Hasta La Gadget!

Not that a view over the Thames ever gets old, but commuters should soon find it a bit easier to check their inboxes while they’re on or next to the water. Californian WiFi specialist Ruckus says that its wireless steering technology — which increases network range by up to 4x by directing signals around obstacles and interference — has just been picked for an upgrade to BT’s Thames WiFi service. The new “carrier-grade” equipment should be activated within the next couple of months and will stretch out along the full 27 meandering miles of river that are already covered by traditional antennas. With better hotspot access spreading across the Tube network, black cabs and now the water, EE‘s central London LTE service will have even more to prove in terms of raw speed.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Internet, Mobile

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If you’re always on the go, finding hotspot to be able to access your e-mail and other networks can be difficult in some areas. A company called TP-Link has announced a new product that will make it easy to stay connected on the go called the M5350. The device is a battery powered 3G mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.

The device is designed to provide high-speed wireless Internet access using 802.11n technology. The mobile hotspot has a high capacity internal 2000 mAh battery to power its internal 3G modem. The device promises operate for 7 to 10 hours per charge.

The device can also be powered by a micro USB cable connected to a laptop, portable charger, or an included power adapter to extend runtime and recharge the device. The portable hotspot has a SIM card slot supporting HSPA+ 3G broadband connectivity with download speeds of up to 21 Mbps. The portable modem also supports upload speeds of up to 5.7 Mbps.

Other features include an internal microSD card slot supporting cards up to 32 GB allowing the hotspot to function as a portable hard drive. That storage space can be shared with any device is connected to the portable modem. Little device also supports multiple security formats including WEP, WPA, and several others. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

TP-Link unveils battery-powered 3G mobile Wi-Fi device is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s time once again to bust out with Sierra Wireless as they manufacture another mobile hotspot with a touchscreen, again this time for AT&T’s 4G LTE data network. This machine works with a 2.4-inch touchscreen display and, like the Mifi Liberate we just reviewed, it can connect to up to 10 wi-fi-loving devices at once. This machine works with an on-screen meter so you can see how much data you’re using at a given time and makes the whole process as user-friendly as possible.

You’ll be able to add this little monster to your Mobile Share plan for $20 USD a month and will be able to use your shared “bucket” of data with your family across their smartphones and tablets on AT&T as well. You can manage each connected device via the touchscreen interface on the Unite and are able to block unwanted devices from joining (and there’s password protection in place as well, of course, if you just want to skip that step altogether.)

This device takes the greatness of the Liberate and changes it up a bit with a slightly more light-hearted design. For those of you that want white or pearlescent devices in your pockets only, at all times, the Unite will be the winner for your fashionable heart. This machine has a slightly different user interface than the Liberate works with, here simplifying the way you’re tapping with the slightly larger display size – this allowing more finger-sized buttons to fit, of course.

This device will be available soon from your local AT&T store – check it out and let us know how it goes! Make sure you take a peek at the Liberate as well, it being created by Novatel Wireless and coming in as a winner in our books.

AT&T Unite 4G LTE mobile hotspot keeps the touchscreen flame strong is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The founders behind Karma (no, not that Karma) think that there’s something fundamentally broken in the market for mobile providers. And they’re hardly alone. So, the TechStars grads set out to create a new format, one that eschews the traditional subscription model for a pay-as-you-go approach to mobile bandwidth.

In an effort to realize their vision of providing anyone and everyone with a 4G, mobile Hotspot for their pocket, the startup is today officially launching its $79 hotspot device that comes with 1GB of free bandwidth and is available for purchase on YourKarma.com.

The 4G and WiFi-capable Hotspot is about half the size of a smartphone (so it does indeed fit in your pocket), comes with a range of six to eight hours of battery life, is capable of speeds of up to 6 megabits per second (Mbps) and can facilitate up to eight open connections at once. Additional bandwidth costs $14 per gigabyte and “never expires,” according to Karma co-founder Robert Gaal.

But, what the founders believe sets their Hotspot package apart is that it introduces the concept of “Social Bandwidth,” meaning that the device and its network are social right out of the box. The more you share your connection with people, the more bandwidth you earn. Right from purchase, Karma’s open WiFi signal is individually branded to its owner — “Rip’s Karma,” for example — and allows owners to earn 100 megabytes of free data each time they share their WiFi network with a new user.

This also works both ways, as the new user is gifted 100 megabytes of free data so that they can get up and running on the network for free once they sign up for an account. Say what you will about this “Karmic loop,” but in the stodgy old world of mobile providers, it’s an innovative business model and approach to user acquisition.

So, just in case it’s not clear, here’s how it works: I buy a Karma 4G, WiFi Hotspot, which has eight hours of battery from a single charge and works just as fast as WiFi connection any in my local area. Once the device is received, I create a Karma account (sign in via Facebook) and immediately given 100MB of free bandwidth. If I go over that limit, I pay $14 for each additional GB of data I use.

