hotspots

Sprint announces 3G/4G wireless Wi-Fi router

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel introduced a 3G/4G wireless router Wednesday night called the Sprint Overdrive that will allow subscribers to share their wireless broadband connection among Wi-Fi devices.

The Overdrive router, made by Sierra Wireless, uses Sprint's 4G WiMax network, where it's available, to allow customers to access the Internet and then it shares that bandwidth among Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Where 4G service isn't available, the router connects to the Internet using Sprint's 3G EV-DO wireless network. Subscribers can connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as laptops, cameras, game consoles and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

Sprint, which … Read more

Get a Novatel MiFi 2200 card free

If there's a single device that's almost as universally adored as the iPhone, it's the Novatel MiFi 2200.

This ingenious gadget puts a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot in your pocket, delivering 3G broadband to up to five nearby devices.

Normally the card costs $99.99, but right now Wirefly is offering the MiFi 2200 for free with a 2-year Verizon contract. Shipping is free, too, though you will have to pay a $35 activation fee.

You'll also have to pay monthly service charges, but, hey, that's the price of doing mobile-broadband business. Verizon charges $39.99/… Read more

T-Mobile rolls out HotSpot @Home for business

T-Mobile announced Monday that it will extend its HotSpot @Home service to include businesses. Right now, the service allows regular consumers to make unlimited calls via a home Wi-Fi network (provided you have a UMA-supported phone), and if they wander out of range, the call will switch over to the cellular network.

Like the consumer model, businesses need only pay a flat monthly rate to take advantage of the unlimited Wi-Fi calls, though it'll likely take place over enterprise-grade Wi-Fi networks instead. This makes sense to us, since businesses have a lot more people wheeling and dealing over the … Read more

Verizon changes tune on Wi-Fi

Verizon Communications has had a change of heart about using Wi-Fi to extend its wireless broadband offering as the company announces free access to Wi-Fi hot spots for its Fios and DSL Internet customers.

On Monday the company announced that customers subscribed to its Verizon Fios Internet service with 20Mbps per second downstream and 15Mbps upstream or faster and customers who subscribe to its 3Mbps/768 Kbps or higher DSL service will be able to connect to Verizon Wi-Fi hot spots, at no additional charge as part of their broadband service.

Verizon has partnered with the Wi-Fi service Boingo to … Read more

LevelOne instant hotspot: Just add 3G modem

The $149 LevelOne MobileSpot is really a pretty simple idea. Take a fairly standard portable 802.11b/g wireless router and build in a PC Card slot and USB port that lets you turn a 3G wireless PC Card or USB modem into an instant hotspot. Then basically all you need is a decent signal and you can set up a network just about anywhere.

The MobileSpot (WBR-3800) can also be used with a cable or DSL modem connected by Ethernet allowing you to leave the 3G option as backup, so there's less chance your connection will ever be … Read more

Shield your wi-fi

This freeware program promises to encrypt all your Internet connections, but since most public wi-fi access points in the U.S. are open, it's a bit hard to gauge Hotspot Shield's effectiveness. However, the connection itself is a bit wonky.

Once the program is installed, it creates an HTML link on your desktop. Double-clicking on it will open the application in your Web browser, and you'll be taken to a page detailing your Connection Status, IP Address, Server Address, Bytes sent and received, and the duration of the connection. Hotspot Shield is ad supported, so you'll … Read more

Shield your wi-fi

Zune's Wi-Fi finally becomes useful!

Update and correction: based on information I received from Microsoft, I mistakenly credited the wrong blog with breaking this news--it was actually first posted by Zunerama. Microsoft has since put out a press release confirming many of the details, including the specific radio metadata formats that are supported by the "Buy from FM" feature.

I'd been briefed on the upcoming Zune update and was supposed to hold my fire until next week, but somebody at Fry's Electronics posted details online, and the bloggers at fan site Zunerama passed them along to the public, although the site … Read more

First look at the T-Mobile @Home service

The news has broke that T-Mobile will be offering a VoIP service called T-Mobile @Home in select cities nationwide. However, yours truly had a chance to get some hands-on time with the specially built T-Mobile HotSpot @Home HiPort wireless Linksys router made especially for this service. T-Mobile also sent me an optional VTech cordless phone so I can test it out.

Setting up the router is the same procedure as setting up any other router, save for one difference: You need to install a SIM card. T-Mobile provided me with one, which I then snapped into place in the back … Read more

T-Mobile's home phone service goes nationwide

T-Mobile USA plans to announce Wednesday that its new @Home voice service will be available nationwide starting July 2.

The cell phone operator has been testing the new Internet telephony service since February in Dallas and Seattle. And now the new service, which is meant to replace traditional home phones, will be offered to any T-Mobile cell phone customer.

Subscribers will be able to connect any regular home telephone to a T-Mobile router that will send calls over the Internet much the same way as services like Vonage operate. The service costs $10 a month plus taxes and fees for … Read more