hotspot

If you travel alone with your laptop, a 4G modem like the Clear 4G+ Mobile or the LG VL600 LTE will more than take care of your Internet needs. But if you're in a group, or carry along with your laptop other Internet-enabled devices, such as mobile phones or tablets, you'll find those modems painfully lacking as they have no Internet-sharing capability.

What you need in this case is something that can offer Internet connections to multiple devices simultaneously. And this is when mobile cellular routers, like Sprint's MiFi 4082 3G/4G Hotspot, come into play.

The … Read more

Sprint customers looking to tuck a zippy Wi-Fi hot spot in their pocket can now consider the Sprint MiFi 4082 3G/4G Mobile hot spot, created by Novatel Wireless.

The WiMax-capable hot spot is available via DirectShip through Sprint, but it can be picked up in brick-and-mortar stores starting April 17. It costs $79.99 for the sleek-looking hardware, plus a mobile plan with a new two-year service agreement or upgrade. Those begin at $49.99 per month.

We got a chance to try out a MiFi unit last month during CTIA. The battery was long-lasting when we tried it, … Read more

If you have been having a good time with the Verizon Wireless MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot and now want a similar device that offers much faster 4G speeds, the answer is here.

Verizon Wireless teamed up with Samsung to announce today the availability of the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot.

This is a mobile, supercompact Wi-Fi hot spot that offers an Internet connection similar to that of the LG VL600 LTE USB Modem, up to 12Mbps. This type of bandwidth is typically found in high-end broadband connections such as cable.

According to the companies, the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile … Read more

This is an update of a deal I wrote about last year.

I'm a longtime fan of the Verizon MiFi 2200, a pocket-size 3G modem that doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot. Just one problem: it costs $269 and locks you into a two-year contract with Verizon. Service starts at $35 per month (for a mere 3GB of data).

You can accomplish much of the same thing with the CradlePoint PHS300, currently on sale at UnlockedCellPhoneKings via Amazon for $49.99 shipped. The only difference is, it's BYO cell phone or wireless card.

In other words, you have … Read more

Orlando, Fla.--T-Mobile had more than the LG G2X and Sidekick 4G to show at CTIA 2011. And no, we're not talking about a plan as to how customers will be affected form the planned merger with AT&T.

No, T-Mobile also introduced four products for its HSPA+ network: a portable W-Fi hot-spot and three USB laptop sticks. The devices are optimized for the carrier's "4G" network--we know T-Mobile's definition of 4G is a little fuzzy--but they're compatible with the carrier's 3G and EDGE networks when you're not in a HSPA+ … Read more

Connecting to public Wi-Fi hot spots can be a challenge, but the Wi-Fi Alliance is hoping to ease some of the pain.

Responsible for certifying Wi-Fi products and technology, the Wi-Fi Alliance said yesterday that it's working on a new certification program that should make it easier to access and use public hot spots. Various members of the alliance, including service providers and device makers, have already formalized the requirements needed to test such a certification program.

Once in place, the new hot spot program would offer several benefits to Wi-Fi users.

Computers, phones, and other connected gadgets would … Read more

Zachery Bir, on his Urbanape blog, explains how he used an iPhone 4 with the new Personal Hotspot feature in iOS 4.3 to add GPS to his Wi-Fi-only iPad. A tweet from Bir earlier in the day caused some skepticism when he posted:

From a technological standpoint, I must admit I was a bit skeptical as well. When deciding on which iPad 2 to get, I debated many of the same pros and cons as other customers wondering if the $130 upgrade to enable 3G on an iPad was worth the money.

Ultimately, I decided to put the extra money toward more storage and I settled on a black, 32Gb, Wi-Fi-only iPad 2. Upon seeing a post from Daring Fireball's John Gruber about Bir's findings, I feel as though my decision may well be completely justified. … Read more

When the Verizon iPhone finally went on sale last month, it bested its AT&T cousin by offering a wireless hot spot that could support up to five devices. It was a welcome addition and, as we found in our Verizon iPhone review, the feature performed well. It wasn't necessarily better than other smartphone hot spots we've tested, but it offered a simple and relatively speedy way to get online.

When AT&T would join the hot-spot party became the next question, of course, but Apple offered an answer Wednesday when it delivered its latest software update a couple of days early. Though as iOS upgrades go, iOS 4.3 activates the hot spot on the AT&T iPhone 4 (earlier iPhones will not support the feature). It's almost the same experience as on Verizon's device, but there are some important and disappointing differences.

What's the same As with Verizon's handset, AT&T users will need to activate the optional tethering plan to use the feature (if you don't have the plan, the option won't appear in your Settings menu). And, like Verizon, AT&T charges an additional $20 for the plan. Though AT&T's data cap is 4GB per month for tethering and the hot spot (Verizon has a 2GB cap), the carrier requires you to select at least the $25-per-month Data Pro plan for basic data. … Read more

Virgin Mobile's LG Optimus V is selling like hotcakes right now (it's out of stock just about everywhere), and with good reason: It runs Android 2.2, requires no contract, and costs as little as $25 per month--a price that includes anytime voice minutes and unlimited data.

The only drawback? Despite the presence of Android 2.2, which offers native support for tethering (i.e., using the phone as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot), the Optimus V comes with the feature disabled.

Thankfully, there's a very easy workaround, one that requires no rooting and no expense. All you need is a free app called Quick Settings, which is available from Android Market.

When you run the app, you'll see a list of settings: brightness, Ringer, Volume control, Wi-Fi, and so on. Here's how to add Wi-Fi hot spot to that list:… Read more