hotspots

About two weeks ago, wireless Internet provider FreedomPop introduced the Overdrive Pro, a Sprint-powered 3G/4G mobile hot spot with a tantalizing price tag: $39.99 for the hardware, 500MB of data per month absolutely free, and low rates on additional data.

FreedomPop's previous products all relied solely on Clearwire's WiMAX network, which left users like me (who live where there's no coverage) out in the cold. But the Overdrive Pro changes that, and so I was excited to test-drive one.

Which I've been doing for the past few days. The good news is the Sierra … Read more

Though Time Warner Cable's free Wi-Fi hot spots are nothing new, there is something perhaps more than coincidental about the timing of their launch in Austin, Texas.

Did someone say Google Fiber?

Well, actually, Time Warner itself did. In its announcement Thursday that it's bringing free Wi-Fi hot spots to its Austin customers, the company said it was Google launching its superfast Internet and TV service in the Texas capital that gave Time Warner momentum.

"We've been rolling out our free Wi-Fi network across our footprint for some time now, as part of our larger strategy … Read more

For a while now I've been wanting to test-drive FreedomPop, the wireless Internet provider that offers, among other things, 500MB of free mobile data per month.

Alas, because it's a 4G-only service based on Clearwire's WiMAX network, there's no coverage in my area.

That changes today with the introduction of FreedomPop's new Overdrive Pro mobile hot spot, which offers both 4G and 3G coverage via Sprint.

In other words, now I can get in on the free-data action. The Overdrive Pro costs $39.99 and allows for up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect at … Read more

Remember back on Monday when I said I was the victim of flaky hotel Wi-Fi? It's true: I couldn't publish my Cheapskate post because my room had a weak, inconsistent signal. It was incredibly frustrating, like trying to work using a dial-up modem.

The smart thing would have been to pack a mobile hot spot. Of course, I don't want to get stuck with a two-year contract and hefty monthly fees for a gizmo I need only occasionally. That's why today's deal is so appealing.

For a limited time, Virgin Mobile has the Overdrive Pro 3G/4G mobile hot spot for $83.99 shipped. … Read more

You're in the middle of a city park. You're at a rest stop on the side of the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe you're simply in your living room. You turn on your computer and have instant, secure access to the Internet without requiring any network cables or log-ins -- or even any payment to an ISP.

Yeah, right.

Ubiquitous, free, and safe Internet access is a long, long way off, and many skeptics believe such a day will never arrive. The glass-half-full among us will point out that the number of people … Read more

In addition to unveiling its contract-free data plan, T-Mobile announced a number of devices that will be available on its 4G LTE network, including the Sonic 2.0 mobile hotspot.

Available now for $149.99, the Sonic 2.0 is the carrier's first LTE hot spot and it can connect up to eight devices.

The device is manufactured by ZTE and features a 1.77-inch color screen (which displays information such as signal strength, battery level, and number of connected devices), a microSD card slot that is expandable up to 32GB, and it works with both Windows 8 and … Read more

In Windows 8, Microsoft quietly removed a useful networking feature: ad-hoc networks.

In Windows 7 (and previous OSes), the tool could turn your PC into a Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing it to share its Ethernet or other Internet connection with other devices by broadcasting its own network.

So, if you paid for Internet access at a cafe, or you're at work, and want to share your PC's Internet with your phone or tablet, this feature would let you do that.

It is very possible to do this in Windows 8, but the built-in method requires fiddling with the … Read more

For as long as I can remember, my iPhone 4S has had trouble connecting to certain Wi-Fi hotspots.

When I go to Panera Bread, for example, I can connect to their network on my laptop without a problem. But it requires visiting a landing page in my browser and clicking a button to agree to the terms of service.

When I try to make that same connection on my iPhone, a log-in screen immediately pops up -- but stays blank. For some reason, it fails to load that landing page, meaning I can't tap "I agree" and … Read more

Need a way to surf almost anywhere without relying on sketchy public Wi-Fi? Verizon sure thinks you do and hopes to entice subscribers with a new Jetpack mobile hot spot. … Read more