Hasta La Gadget!

Well, that certainly didn’t last very long, did it? Looks like Clear is already sending its unusual iSpot product to the great WiMAX network in the sky less than five months after its introduction. As a refresher, the iSpot’s claim to fame is that it was designed to work only with iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads — and in exchange for the crazy restriction, Clear would charge you less than $100 for the hotspot itself and just $25 a month for unlimited 4G access capped at 6Mbps down. Of course, it’s easy to understand why Clear would want to forget the iSpot ever existed: its MAC address filtering was easily defeated and plagued with reports that even approved devices were being denied access, suggesting that the concept probably wasn’t a solid one in the first place. For what it’s worth, Clear retail stores are still selling through remaining stock if you’re interested — and the company will maintain a supply of units for warranty replacements — but otherwise, you’re out of luck.

[Thanks, rand]

Clear iSpot discontinued already originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 17:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember those rumors earlier this week that T-Mobile was finally getting ready to launch a mobile hotspot or two? Seeing how Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint have all done it, it certainly makes sense — especially with this newfangled 21Mbps HSPA+ network T-Mobile’s got going on — and sure enough, we’ve now got concrete evidence of a unit in the FCC’s database. The MF61 from Chinese manufacturer ZTE is pretty clearly labeled “T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot” inside… so yeah, there’s your smoking gun. Confidentiality prevents us from seeing the user’s manual or a photo of the thing, but from what little we can see, looks like we’ll end up with a rounded unit not unlike the variant of the Novatel MiFi on AT&T and a number of European carriers. Really, though, doesn’t matter what it looks like — as long as it fits in a pocket and blasts high-speed data to a handful of WiFi connected devices of our choosing, that’s all we need.

T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot shows up in FCC courtesy of ZTE originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s Overdrive from Sierra Wireless has been handling the WiMAX mobile hotspot duties on Sprint for most of this year, but it’s been walking that road alone. Novatel, which took the mobile hotspot concept mainstream with its venerable MiFi line — has been absent from the 4G race so far… but it looks like that’s about to change. We just witnessed a so-called MiFi 4082 earn an FCC filing a few minutes ago, offering both CDMA / EV-DO and WiMAX in a single package, presumably prepping for a launch on Sprint to either replace or supplement the Overdrive. Considering the Overdrive’s size, stability, and boot time, another entrant would be more than welcome — and if Novatel can stuff all these radios into a package no larger or heavier than the original MiFi, we’ll submit that they probably have a winner on their hands. Stay tuned for an announcement on this one — CES, perhaps?

Novatel’s MiFi 4082 is the WiMAX-capable hotspot the Overdrive has been dreading originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard rumors that Novatel is working on an LTE-enabled version of its MiFi for Verizon, likely for launch early next year — but you’ve got to figure that a few other manufacturers would like a slice of that sweet, juicy 4G pie, right? We just noticed this so-called SCH-LC11 from Samsung has garnered FCC approval, offering CDMA / EV-DO compatibility alongside 700MHz LTE stuffed into some sort of WiFi-enabled mobile router, which would be perfect for Big Red’s new network… but then again, it’d also be perfect for MetroPCS’ LTE airwaves. MetroPCS has yet to launch any data-centric LTE products, but it’s got a good relationship with Samsung — its only LTE device right now is the Samsung Craft, in fact — so we could definitely imagine the little guys trying to beat Verizon to the punch with a sexy, pocketable 4G hotspot to do battle with Sprint’s Overdrive. One way or another, this is hitting an American carrier… and the sooner, the better.

Update: Okay, we can rule out MetroPCS — the device is approved for CDMA on 850 / 1900MHz, not AWS, which is what MetroPCS uses. Verizon, here we come.

Samsung’s SCH-LC11 CDMA / LTE mobile hotspot gets FCC approval, probably Verizon bound originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We do hate to play into wily PR folks’ attention-grabbing campaigns, but when they’re quite so nutty, we can’t help but admire them. UK network Three is trying to promote its hotspots (we think) by having dudes wearing full-body underwear running around with “Human Hotspot” signs and what looks like part of the Engadget logo throughout London. We don’t get it, but we do love it.

Thomas: “I can look up your WEP.”
Vlad: “Please note, dressing up as a Trojan won’t protect you from actual trojans.”
Nilay: “Touch my junk and I’ll have you arrested.”
Darren: “I’m probably working… even if the tube drivers aren’t.”
Richard Lai: “My SSID is quite well hidden, if I may say so.”
Carlos: “I’m hot… or not?”
Tim: “I knew that Fantastic Four movie was a bad career move. Time for a new agent.”
Ross: “Ask about where I keep my SIM card.”
Myriam: “Spot the hotness.”
Sam: “The Blue Man Group member that never was.”
Josh T.: “Due to his drug habit and carousing, the Invisible Man had been forced into a number of demeaning jobs.”

Continue reading Caption contest: publicity stunt generating publicity

Caption contest: publicity stunt generating publicity originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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