Borders bookstores to have free WiFi
Here’s another place to go hang out with your laptop and surf the Web – Borders bookstores. They’re rolling out free WiFi starting about the middle of this month in most of their stores nationwide.
wifi
Review of Virgin America’s in-flight WiFi service
I finally got a chance to test out Virgin America’s in-flight WiFi service for myself on a Boston to Los Angeles flight and found that it performed quite well. Download speed (which is what most folks care about) was well over 1Mbps in all of my various speed tests; in some cases, I got as much as 2.5Mbps. However, those folks looking to do some more serious work that involved uploads should be cautioned – I barely got 300kbps and those uploads tests stuttered in more than a few cases.
Virgin America uses Aircell’s GoGo service and while I find that $12.95 for a cross-country flight is a bit pricey (especially on top of the $20 they charged me for my 1 piece of luggage), business users shouldn’t blink for this chance to be more productive. I was also pleased that the staff announced prior to take-off that WiFi coverage could be spotty as we crossed Canada briefly, so we were duly warned.
If you’re on a VA flight, and you need to get on those addictive Interwebs, then you should be pleased with this service.
Novatel MiFi 2200 – Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot modem (for Sprint or Verizon)
I really like the idea of the Novatel Mi-Fi devices – a mobile Wi-Fi modem that lets you create your very own Wi-Fi hotspot anywhere there is Verizon or Sprint cell coverage. Sure, you have to have one of their broadband service plans, but the device is free (well, $0.01) when you purchase a subscription. It’s useless anyway without one.
The MiFi 2200 is compact (3.5″ at its widest) and thin (0.4″) so it’s easy to slip into your laptop bag. This EVDO Rev A modem has transfer rates in the 600Kbps to 1.4Mbps range, and can support up to 5 Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g devices. It runs on a lithium-ion battery that is rechargeable via a USB connection and gives up to 4 hours of active time and 40 hours of standby time.
As an example of what you might pay for broadband service, Sprint costs about $60/mo and Verizon has a few plans, one of which is $40/mo. Check with them for up to date numbers.
The Novatel MiFi 2200 seems perfect for small businesses that want to provide service to customers coming into their store or even their own employees; or perhaps if your job requires a fair amount of travel with other colleagues; or you’re a student that likes sharing. There are a lot of potential uses for this gadget.
Buy now! (Sprint)
Buy now! (Verizon)
Price: $0.01 (with service plan)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
Myine IRA Wi-Fi Internet Radio player
The Myine Ira (acronym for Internet Radio Adapter) is another take on Internet radio, this time in a (mostly) standalone device that plays any of the over 11,000 free radio stations available on the Net.
Hook it up to your wireless network and then plug it into some speakers or your AV system, and you’re good to go. You can filter by location, store up to 40 of your favorite stations and program it to play back podcasts.
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $129.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
NY indie coffee shops probably driving customers to Starbucks
In what I think is a bad move by these independent coffee shops in NYC, they’re shooing their laptop-wielding customers who camp out and buy very little in the way of coffee.
Enter Starbucks, who saw an opening and jumped into the conversation saying that their customers can stay as long as they want. See what just happened there? We blogged about it too, and now Starbucks has just a little more publicity.
So now you know where to get that caffeine hit and hang out with your ‘puter.
GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending June 26, 2009
Here’s the quick recap for the week:
- Skyhook Wireless has a new positioning service that works via WiFi
- Metal detecting sandals
- IEEE has a video contest to celebrate their 125th anniversary.
- Guitar Hero 5 on its way!.
- Really Easy Reader can help speed up your reading
- Google could add number portability to Google Voice, and Google Voice is opening up to new users.
- The 1.4 HDMI spec is out
Skyhook Wireless – A Credible Alternative to GPS?
Perhaps a little known fact is that iPhone doesn’t always get its positioning from GPS, but sometimes from WiFi and cellular towers, using Skyhook Wireless’ system. Skyhook provides an alternative form of positioning that is more reliable in areas where there may be excessive sky coverage, such as trees or tall buildings – it is at this point the iPhone may decide to switch to taking its position from surrounding WiFi acess points and cellular towers by judging its proximity to them.
How does this work? WiFi points are generally moveable so surely it’s impossible to get an accurate position from them? True. But Skyhook employs around 500 drivers who constantly patrol the streets in their custom vehicles (much like how Google map their various softwares) to work out where the access points are located. To me, this seems a very costly procedure to what is a relatively small company, but it’s obviously working. If you want the gory details on everything Skyhook related, their website: SkyhookWireless.com otherwise I would highly recommend NYTimes.com’s very informative article.
USB 802.11n/g WiFi Adapters
Most modern laptops today have their WiFi adapters built in, but if you have an older laptop and would rather not shell out just to get WiFi, here are some USB WiFi adpaters models that will help you get online without wires.
The fast…
If it’s speed you’re after, the Belkin Wireless N+ 802.11n USB adapter (~$75) shouldn’t do you far wrong – the adapter takes 802.11n connections (as the name suggests), is MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) enabled, but is also backwards compatible with wireless-g and 802.11b routers. It comes with a very pleasing desk stand should you wish to use it for your desktop.
Buy now
…
HAVA Titanium HD WiFi
Okay, Okay, I know we seem to love HAVA here, but we thought we’d let you know about the HAVA Titanium we mentioned in a pervious post. The HAVA Titanium HD WiFi (to use its proper name) allows you to stream HD video to your TV via a super-fast 802.11n connection.
The device basically works by streaming HD video through over your WiFi system to the dongles plugged into all your receivers (TVs and what have you). If you so wish, you can back away the box and take it with you on your travels (potential SlingBox killer?) – wherever there’s an internet connection you can watch your TV shows from home via a wide range of media, including mobile phones, and can stream simultaneously to multiple receivers, as with most of these cool HAVA items.
Price: $249.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)
Mvix Nubbin – world’s smallest wireless-N USB adapter
If you’ve decided that you need to get your Wireless-N on, but would rather not shell out thousands for a new laptop or updated wireless device, then you need a wireless-N adapter. The Mvix Nubbin is arguably the world’s smallest such adapter.
The Mvix Nubbin is a USB 2.0 adapter that is 802.11n draft compliant as well as supporting 802.11b/g and 802.1e QoS. It works with Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
It really is small, extending only 18mm (0.7″) out from its host.
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $37.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)