Sure, it’s not unlimited, but it’s competitive with other mobile plans if you, say, end up using 5GB of data, as that comes out to $70. If you don’t use that much, you pay less, and if you happen to go over that 5GB, you don’t have to deal with overage charges, which is a breath of fresh air.

Once I’m set up, I head to my local coffee shop, where Karma’s open WiFi network is bound to find some poachers. If those thieves sign up for Karma via Facebook, they too get 100MB free (as do I) attached to their Facebook ID. Even if they don’t have their own Hotspot, they still get free access to WiFi, and since, as the admin, I see the incoming WiFi connections and their Facebook profiles, I have the opportunity to do a little social curating, disapproving if I see something I don’t like. What’s more, the poachers can buy 1GB of data if they go over the 100MB limit right through Karma.

As to who’s powering Karma’s 4G? Karma operates as a virtual provider on the Clearwire broadband network, which serves approximately 135 million people across the U.S. in 80 cities and Simplexity (an authorized MVNA for Clearwire) provides access to the the company’s 4G network.

It’s a very interesting time for Karma to be entering the space, especially as the big mobile service providers are increasingly choosing to offer shared plans and, really, becoming data brokers — that’s their core revenue stream. If it’s true that the average smartphone user consumes about 220MB of data per month, then that makes Karma a favorable alternative. Especially if one is a Karma owner, as it would only require sharing your WiFi network with a couple of other coffee shop dwellers to get a couple hundred MBs of free data.

While Karma is very much provider and platform agnostic, right now it’s only working with Clearwire. Going forward, it’s going to be key for Karma to partner with other networks to extend its national reach. However, it’s hard to imagine that the bigs like Verizon and AT&T are going to be jazzed about supporting the competition.

Nonetheless, there’s a big opportunity in the air, as GoGo Inflight Internet is sorely in need of disrupting. The company is in the early stages of a pilot with one of the largest airlines in the U.S., which will offer “free Karma hotspots to frequent fliers,” for example. Building out these partnerships could prove to be a great revenue stream and user acquisition strategy for Karma.

After graduating from TechStars NY this summer, the startup raised approximately $1 million in funding from Werner Vogels (CTO of Amazon), DFJ, BOLDstart Ventures, Chang Ng, Collaborative Fund, David Tisch, David Cohen, Eliot Loh, Jerry Neumann, Kal Vepuri, TechStars and 500 Startups, to name a few.

For more, find Karma at home here.

Google has snapped up ICOA Inc., a WiFi and wired broadband hotspot specialist providing internet access at airports and other public locations, in what could be another play to bypass traditional carriers. The deal, worth $400m, sees Google acquire more than 1,500 hotspot points across 45 US states, in addition to existing partnerships with other providers including Boingo Wireless and iPass.

Update: Sources close to the situation now tell us that, in fact, the acquisition did not go ahead, and that has been confirmed by ICOA’s chairman. It’s unclear why the press release was published, and there’s no official comment from Google at this time.

Google has said little about its motivations for the deal, beyond the terse comment that it “looks to further diversity its already impressive portfolio of companies.” However, it’s not hard to imagine how a network of wireless connectivity points across the US could help Google’s cloud ambitions, particularly when it comes to scything away at the control exerted by carriers.

For instance, Google’s Chrome OS is heavily dependent on an internet connection for its cloud-based storage, apps, and services; Google Voice, meanwhile, offers a VoIP alternative to traditional cellphone calls, but demands a data connection in order to do so. Google has had some success of late working around the traditional subsidy model of cellphone sales, with the Nexus 4 sold at a competitive rate off-contract and unlocked, but it’s still reliant on a carrier’s SIM.

With a network of WiFi connectivity, however, Google could operate its own telecoms alternative, providing users of its services with a way to get online that didn’t involve working with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, or others. ICOA also specializes in “design, installation, operation, maintenance and management” of hotspots, which could be useful skills as Google’s broadband deployment continues.

Of course, Google isn’t the only company wanting to work around traditional carriers. Steve Jobs apparently hoped to use a WiFi alternative with the original iPhone, having challenged Apple engineers to discover ”whether synthetically you could create a carrier using WiFi spectrum”; Microsoft, meanwhile, is believed to have had a similar goal in mind when it decided to acquire Skype.

Update: Looks like this is a case of a rogue press release. No official comment from Google, though sources tell us that the reported ICOA deal is not, in fact, authentic. We’re waiting to hear back from ICOA itself, but the company’s CEO apparently told TechCrunch that no negotiations had been in progress.

Update 2: ICOA chairman George Strouthopoulos tells us that the company believes the press release was pushed out by “a stock promoter with a dubious interest” in the following statement:

This is NOT TRUE!! Never had any discussions with any potential acquirers!! This is absolutely false!

Someone, I guess a stock promoter with a dubious interest, is disseminating wrong, false and misleading info in the PR circles.

ICOA will report this to the proper authorities.

Update 3: ICOA chief financial officer Erwin Vahlsing, Jr. tells us that the report “is false.”

Google grabs ICOA WiFi hotspot specialist [Update: Or maybe not] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.