wi-fi

Well, well, well...what do we have here? According to the kids over at Phone Scoop, the FCC has approved a Wi-Fi-enabled (802.11 a/b/g) BlackBerry device, which is a great sign since Research in Motion has been talking about adding this feature for more than a year now. A few other details about the device: it's said to be a GSM/EDGE smart phone with Bluetooth, a microSD slot, and it resembles the RIM BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry 8830 in the design department. No word on carrier or availability, but RIM CEO Jim Balsillie has said … Read more

AT&T DSL subscribers can now get free access to its Wi-Fi hot spots throughout the country.

Subscribers of services that offer download speeds of 3 megabits per second or higher will get access to any of its 10,000 hot spots in airports, coffee shops, McDonald's restaurants and Barnes & Noble bookstores for free, the company said Monday.

Subscribers of AT&T's lower tier service can pay $1.99 for unlimited Wi-Fi access. Non-AT&T subscribers pay $7.99 per day for Wi-Fi access in these public hot spots.

Adding Wi-Fi as part of … Read more

Netgear announced today that two of its Draft 802.11n wireless products have been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance as in compliance with draft 2.0 of the 802.11n spec. This certification ensures that the product in question is interoperable with products from other vendors, that it adheres to the latest security protection schemes, and that it's backward-compatible with previous generations of Wi-Fi equipment (such as 802.11g and 802.11b products). Netgear's RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router Gigabit Edition (WNR854T) and RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N Router (WNR834B) have both been certified as Draft 2.0-compliant. Users who have … Read more

So, someone over at Rolls-Royce trusted our Car Tech guys enough to lend them a 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom to review. Wow--fancy! It even has a hood ornament that retracts into the hood when the doors are locked. Now no one will steal the "Spirit of Ecstasy" and make a necklace. Is car bling still cool? Is the word "bling" even cool?

Anyway, we also have some pictures of the 10 most attractive cars that CNET has reviewed. Plus, there are photos of the Sprint Mogul by HTC and a look at YouTube videos on Apple TV. … Read more

As reported earlier, the new Archos PVPs are due out at the beginning of September. Unfortunately, Jasmine and I couldn't wait that long, so we contacted the product reps at Archos to schedule some one-on-one time. The following is a photo gallery that details some of the new features we can expect from the new line once it launches (plus some shots of the set-top DVR prototype).

Cincinnati Bell Wireless has launched a new service that allows people to use one handset that switches between a Wi-Fi and cellular network.

The service, called CB Home Run, works using a dual-mode Wi-Fi and cellular phone that lets users switch between the two networks depending on which one offers the best signal. Cincinnati Bell is using the Nokia 6086 handset, which contains radios for both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. The operator is offering the phone for about $65 with a $15 rebate. It works with Wi-Fi networks in homes and offices as well as with Cincinnati Bell's more … Read more

Researcher Ermanno Pietrosemoli has set what appears to be a new record for the longest communication link with Wi-Fi.

Pietrosemoli, president of the Escuela Latinoamerica de Redes (which means networking school of Latin America) established a Wi-Fi link between two computers located in El Aguila and Platillon Mountain, Venezuela. That's a distance of 382 kilometers, or 238 miles. He used technology from Intel, which is concocting its own long-range Wi-Fi equipment, and some off-the-shelf parts. Pietrosemoli gets about 3 megabits per second in each direction on his long-range connections.

Most Wi-Fi signals only go only a few meters before … Read more

It was only a matter of time before in-car Internet went mainstream. Over the past couple of weeks, Avis has begun to roll out its in-car Wi-Fi service, which allows drivers to turn their rental cars into mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. The service, called Avis Connect, is provided by Autonet Mobile using 3G and 2.5G (EVDO, 1xRTT) connections.

For an extra $10.95 per day, Avis says renters get wireless broadband connectivity "at all times and places during their travel, from airports to meetings to hotels, and everything in between." We're not sure how the Wi-Fi signal … Read more

NEWTON, MASS.--At a panel here at MuniWireless New England on Tuesday, AT&T shared this little tidbit on college WiFi users.

They could care less about brand when it comes to Wi-Fi service. They will pop on to whatever is the fastest of the free.

AT&T has been observing the usage of college students while researching municipal wireless services, according to Carl Nerup, vice president of development at AT&T.

As part of the research, Nerup himself did a field observation at a Berkley, Calif. cafe located across the street from University of California at … Read more