T-Mobile HotSpot @Home finally launches... in Seattle

Right well, they did say they had a certain affinity for Seattle then, didn't they? It looks like the first round of T-Mobile's long awaited UMA service is now kicking around Seattle way, with open trial customers able to purchase two WiFi-capable UMA phones, as well as the D-Link router which enables home access. Right out of the gate we already have our qualms with the service -- namely in that they're charging customers an extra $20 per month for UMA access (and only if they have an eligible $40+ per month rate plan), which is kind of a bummer since in most cases UMA is cost-saving to the carrier in that consumers needn't consume as much cellular air time. But that $20 extra also covers T-Mobile HotSpot access too, so if you're not just planning on using HotSpot @Home, um, at home, then you'll be good to go when roaming elsewhere. (It's worth noting, however, that UMA does not require anything special to get going, and will work on any WiFi connection.) The D-Link router is probably a skipper -- it'll set you back $50 (and goes free with mail-in rebate), but isn't necessary to use the service, and will probably leave you in pain as D-Link WiFi gear so often does. Oh, and hows about a word on the two phones you'll be using with @Home: you've got the Nokia 6136, which, of course, features a 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, and GSM / GPRS / EDGE; then you've got the far more feeble Samsung t709, with GPRS, 176 x 220 display, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Both will go for $50 with a two year, $100 with a one year.

[Via NYT]

[Ben @ Oct 24th 2006 5:15PM]

"and will probably leave you in pain as D-Link WiFi gear so often does"

I've had d-link routers for 3 years without issue or need to install software while I have two friends who have both had Linksys and Belkin routers and neither worked well/at all.


Nice going Engadget...

[zerologic @ Oct 24th 2006 5:20PM]

lol. I've seen 3 D-Links die in as many years.

[HughJass @ Oct 24th 2006 5:59PM]

Evidently you got lucky and your friends got unlucky. Your single happy experience doesn't mean that the other few thousand people who bought that D-Link router had the same results.

[blah blah @ Oct 24th 2006 5:42PM]

A D-Stink router? Avoid at all costs...

[Xchus @ Oct 24th 2006 5:42PM]

I agree, D-Link is not the best out there, but like any company, specially in the router arena, some routers are good and some bad, however I would have to say that Linksys/Asus/Buffalo that are capable of taking 3rd party software are way better than any other comercial router.

[staiano @ Oct 24th 2006 5:43PM]

$20 is ridiculously overpriced.

[Mike D @ Oct 24th 2006 5:46PM]

Yeah..too bad they are pricing themselves out of the market. Apparently they think people will replace Vonage with this? I doubt it. Why not at least allow you to use plan minutes for free.

[Knowitall @ Jun 11th 2007 1:40PM]

That is exactly what T-Mobile is doing. You need only subscribe to the $20.00 plan if you want your Wi-Fi calls unlimited, if not, there is no monthly fee and your minutes simply come out of your plan. I don't know about your area but Vonage is more then $20.00 monthly in mine.

[blah blah @ Oct 24th 2006 5:52PM]

"I agree, D-Link is not the best out there, but like any company, specially in the router arena, some routers are good and some bad"

Just a little heads-up though: D-Link routers in that particular form factor are notoriously poor performers and unreliable.

[phonenerd @ Oct 24th 2006 5:56PM]

Mike D, apparently they are allowing UMA usage of existing cellular minute bucket for no monthly charge. I read this somewhere on Howardforums.

[Yoink! @ Oct 24th 2006 6:28PM]

Let's see, "notorious" denotes a viewpoint or experience shared by many people, not just one person. But hey, don' take my word for it:

http://www.epinions.com/pr-D-Link_AirPlus_DI-524_Router/display_~reviews

I'd be more than happy to post many more links to reviews from many more people if you'd like...

[frank @ Oct 24th 2006 6:51PM]

Who cares about the D-Link thing -- you don't have to buy their freakin router anyway.

But that's beside the point. I just posted this to the engadgetmobile page: If anybody knows of a way to get a hold of either of the handsets without actually being in Seattle, do tell. I just called T-Mo to see if I could order it online but they won't do it. There's one (1) t709 on Ebay right now but the auction doesn't end for a week. No sign of the Nokia yet, at least that I could find. Somebody out there on the west coast want to hook a brother up?

[Gary T @ Oct 24th 2006 7:46PM]

"Who cares about the D-Link thing -- you don't have to buy their freakin router anyway."

Speaking as someone that might have considered this product, I am REALLY interested in know about D-Link's reliability. I'd rather that someone made some waves to give me a heads-up than be as afraid as you of upsetting anyone frank...

[justin @ Oct 24th 2006 8:17PM]

AFAIK, T-Mobile is only allowing use through approved access points - the D-Link home unit and T-Mobile hotspots (i.e. you can't use just any open hotspot or access point) due to QoS and security issues. Kudos to them for pushing the industry forward, but this may not be the implementation people are looking for...

