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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

If you’ve ever thought “Hey, my internet is pretty slow, maybe I can get a second line and combine them into one big, zippy connection!” then you’re not alone — those of us who are broadband-deprived need all the help we can get. But a quick tour through Google will show you the difficulty of doing that process, called “bonding,” at home. So, Connectify has proposed Dispatch, software that lets you easily combine your WiFi, ethernet and 3G/4G into a single, fat pipe, at a reasonable cost. The company brings along wireless sharing know-how from its Hotspot product to the project, and promises that with every connection you combine, you’ll get a corresponding bump in throughput. Also, the system will automatically failover to a good connection if one goes on the fritz, and even switch automatically between WiFi and 3G/4G to maximize speed and save money.

To prove the tech, the company combined all the available open WiFi networks in a neighborhood along with a tethered Verizon mobile phone, and were able to create an impressive 85Mbs connection, as the video below the break shows. So far, Connectify has vacuumed up $30K for Dispatch toward the $50K objective, with about two weeks left. So, if you’re desperate for more speed, or just want to trump your neighbor’s bandwidth by stealing his WiFi and melding it with your ADSL, check the source to see how to pledge.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Connectify Dispatch lets you put all your internets together into one big internet (video)

Filed under: Internet

Insert Coin: Connectify Dispatch lets you put all your internets together into one big internet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, at least no one can blame AT&T for dodging the core issue any longer. After watching Verizon Wireless snag satisfaction crown after satisfaction crown from AT&T over the years, it seems that the latter is finally using a highly defensive blog post on the issue of FaceTime over cellular in order to cop to what we’ve all known: AT&T’s network is in no shape to handle the glut of devices currently running on it. After being taken by storm in 2007 with the iPhone, AT&T has been racing to right the supply / demand curve, and it came to a head once more last week when the operator announced that only Mobile Share users would be able to use FaceTime over its 3G / 4G airwaves once iOS 6 hit. Naturally, pundits were quick to slam the company for implementing a policy that nudges existing users with grandfathered unlimited data plans to slide up to a plan that’s potentially less awesome, but a lengthy letter on AT&T’s Public Policy Blog lays out the real reason.

The company makes clear that the decision to limit FaceTime over cellular to Mobile Share customers does not violate the FCC’s net neutrality rules — after all, it’s being decidedly transparent about the frowned-upon choice — nor does it cross the line on any “blocking” issues. Its argument is simple: it’s not blocking you from using any video chat application you want, but it is exercising its right to manage the doors through which all chat applications can and can’t be used. The money quote is here: “We are broadening our customers’ ability to use the preloaded version of FaceTime but limiting it in this manner to our newly developed AT&T Mobile Share data plans out of an overriding concern for the impact this expansion may have on our network and the overall customer experience.” Despite our scorn, we’re halfway glad the policy is in place — after all, how would you feel if you couldn’t load a vital email because everyone else on the block was chatting with their mum about chimera cats on FaceTime? Rock, meet hard place.

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T confesses: its network couldn’t handle unchecked FaceTime over cellular originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Love venting your E-Train frustrations with Boingo and Google Offers’ free WiFi? While the Manhattan program ends on September 7th, the partnership has swelled its coverage to include a further 24 locations across the nation. From today, eight malls will offer WiFi in cities like LA, SF and Seattle — while Airport hoppers will be able to get a 50 percent discount on 24-hour access at 16 airports including JFK, O’Hare and Midway, if you sign up with Mountain View’s offers service. If you’re at nearing the end of your data cap and need some free internet stat, head on past the break to find out more.

Continue reading Google Offers, Boingo add more locations for free and discounted public WiFi

Filed under: Wireless

Google Offers, Boingo add more locations for free and discounted public WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In early August, an Indonesian POSTEL listing revealed two new mirrorless NEX shooters in Sony’s pipeline, both reportedly rocking wireless LAN chips. Now VR-Zone seems to have come across certification photos of the two cameras, each modeling — you guessed it — its very own WiFi logo. As expected, this puts Sony’s ILC range inline with the wireless smorgasbord it laid out at CES, eschewing less native, accessory-based solutions. VR-Zone wagers that the NEX-5R will sell for about $700, and pegs the NEX-6 somewhere around $1000. Better start saving — hit the source link below for a better look at where your pocket money might be going.

Update: Sony Alpha Rumors has thrown in some more images of the NEX-5R, this time of the press shot kind. We’ve embedded a handful after the break.

Continue reading Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 allegedly get pictured, flaunt WiFi logos (updated with leaked press shots)

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony NEX-5R and NEX-6 allegedly get pictured, flaunt WiFi logos (updated with leaked press shots) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 01:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your friends might laugh at you wholeheartedly when they see you sporting something that looks like a walnut on your head – the £159.99 Ego WiFi HD Action Camera which will come in black, blue, red, white or yellow colors, but they certainly will not laugh any more when they check out the kind of daredevil stunts that you perform, recording all of it from a vantage point of view to show them just how much cojones you have over the rest of your clique.

The Ego WiFi HD Action Camera will basically capture all of your action and adventure in 1080p high definition, and if you happen to own a smartphone or compatible tablet, live video footage can also be streamed onto your screen thanks to the integrated Wi-Fi chip on the Ego WiFi HD Action Camera.

There is a built-in microphone that will perform all the recording of the slew of high pitch squeals and applause amidst the audience who are watching your every daredevil move that drips with adrenaline and courage. Not only that, the Ego WiFi HD Action Camera is also capable of shooting still images thanks to its 12-megapixel camera. A USB connection will allow you to transfer the slew of recorded images and video to a computer at the end of the day.

[ Ego WiFi HD Action Camera copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]