SIMPL
Latest
Fonera SIMPL router now on sale for $49, moving quickly to telcos
Still holding tight to the "Sharing is Caring!" mantra? Not afraid in the least of handing out a few kilobytes to lost tourists down below? If so, you're a prime candidate to own a Fon router; for those unaware, Fon's goal is to equip the world with its 802.11n routers, and then distribute WiFi through them for all to enjoy. The device creates two WiFi signals (SSIDs), one private and one public, and for anyone who knows the pain of being desperate for just a single open hotspot, it's a product (and mission) worth supporting. The Fonera SIMPL was introduced way back at Mobile World Congress, and while the company said it had an order for 400,000 then, that figure has risen rather significantly since. Today, it's revealing that two million of these guys have been sold to telecommunication companies around the globe, with British Telecom, MTS-Comstar Russia, SFR France, SoftBank Japan and ZON Cable Portugal named in particular. The general idea is to provide these to customers in order to lighten the overall load for everyone else, but those looking to buy in sans help can finally do so -- the SIMPL's going for $49 / €39 right now directly through the outfit's website and we're confident that you'll do the right thing.
Fonera SIMPL aims to ease 3G overload, give smartphones a better way to upload
If you've never heard of Fon, its mission is pretty simple: to equip the world with Fonera routers, and thus blanket the planet in WiFi that no one is scared to share. Over at Mobile World Congress this week, the company unveiled a new device that exploits the impending bandwidth crisis that operators all over the globe are attempting to deal with. The all-new SIMPL is a palm-sized router that has just two Ethernet ports and could be doled out by carriers in order to provide a city-wide WiFi network that can be accessed by any WiFi-enabled phone, thereby easing the demand on its 3G network. Equipped with 802.11n, a faster CPU than the Fonera 2.0 and a shiny white shell, we're told that an order has already been placed by an undisclosed customer for 400,000 of 'em, though it's unclear when these will be made available to the general public and for how much. Hop on past the break for a five minute showcase video.
