The device itself costs $79 and comes with 1 GB of free data. Additional data costs $14 per gigabyte. It never expires and carries over until you use it.
Here's where Karma differs from a conventional hotspot, though – it remains an unprotected network. Every time someone joins your hotspot, you get 100 MB of free data. That person signs in via his Facebook profile as a means to prevent people from gaming the system, and his connection is throttled in such a way to make sure that your
It's what Karma calls "social bandwidth."
I took a fully-charged Karma hotspot to a busy Starbucks on Park Avenue for a few hours to see how it worked in the real world. The connection was completely solid and reliable, pulling down great speeds over its network. There wasn't a single thing I wanted to do that I couldn't. Streaming Netflix, downloading semi-large files, even a FaceTime conversation – all functioned as if I were connected to my home WiFi.
There was one minor hiccup in this field test, however. During the few hours I was working off the hotspot, no one else joined my network to earn me some free bandwidth. This isn't a knock against Karma at all, mind you. But if you're buying one thinking you can operate off of your free data kickbacks, you're in for a rude awakening. Those free bursts of 100 MB are a good reason to opt for a Karma, but they're not the reason.
Instead, go for one because you like speedy and reliable data connections. And also if you like to share.