[wako @ Oct 24th 2006 8:18PM]

When UMA hits the east coast and it still has a 20 dollar fee, Im switching to Verizon then

[Josh @ Oct 24th 2006 9:33PM]

yes, you do NOT have to buy the T-Mobile D-Link router. Which brings me to my next point:

@Justin: this is not true, it will work on any wireless access point.

@wako, i'm guessing it will go down in price when it's officially released. Hopefully between $5 - $10. Why would you switch to verizon because of this? just don't get UMA....

[Droo @ Oct 25th 2006 2:29AM]

With neither of the current handset offerings supporting bluetooth and having pretty crappy battery life (according to various places on the web), it just simply doesn't make it worth it.

Maybe if they posted a firmware update for MDA/SDA, which I doubt they'll do. But 20$ is steep. 10$ would've been much nicer and practical.

[xman @ Oct 25th 2006 12:13PM]

I think the pricing is fair.

T-Mo charges $29.99 for Internet (EDGE/GPRS) and Wi-fi (hotspot) access if you already have a plan that is $39.99 or above.

They charge $19.99 a month for Internet ONLY (EDGE/GPRS) and the same for Wifi (hotspot) ONLY

So essentially, they are giving you the best of both worlds. Now they are offering Wifi (hotspot) access in addition to UMA. Why should they charge less for 2 services???? Customers who pay for Wifi access knows that $19.99/mo is cheaper than $7/hr that most places charge for access.

Would I also like a lower price? SURE! But realistically, based on the numbers they will stick with the current pricing and not come down to $10/mo that a number of poster's are asking for.

[jason @ Oct 25th 2006 4:09PM]

Just signed up for this yesterday, and bought the Samsung handset. Overall first impression is that the WAN -> WLAN call handoff works pretty well, but that the handsets that are available are completely lame.

I've got this running at home with a Linksys WRT54G router, and Clearwire wireless service, and it worked without any hiccups right out of the box. It's also cool that the sw autoconnects to the T-mo hotspot around the corner without prompting for a login.

More thoughts at http://uf911.blogspot.com

[nicko @ Oct 25th 2006 4:52PM]

Seattle, huh.. That's got Starbuck's written all over it. Plan seems obvious: get everyone who use's t-mobile at starbucks and get them to start using it at home.

[Brian Bock @ Oct 26th 2006 7:24PM]

Well, I called T-Mobile and talked to a kid in the business service department who didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about T-Mobile Hotspot @Home. In fact, he insisted that the website http://www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com/ was not a t-mobile website and was a scam and that he'd report it. Ummm. Ooookay.

[Chris @ Nov 2nd 2006 9:07PM]

Thing to keep in mind with the $20 fee, not only are you getting unlimted UMA serive and hotspot service, but when it comes to T-Mobile's cost, UMA is not free to them, they have to have the network to support it, and ALL of the big 4 wireless carriers as it is, spend about 1/3 of their yearly cost on backhaul cost. With UMA T-Mobile is going to need a greater backhaul to handle all the IP traffic and it will add a great deal to their cost. Its not necessarly better for t-mobile that the traffic is going over the net then over the air.

[John @ Jan 4th 2007 10:34PM]

I just picked the HotSpot @Home service recently. I went with the Nokia 6136 phone and chose to not pick up their D-Link router. I'm happy to report that it worked fine out of the box with my Linksys WRT54G v6 router. The phone is a bit basic and feels slightly "cheap", but it works fine. The only hiccups I have experienced so far are that sometimes the phone won't reconnect to the router when coming back into range and using the phone on WiFi networks burns the battery FAST. Cycling the phone causes it to reconnect to my router when it acts up. Kudos to T-Mobile for offering this service at no extra charge (the only catch being that you have to have a compatible phone). They do offer an optional $20 service that gives you unlimited calls from WiFi networks using the phone, however. Overall, I'm pleased with the service and super happy to finally have a cell phone that works in my home!

[Emily @ Oct 18th 2007 5:50PM]

What exactly is the service that's being offered at no extra charge? Are you saying you can make calls for free over WiFi from your home's existing wireless router as long as you have a UMA phone, even if you don't subscribe to TMo's Hotspot@home service?

[Darrell @ May 30th 2007 9:17PM]

For a family plan, 3 numbers, would it be $19.99 X 3, or will $19.99 give all three numbers access?

[Tarry @ Aug 11th 2008 2:13AM]

This is great news!

http://www.chasetheglow.com

[Tarry @ Aug 11th 2008 2:13AM]

This is great news!

http://www.chasetheglow.com

[Tarry @ Aug 11th 2008 2:14AM]

This is great news!

http://www.chasetheglow.com

[Dane @ Sep 30th 2008 4:04AM]

T Mobile at home is free in that you don't have to pay extra just to use UMA. It will however deduct from your minutes in your rate plan. If you want free unlimited UMA, then you have to pay $10.00 per month.
So you can use it to have great reception in your home or you can use it to have both great reception as well as unlimited usage.
Also, the T Mobile branded routers do work better than commercial routers. They extend reception, improve battery performance, and give priority to your calls over data from your computer.