designed for mobile use and allows the establishing of a Wi-Fi hotspots. So hardware of this kind combines the best of fixed and mobile solutions – a hybrid between the router and stick if you will.

 

ZTE Flare – Main features

 

ZTE stated that the flare router is the world’s first LTE cat6 device that uses the Gobi chipset from Qualcomm, specifically, the “Gobi 9×30”.This is manufactured in 20nm process ultra-thin and is thus significantly less energy than conventional radio chips. Up to 15 percent power savings are possible. However, the highlight is the already mentioned LTE-Advanced Support. Per Carrier aggregation, the chipset can bundle two RF bands of different spectral regions, so that the LTE providers are up to 40 MHz total bandwidth for data transmission available. According to 3GPP standard, hinges with 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz are combined. In this way, data rates can reach up to 300 Mbps. The Gobi dominated beyond FDD and TDD modulation. The former is common in Europe and North America, the latter especially in the Asian region.

 

Of course, ZTE flare also dominates wireless to the latest AC standard, for up to 540 Mbit transfer rate. For this purpose, the VIVE ™ 502.11ac Wi-Fi chip from Qualcomm was built. This is also compatible with previous 802.11 a/b/g/n and can be operated at 2.4 or 5 GHz. About the hotspot feature allows the end customer to bring a total of up to 32 devices to the network and connect. They also offer two ports for connecting external antennas to the side.

 

As is customary for mobile hotspot router, there are an info-LCD on the front, which serves on the one hand for the user interaction and fades to another important connection information, such as current surf duration, radio standard or volume consumed.

 

Conclusion

 

ZTE has here a real alternative to similar models made by Huawei (E5186 and E5786) and Negear (Aircard 790s)in the pipeline. Based on the specifications on the paper, ZTE flare has nothing to be desired in practice. Remains to be seen whether ZTE can meet the high expectations too. Once the device is available on www.4gltemall.com, we will test and report.

 

ZTE Flare 4G LTE Cat6 Mobile Hotspot

The Chinese manufacturer “ZTE” has already announced a new hotspot router to the Mobile World Congress 2014 that will support LTE-Advanced with up to 300 Mbit/s for the first time. The new hotspot is named ZTE Flare. The device is equipped with the latest wireless technology. Here are the key data details.

 

ZTE Flare Features and Characteristics

Manufacturer ZTE
LTE Category LTE Category 6 (Cat6)
Chipset Qualcomm Gobi ™ 9×30 with RF360
Download Rate 300Mbit/s
Upload Rate 50Mbit/s
Supported network CDMA/TD-LTE/FDD-LTE/WCDMA/GSM
Supported LTE Bands Still unknown
Backward compatible with unknown yet
Support LTE-Advanced Yes
WLAN 802.11ac/a/b/g/n, 2.4GHz/5GHz
WiFi chipset Qualcomm VIVE QCA6174
MIMO Support MIMO 2 x 2
Connector for external antenna Yes, 2 TS-9 antenna sockets (Buy ZTE Flare Antenna)
USB Standard USB 2.0
Memory Card expansion MicroSD up to 32GB
Battery 2300mAh
Other functions  SMS, IPv6, IPv4
Compatible operation system Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 +8, Mac OS (10.4 or higher)
Release Summer or fall 2014

 

From 2014 autumn, many European network providers are trying to launch the next generation LTE (So called LTE-Advanced). Based on new technology, the current data rates of up to 300Mbit/s could be achieved. However, in order to use the “LTE 2.0”, customers require new hardware so that the devices could support LTE Category 6. Both ZTE and its rival Huawei are also preparing the new models. Then ZTE announced its first Cat6 device for the second half of the year, named “Flare”.

Portable Router

ZTE Flare is called WiFi hotspot router, but it’s designed for mobile use and allows multiple users to share the wireless network through it. More powerful than Huawei E5786 LTE Cat6 mobile hotspot, ZTE Flare could support maximum up to 32 users to access internet. Based on the LTE Category6,  the peak speed of 300Mbps will provide good surf experience for the users.

 

ZTE Flare is the world’s first device that uses Gobi chipset from Qualcomm, more specifically; it’s the “Gobi 9×30”. It’s made in ultra-thin 20nm process and consumes less energy than conventional radio chips. It’s said the new chipset will save almost up to 15 percent power. Per the LTE-A support and carrier aggregation, the qualcomm chipst can combine two RF bands of different spectral ranges, so that the LTE providers can operate up to 40MHz total bandwidth for data transmission. According to 3GPP standard, tapes 5, 10, 15 or 20 MHz are combines. In this way, data rates can reach up to 300mbps. The Gobi dominates beyond FDD and TDD modulation. The former is common in Europe and North America, the later specially in the Asian region.

 

Of course, according to the latest AC standard, ZTE flare can supports up to 540Mbps based on installed VIVE 502.11ac WiFi chip from Qualcomm. The WiFi chipset is compatible with previous 802.a/b/g/n and can be operated at 2.4GHz or 5GHz. As mentioned before, the flare hotspot allows end users of up to 32 devices. There are two additional ports for connecting external antennas (TS-9 socket).

