This Portable Mini-Router Shares a 3G Connection

This mini-router sports a rechargeable battery and will share your 3G connection to up to 5 devices.

Marvel Digital is offering an interesting device that will share your wireless 3G or Ethernet connection with up to five wireless devices. Essentially it serves as a miniature router, but also comes with a rechargeable battery so that users can share their 3G network connection to other devices while on-the-go without having to set up a smartphone's (battery-draining) hotspot feature.

The company's 3G/LAN to Wi-Fi Router plays host to your 3G dongle via a USB port mounted on the top which in turn provides both wired and Wi-Fi connectivity. On the 3G front, the mini-router supports WCDMA, EVDO and TD-SCDMA networks, and on the Wi-Fi front, it supports 802.11b/g/n and 802.3/802.3u offering speeds of up to 150 Mbps and a signal coverage of 98 feet. The router will share a single IP with up to 5 users via a choice of WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA2-PSK encryption modes.

In addition to the USB port for the 3G dongle, the device also sports a mini-USB port for connecting a laptop, and an Ethernet (RJ45) port which can be used to connect to a broadband modem so that the router can create a home-based network. The only drawback is that the device doesn't offer additional wired connectivity -- devices will be required to connect via Wi-Fi. But as a home network router, it supports ADSL (PPPoE), static IP and Dynamic IP (DHCP) while providing advanced services such as VPN and Firewall.

To find out more about Marvel Digital's router, here here. It's currently on sale, retailing for $65 USD.