Huawei E355: More than just a 3G USB dongle

A lot of you guys seemed interested about Huawei’s new affordable mobile WiFi devices (the E355 and E5331) so we thought of giving you more idea about it. Let’s start with the Huawei E355.

Not much has changed in the form factor of the E355 as compared to other USB sticks before it. It inherited the rectangular body with rounded edges of its predecessor but it’s a bit longer and chubbier.

If you look closely you’ll notice that the body (excluding the detachable top part) is actually coated with another layer of clear plastic for added durability which explains the why this device is a bit bulkier.

Removing the top part will reveal the SIM card and Micro-SD card slots along with the Reset hole. Device information such as IMEI, Serial number, SSID, Default Passkey and MAC address are written on the device just above the two slots.

In essence, the Huawei E355 is USB stick version of the E586. An HSPA+ speed of up to 21.6Mbps, up to 5.76Mbps HSUPA and accommodates up to wireless devices. With that we strongly suggest to read our review of the Huawei E586 to get a better perspective of the E355. Here’s the screen shot of our speed test using a Globe UnliSurf 999 SIM.

The UI is a bit modified but nothing significant has changed from the previous version.

To clear up some misunderstanding on our previous post, the Huawei E355 doesn’t have a battery and can only be used once plugged in on any power source. This device comes with a USB plug so you can virtually use it anywhere as long as there’s a power outlet.

We’ve also tried plugging the device on a USB car charger and it worked as expected. One thing we haven’t tried which can also work is by plugging the device to mobile charger like the Milli.

The Huawei E355 is certainly a device worth considering. You’d basically get the good features of the E586 minus the screen and battery. For only Php2,599USD 44INR 3,755EUR 42CNY 323, I think you can live without those two things. Then again, it depends on your needs. You can also get this through Smart which they called Smart WiFi Plug-it for a much higher price of Php3,495USD 60INR 5,049EUR 57CNY 434 which comes 240 internet hours and 400 SMS to Smart and Sun subscribers.