According to Hotel Chatter’s Hotel Wi-Fi report, hotels pay an average of $7,500 a year to maintain their Wi-Fi networks yet make an average profit of $200,000. Is that the sound of travelers being ripped off I hear? Yeah, it is. Instead of using hotel wireless when you travel, consider these alternatives.
When I first got my new iPad on March 16th, I immediately noticed that my Wi-Fi signal was much weaker than the Wi-Fi signal found on my iPad 2. At first, I thought it was my actual internet connection but, as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one that found this to be an [...]
If you’ve ever driven around a densely populated area, like a neighborhood or downtown street, you know that your iPhone or iPad can annoy you to death with silly Wi-Fi network notifications (constantly asking you if ou want to join this or that network). This gets most annoying when you know the available networks in [...]
Users of the Amazon Kindle Fire reported in Amazon’s forums that they’ve been having problems with Wi-Fi connectivity issues. The issues could have something to do with the way the Fire uses the Silk browser, which Amazon touted as a revolutionary way to speed up Internet surfing. The browser, unfortunately, hasn’t lived up to the [...]
For those of you out there with a Samsung Galaxy S II or HTC Amaze on T-Mobile wondering about when Wi-Fi calling might be enabled, we have some, well, lukewarm news to share with you. November 13th, which was the rumored release date for the feature, has come and gone but the carrier still hopes [...]
Good news for travelers who prefer the train over the plane: Amtrak is bringing Wi-Fi to more of its train routes. Starting today on the East Coast (with California to follow by the end of the year), train riders will be able to surf to their heart’s content via AmtrakConnect. This follows the addition of [...]
Today I’m once again on a plane headed across the country to attend a conference. I prefer to fly with Virgin America because their fleet has free Wi-Fi and a few other sweet amenities. (Though they can keep their Chromebooks…) This time I’m flying Delta, though, and luckily my plane is connected. Delta has increased [...]
Patching a hole in their promise of “PC-free” functionality on iOS 5, Apple has released AirPort Utility, a new app that allows setup and management of AirPort Wi-Fi devices.
In-flight Wi-Fi is about to get a lot slower. Yesterday, in-flight entertainment company Row 44 announced that they’re about to change the nature of in-flight entertainment. No longer will passengers on planes without personal entertainment screens in seatbacks have to bring their own videos if they want to avoid the selections provided by the airline. [...]
A new commercial for the Verizon 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot 4510L hit the airwaves and the company’s YouTube channel touting the benefits of a 4G hotspot for users. The updated MiFi will deliver both 4G and 3G connections to up to five devices through the Verizon network depending on your location. What you get is [...]
Earlier this month, T-Mobile brought back free and unlimited Wi-Fi calling for phones that support UMA. Awesome, expect they neglected to offer details regarding roaming charges when using phones outside of the United States. Today though, we finally have some clarity regarding T-Mobile’s international roaming policy in regards to the new Wi-Fi calling feature and [...]
Yesterday, Google confirmed that it had not yet completed shoring up a security flaw with Android that made it easy to access user names and passwords over non-encrypted Wi-Fi networks. Fortunately, the company has acted fast and has rolled out an update, server side that will apparently cover all Android users. In a statement to [...]
We had thought that T-Mobile was going to officially bring free and unlimited Wi-Fi calls back on May 11th but the announcement never came. Fortunately, today, Kineto Wireless and T-Mobile both confirmed that Wi-Fi calls with phones that support UMA are now free. In a message passed along to GigaOm today, T-Mobile stated that it’s: [...]
There is some exciting news afoot for T-Mobile customers as it looks like the carrier will be adding a new feature on May 11th that brings back free Wi-Fi calling for devices that are capable of doing so. TMoNews has uncovered an internal note that not only indicates that T-Mobile will allow unlimited Wi-Fi calling [...]
While we had heard that Sprint’s BlackBerry PlayBook would be launching on May 8th alongside the Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi and the Nexus S 4G. Unfortunately, it looks like May 8th isn’t going to be the date that the PlayBook hits Sprint as new found evidence points to another delay. An internal document procured by BriefMobile [...]
According to Verizon’s 2011 winter consumer guide (seriously), the BlackBerry PlayBook will be headed to the network ‘soon.’ This is of course great news for folks who were downtrodden after Verizon indicated that it was still evaluating whether or not the PlayBook would show up on the network. When it’s going to show up exactly [...]
According to a report that’s backed with evidence, Sprint and RIM will be launching the BlackBerry PlayBook, in Wi-Fi only flavor, on May 8th. The evidence is an internal document that was snagged by SpanTechular and it indicates that May 8th is the day that the recently released BlackBerry PlayBook will be out and available [...]
AT&T offers a small base station calle a MicroCell, which is supposed to boost your network connection at your home. In testing, we found that the AT&T MicroCell is nice, but we wouldn’t pay for one. When AT&T offered to give me a free 3G MicroCell, I took them up on the offer. It was [...]
Sprint is announcing their new Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot. It is a mobile wireless broadband router which connects to their 4G network offering faster broadband speeds to eight other devices like a laptop, tablets or other wi-fi gadgets. Our own Chuong Nguyen was able to get an early look at the device and ran [...]
Boeing and Honeywell Avionics claim that display units used by pilots can experience “blanking” when exposed to Wi-Fi equipment operating at “elevated power levels”. Fortunately, current onboard airplane Wi-Fi does not operate at “elevated power levels” so no worries there, but could a lot of Wi-Fi devices operating at once have the same effect?
