Fonera 2.0 on sale in Europe April 21, US in May

It's been a while since we heard from those lovable rapscallions at FON, but it looks like the Fonera 2.0 wireless router is finally ready to make the jump from developers-only to the consumer market -- it'll go on sale in Europe on April 21, and in the US, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in May. The new unit runs Linux, and supports BitTorrent and services like RapidShare and MegaUpload, so you can set downloads to run without firing up your computer. The launch party seems like it was pretty adorable -- it took place in FON CEO's Martin Varsavky's Paris flat, with pasta, wine and cheese. Experience it yourself (in French) after the break.

[bigsmashzone @ Apr 5th 2009 9:13AM]

I recently found a sai, very good service

[Baracking @ Apr 5th 2009 9:21AM]

canada... never...

[cg0def @ Apr 5th 2009 9:25AM]

what are the hardware specs of fonera 2.0? Can't seem to find them ...

[Brian @ Apr 5th 2009 3:34PM]

http://wiki.fon.com/wiki/La_Fonera_2.0#Technical_Specifications

* Model Name: FON FON2202
* Dimensions:93.5 mm x 25.5 mm x 110 mm (excluding antenna)
* Antenna Connector:RP-SMA connector (reverse SMA)
* USB Port: USB A-type Receptacle (USB 2.0)
* Antenna: External detachable antenna (1,5dBi)
* Authentication: WEP 64bit/128 bit, WPA, WPA2, WPA mixed
* Encryption: TKIP, AES, Mixed
* Network Standard Support:IEEE 802.11b / 802.11g (up to 54 Mbps)
* Frequency Range: 2412 MHz~2462MHz (802.11b/g, Channel 1~Channel11)
* Maximum output power: 112.460mW
* Ports: 1 Ethernet WAN port (10/100Mbps) for internet + 1 Ethernet LAN port (10/100Mbps) for computer connections and other devices (network printer, storage, etc.)
* SSIDs: One public (named FON_FREE_INTERNET by default) non-encrypted and one private (named MyPlace by default) encrypted with WPA-PSK
* Platform / frequency: Atheros AR2315 @ 180MHz
* Flash: 8MB / Ram: 32MB
* Wireless NIC: Atheros SoC, LAN Switch: Marvell 88E6060
* bootwait: Redboot*
* Serial: Yes JTAG: Yes USB: Yes

[Eldiablo @ Apr 5th 2009 9:32AM]

I hope its higher quality hardware/software than the current Fonera's - I've got two and they regularly crash, won't hold a connection or forget their settings.

[lkrndu @ Apr 8th 2009 9:50AM]

Gee, I only have ONE Fonera, but for almost three years it has worked perfectly. Never a hiccup. Just a great piece of work that never calls attention to itself.

[dwain222 @ Apr 5th 2009 9:34AM]

price?

[snappieT @ Apr 5th 2009 10:08AM]

€49

[airibis @ Apr 5th 2009 9:36AM]

This would help me out alot

often times my torrents get interrupted by going out or going to work (logging off so my wife can use her account)

What I wonder is when will we see a US release, and if not soon, would the euro version work just as spiffy over here?

[airibis @ Apr 5th 2009 9:46AM]

wow, completely missed the headline

sorry.

May it is then

[Rob Conway @ Apr 5th 2009 9:59AM]

what do you start the dl to a flash drive or something hooked into the router itself? so when you turn off the computer it just keeps going?

[snappieT @ Apr 5th 2009 10:08AM]

Watch the video - he has a USB key plugged in. I presume any mass storage device would do the trick.

Also, promo price is €49

[Jordi Vallejo - FON @ Apr 6th 2009 6:37AM]

You are right Rob, as snappieT mentions, the files go straight to your USB Mass Storage Device plugged into the back of the device and you can choose to which one of them to save the files if you got a HUB with several USB Disks; no need to keep your computer on.
Jordi Vallejo, CTO at FON

[rob @ Apr 5th 2009 10:43AM]

Those downloads are maybe illegal but I'm going to erase IMMEDIATELY.

lol.

[Pat @ Apr 5th 2009 12:26PM]

Even French nerds dress better then me.

[[e-mail] @ Apr 5th 2009 1:30PM]

Omg Such a great update cant wait

[RLBurkes @ Apr 5th 2009 2:12PM]

I love how in the video the only things I can understand are pen drive, hard drive, and torrent. Do those words not translate or what? Nevertheless, it is funny to me and my uneducated ears. Shame on Americans for not being multilingual. (most of us)

[Bob the stone @ Apr 5th 2009 2:28PM]

He says "pen drive" and "hard drive" because he probably doesn't know the word in French. I wouldn't blame a non-native French speaker for not understanding him easily; he's got quite a Spanish accent.

[Logik @ Apr 7th 2009 2:48AM]

torrent = torrent, disque dur = hard drive, cle usb = thumb/pen/usb drive/key

[luuk @ Apr 5th 2009 2:16PM]

if your first language is english and you cant "understand" this, your just stupid..

[Razloga @ Apr 5th 2009 3:11PM]

Damn that's a bunch of electronics...

So much money wasted on apple crap though..


:)

[Christophe @ Apr 5th 2009 3:51PM]

That dude is not French. He's either Spaniard or some kind of Anglo-phone.

The rest of the people are French.

Cute tiny flat though. Paris apt's tend to be cuter than their NY counterparts.

[Daniel @ Apr 5th 2009 8:35PM]

He's neither Spaniard or "some kind of Anglo-phone"; he's Argentine, based in Spain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Varsavsky

[Gonzague @ Apr 5th 2009 6:44PM]

ahaha excellent : i'm the guy sitting on the desk ... :D

I was like. "uh this guy looks like me"...

[CyberPrime @ Apr 5th 2009 6:54PM]

Man, guys got a nice flat. And look at all that crap next to his tv, not to mention all the external hard drives.

[Iain @ Apr 5th 2009 11:23PM]

So would i be right in thinking you could hook this up to an open WiFi connection and start pulling files to a USB drive? Do i hear TorrentDriving?

[Jordi Vallejo - FON @ Apr 6th 2009 6:11AM]

That you can do already with any notebook/netbook out there but it is not legal in most countries, this device is designed to be used on your own network or a network you are authorized by the owner. Regarding the Torrent DL, on Fonera 2.0 you choose the Torrents using its Web Interface, the Torrent Client is embedded into the device. Once you choose the Torrents the computer is not needed anymore, files are stored directly on any USB Device you plug to its USB Type A Host Connector and you can take your notebook with you while the Fonera 2.0 stays at home/office getting the work done.
Jordi Vallejo, CTO at FON