Netgear Mingle hotspot lands at Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile has announced a new product from Netgear called the Mingle hotspot. The hotspot is a small and portable device that can connect up to ten other devices to the internet. All the other devices need are Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Mingle is priced at $99.99 with no contract and works with several of the Virgin plans for data service. Netgear's Mingle is the first device in the industry to support Sprint Spark tri-band service on a pre-paid network.

The mingle supports both 3G and 4G networks where available and has a small 1.77-inch LCD integrated. The LCD gives quick access to settings and shows how much data has been consumed. Power comes from an 1800 mAh battery good for up to 12.5 hours per charge of active use.

Data for the Mingle costs $5 per day for 250MB, $25 for 1.5GB for the month, or $55 for 6GB of data for the month. An app for iOS and Android devices is available that lets the user control the Mingle without having to touch it.