Hasta La Gadget!

Clearly, the big news from Endless Ideas today at CeBIT was its next-generation BeBook 2. But what about all those existing / to-be BeBook 1 owners? We’ve got a bit of excitement to share with you folks as well. While prying for information today in Hannover, we were informed that one of the biggest issues with the BeBook is being resolved very soon. Yes, friends, WiFi is coming. In just a few months, BeBook users will be able to buy a WiFi-enabling SD card (and download a new firmware update) which will provide wireless access to eBook stores, RSS feeds and lots of other goodies that can only be touched with a live internet connection. We’re told that the WiFi SD card will be sold directly on the BeBook website for around $40, and it should be listed for sale within the next few months. We took the chance to grab some hands-on footage of the original BeBook in video form for you Yanks who’ve yet to see one, and if you hang in there ’til the end, you’ll hear us get tipped off on the forthcoming card.

Continue reading BeBook e-reader getting WiFi, new firmware update: eyes-on

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

BeBook e-reader getting WiFi, new firmware update: eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s new Airport Extreme actually brings some fun stuff to the staid wireless router market, while a similarly refreshed Time Capsule does the same for NAS land. The power comes from its new dual-band WiFi radios, allowing them to work in 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously, support up to 50 users simultaneously and even set up separate limited-access networks for guests. That $179 pricetag on the Airport Extreme doesn’t get any easier to swallow, and neither do the $299 or $499 tags on the Time Capsule (500GB or 1TB, respectively) but at least you’ll have the hippest and whitest 802.11n access point in your dorm.

New Airport Extreme and Time Capsule juggle two networks simultaneously originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a sad, sad state of affairs. After nearly four years worth of announcements you’re still more likely to get a good night’s rest on a flight than find wireless internet, leaving us to wonder whether any airline will survive long enough to roll-out the system-wide access they’ve almost all pledged. Another player is now crawling tardily into the ring, Alaska Airlines fulfilling its promise and partnering with Row 44 to offer satellite-based internets on a very limited basis. You should know the drill by now: access is only offered on very select routes, or route in this case, debuting on 737-300 flights running between Seattle (SEA) and San Jose (SJC). At least the service will be free for the first 90 60 days, but the airline isn’t saying how much it will cost after that. We’d guess somewhere between not free and way too much, leaning toward the latter.

Update: Correction, it’s only 60 days not 90, and we’re told by Glenn over at High-Fi News that it’s not just a single route it’s actually a single plane, and while it will be starting out on the SEA/SJC route, it will be making appearances elsewhere — maybe even in the land of the midnight sun!

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

Alaska Airlines offering in-flight WiFi — but not in Alaska originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OLPC may be facing some tough times as of late, but there’s no denying that the little-laptop-that-could has made an impact where it’s been distributed, as evidenced by this latest indication of the project’s reach in Rwanda. Apparently, in addition to helping students with their schoolwork, the laptop is also teaching them the fine art of finding free WiFi, and this particular group seems to have quickly discovered that the Kigali International Airport is one of the best spots in town. And just what are they using the laptops to look up in their time outside the classroom? Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who, coincidentally, also brings the world together in his own special way.

[Image courtesy Anna Koblanck / DN.se, thanks Jonas]

Filed under: Laptops

OLPC-toting Rwandan students flock to airport for free WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just how the Samsung OmniaHD‘s video could reach directly from phone to TV screen was a bit of a mystery until the Engadget Spanish crew spotted the WMG100. Don’t already own one of Samsung’s high end sets with WiFi and DLNA built in? This dongle bridges the gap with all the necessary tech built in, pushing a max 480p (whether HD streaming to other devices from the OmniaHD will work is unknown) from its mini HDMI or component outputs for around €160 ($200), and is already available in Korea with a European debut planned for this spring. The idea that we’d ever get tired of watching that sweet AMOLED display is a bit of a reach, but just in case check out the gallery for some hands on pics.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Samsung WMG100 brings OmniaHD video to the television, via WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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