Word out of Washington is the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to allow the use of “white spaces” for wireless broadband, allowing for the creation of what they call “Super Wi-Fi”.
Ars Technica reports that a plan to build a nationwide Wi-Fi network has been removed from consideration by the FCC. The decision drew protests by the plan’s promoter and cheers from wireless providers who were against the idea. Where do you stand on the issue?
Good news for everyone willing to pay $5.00 for a cup of coffee but not one cent for Wi-Fi hotspot access: Starbucks is finally lifting the registered customer-only restrictions on their in-store hotspot access starting next month. Let new construction of Starbucks offices begin!
Gotta hand it to UK wireless service provider Three on knowing the way into a geek’s heart. Not only have they fitted their MiFi mobile hotspot with an OLED display for detailed device data, but they’ve rounded off display corners and made it black. Now you and your nerd buddies can look cool while sharing [...]
Traveling with a bag full of computers and gadgets can be a real pain. One of the most frustrating things I deal with when traveling is that most hotel rooms simply aren’t set up for guests traveling with multiple computers, cameras and mobile devices. There’s rarely enough AC outlets to plug more than a couple [...]
In a move to get their New York City customers online (and divert traffic away from their overcrowded 3G network), AT&T has announced a Wi-Fi “hotzone” program that aims to cover broader areas with Wi-Fi, starting with the ever-busy Times Square.
About a week ago, AT&T announced their intent to increase their 3G speeds via HSPA+, potentially boosting it to up to 14.4Mbps. That’s all well and good, really. But I have to wonder, AT&T, if your 3G speeds can get that high, why do your Wi-Fi speeds seem so low?
If you live in New York City and get your home high-speed Internet from either Time Warner Cable or Cablevision, your access to Wi-Fi hotspots just got a big boost as the two are opening Wi-Fi access for each other’s customers.
I managed to snag a Motorola Droid from my local Verizon store in Huber Heights, Ohio, after work yesterday. To my surprise there was no line and the store was fairly empty. A few customers were checking out the Droid, but the crowd was thin. I asked the Verizon employee assisting me how the day [...]
I sat across the aisle from David Cush on Virgin America’s inaugural flight from SFO to SNA yesterday. He was using a ThinkPad x60 and had a lot of good things to say about it. Naturally, I took the opportunity to shoot a GBM Shortcut. Cush likes ThinkPads’ keyboards so much that he refuses to [...]
Hear that sweet music? It’s coming from Hugh Sung and his new company, AirTurn. The company sells wireless, hands-free page turning transmitters for musicians that use Tablet PCs or laptops to read music. The AirTurn device hooks up to your computer via USB, is easy to use, and compatible with many operating [...]
Want to go mobile in a whole new way? Over the past several months, American Airlines has been testing Wi-Fi on three routes. A rep from American Airlines is telling us in a meeting at CntrStg that they expect to make an announcement very soon regarding their tests, and when the rest of us might [...]
It appears that MSI Wind netbook owners who patiently waited for W-Fi support and took the risk of installing OS X on their machines may now have drivers for their factory installed Realtek Wi-Fi cards. Although not posted on the official Realtek site, this thread at MSIWind.net tracks consumer emails to and from Realtek, the [...]
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Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video)
When Sprint had debuted the original WiMax-capable HTC EVO 4G nearly two years ago, it was an instant hit on the Now network. Not only was the HTC EVO 4G the first 4G smartphone in the world taking advantage of Sprint’s then speedy WiMax network, but it brought some new features and pizzazz to the [...]
Last year Toshiba waded into the Android tablet market with the Thrive, a 10.1-inch slate that served as the company’s response to what they deemed missing in the then current crop. Thus, it had several full-size ports, a rugged-ish exterior, and a thick chassis to accommodate both. Though a decent tablet, the Thrive didn’t generate [...]
Samsung Shows That It Is a Software Company
As exciting as it has been to talk, postulate, and speculate about the Galaxy S III’s hardware and specs before the third-generation Galaxy flagship smartphone was announced on May 3rd in London, once the device was announced one thing became apparent: Samsung is now a software company. That doesn’t mean that Samsung is shying away [...]
Autumn Dynasty Review: A Great RTS for the iPad
With its large touchscreen, the iPad seems like the perfect platform for Real Time Strategy games, and Autumn Dynasty proves it, mostly. Autumn Dynasty is an RTS iPad game with art that looks like tradition Chinese painting. The story involves quelling a rebellion while solving a mystery of shady noblemen. The story though, just serves [...]
Griffin GuitarConnect Pro Review: Record Your Jams with Ease
The Griffin GuitarConnect Pro interfaces with your Guitar and your iPad or iPhone so you can record your music easily using apps like Apple’s GarageBand. My son Daniel, who’s learning to play guitar, helped me test it out and he loved it. When he gets as good as Jimi Hendrix, I’m sure he’ll steal my [...]
Google Search App iPhone and iPad Update Looks Beautiful (Video)
Google just delivered a beautiful update to the company’s Google Search app for the iPhone and iPad The Google Search app for iPhone and iPad replaced Safari as my browser of choice, earning a spot in the iPhone and iPad dock. It’s faster and offers a beautiful new full screen image search which looks awesome on the [...]