 

Like other mobile hotspot router, there is a LCD screen on the front and users can see many important connection information, such as surf duration, radio standard or consumed volume. Many people want to know which one is better between ZTE Flare and Huawei E5786, we will give full explanation after we get the samples of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huawei E5786 VS ZTE Flare LTE Cat6 MiFi

Since more and more operators launched theor 4G LTE network, the end users could access the wireless network in high speed for suring. The new technology improves the quaility of our life in almost every aspect, however, when more and more industies apply this technology, the basic 4G network seems not enough for high data requirement. The lucky thing is that thechnology is developing to find better solution in our life: LTE-A technology is bound to provide higher data transmisson.

 

We had introduced many LTE category 4 or CAT 5 USB stick and WiFi router, they are born to support the wireless speed for 100 or 150 megabytes per scend. But the vendors didn’t stop here. At the beginning of 2014, two LTE category 6 mobile WiFi were presented to public. They are Huawei E5786 and ZTE flare.

 

Before we introduce the two new terminals, it is necessary to have a review about the LTE categories and their corresponding connection speed that could be achieved. Below table shows the data information for reference:

 

 

 

On the table, we can see the LTE category 6 can provide the support for 300mbit/s downlink speed, which is the double of current CAT5, and three times than CAT3. Huawei E5786 and ZTE Flare are the two new gadget to achieve this fantastic link speed.

 

So here comes a question, if my ISP provides the LTE Cat6 network, which one is better between the Huawei E5786 and ZTE Flare? To answer this question, we must first know their functions and difference, which will help us to make the right decision. Then what’s the main difference between them?

 

We can compare below the main features of them:

Model Number

Huawei E5786

ZTE Flare

Category Cat6 Cat6
Chipset HiSilicon Qualcomm Gobi 9×30
Network mode FDD/TDD
DC-HSPA+/HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
FDD/TDD
DC-HSPA+/HSPA+/HSPA/UMTS
GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Maximum Speed (FDD) 300Mbps DL/50Mbps UL 300Mbps DL/50Mbps UL
Maximum Speed (TDD) 224Mbps DL 224Mbps DL
MIMO 2 x 2 MIMO 2 x 2 MIMO
WiFi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Maximum WiFi Connection Users

10

32

External Antenna Connector 2 TS-9 connectors 2 TS-9 connectors
Dimensions 106.0 x 66.0 x 15.9 mm unknown yet

 

From the table above, the features are very similar except the Chipset and supported WiFi users. Huawei E5786 is based Huawei own brand Hisilicon LTE Cat6 chipset while ZTE Flare is running on Qualcomm latest Gob 9×30 chipset. We can’t conclude which chipset is better, after we get the device, we will test the function. Theoretically, Qualcomm chipset is better than Huawei, which also decides the high cost of ZTE Flare. The second one is Huawei E5786 support maximum 10 WiFi users while ZTE Flare could support 32 wireless terminals via WiFi.

 

It seems ZTE Flare is more powerful than Huawei E5786, after we get the price quote, use will make a balance between them.

 

ZTE Flare – The Second LTE Cat6 Mobile WiFi Hotspot

Huawei is not the only one who had announced a LTE Advanced Mobile hotspot in the Mobile World Congress. Another Chinese manufacturer ZTE, the rival of Huawei, also introduced a new pocket WiFi which can also reach the peak speed to 300Mbps on future 4G networks.

The new model is ZTE Flare, it’s not a model number like previous mobile hotspot. ZTE Flare is based on the new generation of smart Qualcomm Gobi 9×30 which had also been announced at MWC 2014 with new snapdragon. Qualcomm Gobi chipset 9×30 is also the world’s first LTE Advanced modem operating in the aggregate bandwidth to 40MHz in both the FDD and TDD. As a result, mobile operators can be combined frequency blocks in the two ranges of radio spectrum in each of the combinations approved by 3GPP. Due to the versatility of this solution LTE FDD and TDD CAT6 will be able to be implemented around the world.

 

With the latest new Qualcomm chipset, ZTE Flare supports 4G LTE advance Category 6, which can aggregate two 20MHz spectrum of two separate frequency bands to 300Mbps. The uplink could be reach up to 50Mbps. It’s the fastest wireless transmission speed that could be achieved by current technology. Through an improved manufacturing process from 28 to 20 nm, these chipsets will be more efficient wish saving energy of 15%, which means less power consumption, less heat and better autonomy.

The ZTE Flare is also with Qualcomm WLAN chip VIVE QCA6174 offering WiFi 802.11ac/a/b/g/n dual band 2 x 2 MIMO, which could help up to 32 wireless terminals to access the internet through WiFi from ZTE Flare. This feature is very excellent because Huawei E5786 could support only 10 WiFi users.

 

ZTE Flare will be available in the second half of 2014. From the features, we could suppose the ZTE Flare will be very attractive for the technology geeks and very useful for businessmen who require high data transfer. However, it’s better to use the ZTE Flare under the LTE-A network. If the network LTE Advanced is not available, user may feel disappointed at the link speed.