Hasta La Gadget!

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.

While all-in-one printers usually tote print, copy, scan and fax capabilities, we’re hardly ones to complain if we get something more. The aptly-named HP Hotspot LaserJet Pro M1218nfs also crams in a WiFi hotspot — opening up the world wide web for access on up to eight devices at a time. Other than swallowing a wireless hub, the laser printer also boasts Apple AirPrint along with HP’s ePrint and wireless direct for tether-free printing. Out in India for 18,306 rupees ($330), we’re awaiting word on stateside availability. Now it isn’t really up to us to say if that NFS in its monicker points to speed, but a quick tap on the source link is enough to throw up the full specs.

Continue reading HP’s new all-in-one printer adds more to that ‘all’, turns into a WiFi hotspot

Filed under: Peripherals, HP

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Source: HP (specs)

Could you live your mobile life on WiFi? Attempts to ween users off of expensive, subsidized smartphone deals have been more successful this year than every before; word earlier today that Google had acquired a WiFi hotspot company – and which later turned out to be false – was believable in part because the search company is a prime candidate for ousting cellular from the mobile equation. The ICOA deal may be fake, but Google‘s appetite to ditch the traditional carriers and strike out more or less alone isn’t new.

The original Nexus One was the company’s first effort at that, an attempt to bypass the commonplace subsidized phone deals with an unlocked handset, and relegate the carriers themselves to “dumb pipe” status. It proved to be an idea ahead of its time; smartphone-naive shoppers blanched at a $529 sticker price in January 2010, and Google had to satisfy itself with carrier distribution just like everybody else.

Though we’re only two years past that point, the reception to the unlocked Nexus 4 has been considerably warmer. The phone’s $299 off-contract price didn’t hurt – the same, it’s worth noting, as some high-profile phones have launched, complete with a subsidy and two-year agreement – on carriers like Verizon and AT&T – and Google’s apparent inability to keep them in stock suggests that demand is strong.

Along the way we’ve seen a growing play for the connectivity market by Google. The company already has an agreement with Boingo, subsidizing or offering free access in locations across the US, and of course has its Google Fiber network beginning in Kansas City. It’s still early days, mind, though there are plenty of other wireless hotspot providers out there, primarily in cities, transit locations, and venues like restaurants.

“When does WiFi become pervasive enough to make users sufficiently confident?”

The question is one of saturation, then, and comfort levels: at what point does WiFi coverage become pervasive enough to make users confident enough to abandon traditional carriers. Would the knowledge that 80-percent of the places you can usually be found had WiFi internet access – such as for messaging, and browsing, and VoIP – put you at ease for not having an active cellphone plan? For some that figure would need to be much higher – 90-, or 95-percent even – whereas others, making fewer calls perhaps, might be willing to go down to 50- or 60-percent coverage in return for cheaper monthly bills. Cellphone coverage isn’t 100-percent, after all.

One reluctance might well be down to hotspot unfamiliarity: just how much of the time could you be using a WiFi connection rather than your carrier’s data pipe? It’s not a metric that the carriers themselves are keen to share – focused, instead, on maximizing 3G/4G revenues – though Google could handle that transition relatively easily. Google Now already tracks your location (it can count your steps each month, like a fancy pedometer, or tell you the timetables for the nearest public transport); it would be a small matter to put together a monthly summary of the amount of time you’d spent within the wireless range of a WiFi hotspot.

Even if that degree of pervasiveness wasn’t quite enough to tick the comfort box, it could be sufficient to at least break down some of the monthly bill. Splitting off data use to a hotspot, and using the carriers merely for traditional voice calls and text messaging, would certainly trim service fees, as well as ensuring that things like emergency calling is still available. There’s also room for more unusual price plans, such as we’ve seen Google and others negotiate for tablets and Chromebooks: would you pay another, say, $80 on top of your off-contract phone for twelve months of minimal calls and messages – just enough to tide you through those times you were out of range of WiFi?

Breaking free of carriers and their demands isn’t the sole reserve of Google – Steve Jobs wanted to do it with WiFi and the first iPhone, and Microsoft has Skype for Windows Phone 8 – but the search giant may well be in the best position to actually deliver it. That might not be with ICOA, but it would be mighty surprising if Google wasn’t looking for a way to further democratize the mobile data pipe in its favor.

A Google plan to kill carriers with WiFi is all too believable is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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If speed is the only thing that matter to you behold the WZR-D1100H/U a new IEEE802.11ac wireless router that will hit store shelves in Japan at the end of this month at around 25,450 Yen.
Offering a maximum speed of 600Mbps on its 5GHz bandwidth (theoretical) between compatible devices, the WZR-D1100H/U also comes with the of good old IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n at 300Mbps Maximum.

Londoners enjoyed not only “the greatest show on earth” this summer, but also free tube WiFi courtesy of Virgin Media. It’s due to remain complimentary for what’s left of the year, but if you’re with EE, you’ll be able to continue updating your status from subterranean platforms in 2013. The UK‘s first 4G provider has struck a deal to hook its customers up to Virgin’s underground WiFi infrastructure, although the announcement seems to have gone out a little earlier than planned. EE tweeted the news then swiftly retracted it, but has since replied to Mr. Miles at Pocket-lint confirming the partnership, at least for however long that message stays… yep, it’s gone. If you’re not on EE, don’t get your sad face on just yet, as there are rumors circulating that other carriers will be piggybacking on Virgin’s hotspots, too — they just haven’t accidentally announced it yet.

Update: It’s now officially official, and Vodafone’s on board as well. Next year, tube WiFi will stay free for those signed with either EE or Voda, and Virgin will be offering pay-as-you-go options for those that aren’t: daily, weekly or monthly access from £2 per day (roughly $3.20). Virgin is also hooking up another 48 stations, with 20 due to be switched on this December and 28 in early 2013. If you’re wondering whether your local station is one of the score being hooked up this month, they’re all listed in the PR below.

Continue reading EE strikes deal with Virgin Media to give its customers free tube WiFi in 2013 (update: Vodafone, too)

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Mobile

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Via: Pocket-lint

Source: EE (Twitter), Stuart Miles (Twitter)