Hasta La Gadget!

Bccthis can add a private message to select recipients at the same time you send a public one. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12261_7-20001107-10356022.html” class=”origPostedBlog”CTIA 2010/a/p

Belkin may have once been about flashy, blue LED-glowing routers with alpha-numeric model numbers, but its new Surf, Share, Play and Play Max are certainly horses of a different color. We caught a glimpse of the new range this morning, and while routers are usually a bit of a snooze fest, this group of boxes show potential of being the easiest routers in the world to configure. While they are surely vanilla-looking, they come with the SSID and encryption pre-configured. Just plug in and you are good to go, though if you want to change your network name to something “creative” you can do that with the included software. Beyond the simplistic setup, all of the 802.11n routers — save for the entry level $49.99 Surf — come with “apps.” For instance, the $79.99 2.4GHz Share comes with a USB port that supports external USB hard drives or printers and Belkin’s own backup and printing software. By far the snazziest of Belkin’s “progs,” as we now like to call them, is the Vuze Torrent Genie, which gets baked into the $129.99 Dual-Band, Gigabit Play Max. The software shifts the download of your totally legal torrents to the router when your computer isn’t powered on or has been disconnected from the network, ensuring that your transfer keep on humming with or without PC intervention. We know, the fact that we’re remotely excited by a group of new WLAN routers seems like an early April Fools joke, but this time around we actually encourage you to read the PR below for more details on these boxes.

Continue reading Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear-free

Belkin Surf, Share, Play and Play Max app-equipped routers may finally make wireless configuration tear-free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unless you’ve been in one of a few key test markets, you’ve been pretty much out of luck boosting your AT&T signal in the comfortable confines of your home since the 3G MicroCell first launched — until now. Starting in the middle of next month in a deployment that spans “several” months, customers across the country should expect to see MicroCells pop up in their local regions. The device itself will run a one-time fee of $149.99 before a $100 mail-in rebate (when purchased with a “3G MicroCell calling plan,” though we don’t yet know what that constitutes). Separately, there’ll be a $19.99 plan bolt-on that offers unlimited calling when connected to the device — and anyone tacking on a new U-verse or DSL line of 1.5Mbps or higher will get another $50 rebate. It’s not the end of AT&T’s spectrum or backhaul concerns, we’re sure, but it’s a start.

Update: We’ve just clarified — the $19.99 bolt-on is the only one that’s relevant for the $100 rebate; there are no other dedicated MicroCell calling plans, so that should make it a little easier to bring down the net cost of the unit since you don’t have to change into another base plan.

AT&T 3G MicroCell starting nationwide roll-out in mid-April originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re here at Verizon Wireless’ LTE forum at CTIA 2010, and a higher-up speaking about application development just let a sweet little nugget of information slip: the long-awaited V Cast Apps market will launch on March 29th (that’s the new target, anyway). If you’ll recall, we’ve been hearing about this portal ever since last summer, but we’re guessing that a bona fide launch was put on pause in order to tweak things for Verizon’s eventual LTE release (a bit we’ll touch on here later). Initially, the BlackBerry Storm (and Storm2, presumably) will be supported, with other RIM devices coming onboard shortly thereafter. The rollout will continue over the coming weeks and months, hopefully to a few other mobile operating systems.

Responding to a few questions, Verizon insists that its own storefront won’t take away from “other markets,” namely the Android Marketplace. Instead, they’re “perpetuating the ecosystem,” with the app store simply being a vessel of distribution. In other words, app devs are stoked that their software could be found in multiple stores.

Verizon launching V Cast Apps on March 29th, RIM devices get first dibs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The incessant complaints about AT&T’s poor voice and data services could soon come to an end, though at a cost of $150.

AT&T on Wednesday announced the nationwide release of its 3G MicroCell, the company’s first femtocell. It’s a device that creates a tiny 3G data and voice signal for your personal use, eliminating AT&T’s network issues within a limited range.

Available for order today through AT&T’s website, the MicroCell acts like a mini cell tower in your home. It connects to your existing broadband internet service through an Ethernet cable, according to AT&T, and then beams out a cell signal that has a range of about 40 feet, or enough to cover most apartments and houses.

It will provide better cell-signal performance for both voice calls and cellular-data applications, such as picture messaging and web surfing, even if you’re in an area that has no AT&T coverage at all. Only devices that you authorize — up to 10 — can connect to your MicroCell.

“This will always be important for certain people whose home construction or topography makes network coverage difficult,” an AT&T spokesman told Wired.com.

The device is being offered for a one-time fee of $150; you activate it through AT&T with some self-install instructions (which include placing it near a window so it can pick up a GPS signal). The one-time pricing is good news, because when AT&T in September 2009 began consumer trials of the MicroCell in North Carolina, the trial version was being offered only in combination with a $20 monthly plan. (Paul Stamatiou reviewed a trial version of the MicroCell in November 2009.)

Customers still have the option to pay a companion rate of $20 a month for unlimited phone calls, which would give them $100 off the MicroCell. That plan would enable individuals and family-plan customers to make unlimited calls through a 3G MicroCell, without using minutes in their monthly wireless voice plan.

Since the release of the iPhone 3G, AT&T has come under fire for its patchy network performance. Wired.com in late 2008 led an independent study that revealed AT&T’s network performance was slower than networks in other countries, which suggested the AT&T network was overloaded. Later, in 2009, AT&T owned up to network issues and said it was dealing with massive traffic as a result of 3G smartphones becoming popular. A more recent study by PC World saw major improvements in AT&T’s network speeds.

Though we’re certain thousands of dissatisfied AT&T iPhone customers are going to buy one of these, we’re sure critics will still point out the fact that AT&T is requiring you to pay to improve their network service.

Product Page [AT&T]

See Also:

• The Future of Femtocells: One Remote Controls All Devices
• Femtocells May Help Improve Cellular Coverage — On Your Dime
• Motorola Frames Femtocells For Homes
• Femtocell Hub Will Boost Cell Phone, Wi-FI Signals

Image courtesy of AT&T

(Thanks, Seth!)