Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon’s MiFi was one of our favorite products of 2009: It takes a 3G wireless data signal and turns it into a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Now Sprint has one-upped Verizon with the Overdrive, which takes a 4G signal and turns it into a Wi-Fi hot spot.

On Sprint’s WiMax-based 4G network, the Overdrive, which is about the size of a drink coaster, will reliably deliver 3 to 4 Mbps of download bandwidth, Sprint executives say, with peak speeds as fast as 10 Mbps. Upload speeds will be slower, but could peak as fast as 4.5 Mbps.

Because the 4G network isn’t available everywhere yet, the Overdrive also works with Sprint’s widely deployed 3G network, which delivers 600 Kbps down and 100 Kbps up, Sprint says.

The router then takes that internet connection and blasts it out as an 802.11b/g signal, with an “extended range” of up to 150 feet. It will support up to five simultaneous device connections.

In demos, the Overdrive router was used to deliver streaming Netflix movies, Skype conversations, and webcam views simultaneously.

Overdrive also contains a GPS receiver (accessible to network applications via a programming interface Sprint provides) and a MicroSD card slot, which can be used to store up to 16 GB of data for local access.

Overdrive will sell for $100 with a 2-year contract at $60 per month for unlimited 4G data downloads, and up to 5 GB of monthly data on the 3G network.

See Also:

• Verizon MiFi 2200 Portable Hot Spot
• Steven Levy on Verizon's Cool New MiFi Mobile Hot Spot

Photo: Dylan Tweney/Wired.com

If there is such a thing as a digital photo frame specialist, Pandigital might very well be it. It should come as no surprise then, that the company has just announced a new cellular-connected product to compete with the forthcoming Vizit frame. Focused on making photo sharing as easy as possible, this new 8-inch LED-backlit display comes with an AT&T cellular connection and associated email account, making the process of getting pictures on it effortless — and sufficiently remote to let you drop photos off with grandma without having to actually be there. The first 300 mailed snaps are free, at which point you’ll have to choose between the 6-in-1 card reader or paying a per-pic charge for further emailing to the 1GB of built-in memory. Costing a cent under $150, the Photo Mail frame will be finding store shelves early this year — skip past the break if you want to learn more.

Continue reading Pandigital Photo Mail LED frame lets you email snaps over AT&T’s wireless network

Pandigital Photo Mail LED frame lets you email snaps over AT&T’s wireless network originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey Netgear, did you have a surprise for us at CES? Say the world’s first 4×4 MIMO 802.11n WiFi HD Video bridge? Sorry, but Quantenna just revealed your partnership that promises to deliver Full HD video quality streams across distances of “100 feet or more, regardless of signal interferences and dead zones.” According to the Quantenna press release, anyway. That’s up to 5x the distance of existing wireless HD solutions thanks to Quantenna’s 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, adaptive transmit digital beamforming, and wireless channel monitoring and optimizing; a lot of scary sounding jargon that should allow the device to carry up to four streams of full HD video pretty much anywhere in the house with claimed “near-perfect transmission performance.” While we don’t have pics yet you can expect Netgear’s baby to be sporting 4 antennas (like the Quantenna reference design pictured) when it’s announced proper in the next few days.

Netgear to stream Full HD anywhere in the home over 4×4 MIMO WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mobile DTV standard is official, sure, but the device selection at this point isn’t what we’d call plentiful or even appealing — so leave it to CES to attract a virtually unknown company with an attractive alternative. Dubbed Tivit, the pocketable box is a said to be a bit smaller and lighter than a deck of cards and claims to stream television to a number of WiFi-enabled devices, including Windows laptops, Motorola Android phones (no clue why other Android devices wouldn’t be in the running here), WiFi-equipped BlackBerrys, and even iPhone 3G / third-gen iPod touch (software via related App Store download). One charge gets you three hours of reception, and while that $120 price tag isn’t too terrible a fee for keeping the phone you like, when the dongle launches in Spring, it better hope the channel selection is more interesting. Press release after the break.

Continue reading Tivit promises to bring Mobile DTV to the iPhone and other WiFi-equipped mobile devices

Tivit promises to bring Mobile DTV to the iPhone and other WiFi-equipped mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The world needs another wireless HD system like it needs another thousand gallons of goop spinning in the middle of the Pacific, but regardless of the facts, ProVision is set to introduce one such system at CES this week. According to details scrounged up by Pocket-lint, the AXAR technology will function much like WHDI does currently. The difference? Increased range and a knack for distributing to more than just an HDTV. It’s expected that AXAR will find its way into TVs, set-top boxes and a range of network devices in time for Christmas 2010, where it will allow any AXAR-enabled device (a laptop, phone, PMP, HDTV, PC, etc.) to receive 1080p content from a media player, Blu-ray player or similar. Better still, it can also distribute those signals to WiFi-enabled products if your network can handle it. Currently, the tech can support two separate HD streams at the same time, and it can broadcast ’em to a living space that’s three times that of the Buckingham Palace. We’ll be sure to poke our nose around for more at CES, but in the meanwhile, feel free to catch a few first impressions down in the source link.

ProVision’s AXAR to wirelessly stream HD content to just about anything originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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