Hasta La Gadget!

Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but there’s no question that Huawei’s newest mobile hotspot is indeed a looker. Blessed with a silver and black motif as well as a subtle 1-inch color OLED for providing status information at a glance, the new E583C follows in the footsteps of the E585 and Vodafone’s R201. Functionally, it’s fairly predictable, offering a 3.5G HSPA connection to up to five devices over WiFi and a sixth via a direct USB connection. There’s support for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, with a promise of hitting upwards of 5.76Mbps (up) and 7.2Mbps (down). Huawei’s also tossing in a microSD card slot, and if you aren’t turned on by MiFi-esque mobile routers, the newly introduced E173u USB modem just might do the trick. Catch ’em later this month in Hong Kong for HK$1,380 ($177) and HK$498 ($64), respectively.

Continue reading Huawei’s E583C mobile hotspot: looks so good, you’ll wish it weren’t portable

Huawei’s E583C mobile hotspot: looks so good, you’ll wish it weren’t portable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 700MHz ‘D Block‘ has been the subject of much debate over the past few years, primarily because the FCC’s master plan to auction it off — yet require the winner to open up the waves for public safety use on command — didn’t exactly pan out. Post-failure, the agency made clear its plans to host up another auction or two in order to accomplish the same goal via slightly different means, but now public safety entities are coming forward with a healthy amount of opposition. Rob Davis, head of the San Jose Police Department, puts it bluntly: “If they auction this spectrum, we’ve lost it forever.” These public safety officials also have allies in Congress, with many worried that auctioning off the spectrum may lead to an inability to accurately wield bandwidth in a hurry if needed during a national emergency. The FCC plan also alleviates the cost issue, but public advocates have a solution there as well — they say that if given the ‘D Block’ outright, they could “lease excess airwaves to commercial carriers since they would not always need all of it.” Of course, that’s a pretty big assumption about the willingness of carriers to lease space, and we suspect a lot more back-and-forth will go on here in the coming months. Oh, the drama.

Public safety agencies want D Block for themselves, FCC still seeking auction originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slowly but surely, the future is creeping up on us. In-flight WiFi is getting there, and in-car WiFi is following suit. Autonet Mobile already sunk its teeth in at General Motors, and now it’s doing likewise over at Subaru. The automaker that insists it’s all about love is about to give prospective buyers of the 2011 Outback an option to install a router within their ride for a one time fee of $534 (including activation). Of course, it’s on you to pay that $29 / month premium that keeps the signals flowing, and yes, you’re still better off buying a MiFi and just bringing it along. But hey, there’s nothing like factory integration, right? Well, aside from seagulls checking their Twitter accounts while you explore Acadia National Park… freeloaders.

2011 Subaru Outback gains in-car WiFi option, strange Maine birds not included originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Myriam Joire (tnkgrl) was born wearing combat boots and holding a keyboard; moments later she picked up a soldering iron. She’s been stomping, typing and hacking ever since. In her regular series, she’ll share her tips, tricks, and mods on everything from phones to netbooks — and be sure to catch her weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast.

Things used to be simple: you either had a CDMA device with no SIM, or a GSM device with a SIM. If your GSM device was unlocked you could swap SIMs between carriers, and if was locked, you could swap SIMs between accounts on the same carrier. Basically, an unlocked phone meant mobile freedom. At first, the only complication was the different frequencies used for GSM in different parts of the world, which was remedied with quadband radios. Then 3G was introduced, with different frequencies used by different carriers in the same geographic area, like North America. Today, this proliferation of bands makes it difficult to build universal radios, and makes it less appealing to switch carriers. In fact, the only phone that currently supports all 3G frequencies used in North America is the upcoming pentaband Nokia N8.

The second obstacle was the introduction of special data plans, either requiring additional service layers (such as BlackBerry or Sidekick plans) or restricting the types of devices permitted as the iPhone and iPad plans do. What used to be as simple as changing APNs is now a Kafkaesque nightmare, complete with nasty “you are using the wrong data plan and we are going to send you a bill” text messages from carriers. Strike three was the micro SIM (also known as the 3FF SIM), popularized by Apple’s iPad and the iPhone 4. This smaller form-factor SIM is electrically compatible with the standard SIM we all know and love — and as such, it’s easy to convert a standard SIM into a micro SIM and vice-versa (but still, it’s one more hurdle standing in the way of happiness).

Let’s dive in and take a look at how it’s done.

Continue reading How-to: resize your SIM, change your APN, and drink the sweet nectar of mobile freedom

How-to: resize your SIM, change your APN, and drink the sweet nectar of mobile freedom originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll admit that we never took Best Buy as the kind of company to sell its own wireless service, but you know what Best Buy does sell? Laptops with unlocked WWAN modems, and to that end, the retailer’s Best Buy Connect offering seems to be a pretty attractive one. Monthly plan pricing is about what you’d expect from anyone else, and you’ll be able to choose between two-year, one-year, and contract-free packages for the same price — the only difference is how much subsidy they’ll throw in for you upfront. On a two-year deal, you’ll get $275 off the compatible laptop of your choice, which compares favorably against all of its competitors — AT&T at $150, Verizon at $200, and Sprint at $250 — while you’ll pay $60 for 5GB of data, $40 for 500MB, or $30 for 250MB (only available without a contract). Sure, you might not attract the glitz, glamor, and curious stares that a high-fashion name brand like Verizon might… but seriously, who are we kidding? Data is data, and if this works well, it sounds like a square deal. Hit up the source link for all the details.

[Thanks, Christian]

Best Buy Connect wireless service is official, offers contract-free plans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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