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T-Mobile to let mylos use HotSpot for free
Today Sony and T-Mobile announced a partnership allowing all mylo users (mylers? mylites? mylanta -- nevermind, that's already taken) to use T-Mobile's massive network of WiFi hotspots (appropriately known as HotSpot) for free until late 2007. To get you online hassle-free, Sony will be releasing a "special application" as a virtual permission slip to T-Mobile's network. Now for those of you keeping score, the mylo will cost $350, while a year's subscription to T-Mobile's HotSpot (if you're mylo-less) will cost you $360 -- so if you were thinking about getting T-Mobile anyway, you can now spend basically the same amount and get a cool piece of sexy hardware for free. But most probably, you'll only be able to access the HotSpots directly on the mylo, until of course, someone figures out a workaround.
Mensa Mobil software dishes out lunch menus
Mom might have had your middle school lunches well under control, but thanks to a new development by the student union of Dresden Technical University and Haase & Martin GbR, you can enjoy the upper hand in college. Fed up with not having the skinny on cafeteria offerings, the "Studentenwerk Dresden" has implemented a prototype system on campus that beams a fortnight's worth of upcoming food choices to your Bluetooth-enabled mobile. A hotspot system dubbed BlueBot disseminates the Mensa Mobil (that's "mobile menu," folks) software to any Bluetooth-enabled cellphone within "40 meters" of its tower. Should you choose to install it, you're granted updated access to the foods, pricing, and specific ingredients offered throughout the day at 15 different eateries around town. While the program is currently free, it's apparently becoming quite a hit around campus, and both developers are planning to expand the restaurant choices as well as add additional BlueBot download points should the locals get hungry for more.[Via Textually]
Helio to launch EV-DO / WiFi card with Boingo
Word on the street has Helio launching its first data product as soon as tomorrow, which appears from this leaked kiosk mockup to be a Sierra Wireless AirCard 580. That would normally seem plausible enough -- assuming we can forget that the 580 is merely a Rev 0 device -- except for one critical detail: our sources tell us Helio's launch will combine EV-DO data with service through Boingo's network of WiFi hotspots. That leads us to believe that the 580 in the mockup is simply a placeholder for a different, hybrid card, or Helio's going to be assuming that its users are capable of bringing their own WiFi radio -- probably a safe assumption considering the percentage of notebooks that ship with integrated 802.11 these days. The partnership with Boingo makes a lot of sense, seeing how Helio's CEO is Boingo's founder and chairman, but given the ever-increasing ubiquity of EV-DO coverage (particularly anywhere Boingo would have a hotspot), we'll be curious to see Helio's marketing angle on this one.[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Interview reveals some secrets behind MGS: Portable Ops
1UP has chatted with the people behind the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and there are a few bullet points that are pretty juicy. [Andrew's note: I'm typing this while Sony continues to not say anything interesting in their press conference.]The classic Kurosawa film Seven Samurai is the inspiration behind your newfound ability to recruit friends in the game.The unique character generated through multiplayer is determined by the IP address of the hotspot you connect to.The characters obviously feature unique attributes. Unsurprisingly, Snake will not be the best character to play as in the game. He's very recognizable, as he's gained quite a bit of infamy by this point in this story.The game is being developed by the same team as Metal Gear Acid, for better or worse.
T-Mobile's UMA goodies exposed
It doesn't take an industry insider to notice that T-Mobile's been putting together plans for a UMA service to bridge their GSM network with public and home hotspots here in the States. We've also guessed that Samsung's T709 would be involved, and though we still don't have anything approaching an official confirmation, these pictures have filled in some blanks for us. Sent in by a handful of intrepid beta testers risking life and limb for the public good, we see here that the T709 looks to be T-Mobile's launch handset as expected, sporting a 1.3-megapixel camera, GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 with EDGE, roughly 69MB usable flash, and media player. They have at least two routers in the works -- a Linksys and a D-Link -- though the only difference from your average 802.11b/g router appears to be the addition of a button to facilitate painless, secure hookup to your phone without entering a WEP / WPA key. Our respective tipsters report differeing experiences however: one said it works well, improves reception, and has no complaints; another said UMA performance leaves a lot to be desired, and besides draining battery juice at a breakneck pace (8-9 hours standby), voice quality is poor without perfect WiFi reception, and GSM / WiFi handoffs are currently a bit flaky with frequent dropouts. Of course, this is all still in beta and we'll reserve judgement until T-Mobile gives the signal -- which shouldn't be too terribly long, considering the beta materials have retail packaging -- but the T709 sadly lacks Bluetooth and any sort of memory expansion, meaning we're already in a holding pattern for second-generation devices.
Linksys releases WIP300 and WIP330 802.11g VoIP handsets
Linksys has finally released those 802.11g-capable VoIP phones that we've had our eye on for awhile, although they are going for significantly more than we expected, with the Nokia-esque WIP300 priced at $220 and the high-end WIP330 (pictured) sporting a rather steep $370 tag. As you may remember, both models let you do the Internet calling thing from 802.11b/g-enabled routers and support SIP v2 standards, while the pricier unit adds hotspot support and the ability to browse the web on its 2.2-inch color display. If you're on the fence about throwing down several hundred bucks for a handset when other solutions let you use existing cordless phones on the cheap, the fact that domestic SkypeOut calls are completely free for the rest of the year may help you justify the cost to yourself.
T-Mobile releases HSDPA PC card in the UK
T-Mobile has just released a PC card for UK subscribers that will allow them to hop on the company's HSDPA network when it goes live, and will also work immediately to access UMTS-speed data services. The purchase of a "web'n'walk" card, which has a quad-band radio for international -- including US -- use, also includes twelve free months of WiFi access at any of T-Mob's UK Hotspots. Customers subscribing to 18 or 24 month data contracts at 17 pounds/month will receive the card for free, but need to keep an eye on their usage, as the fine print states that T-Mobile will warn, and possibly even shut off, customers who download more than 2GB of data in a given billing period.[Via CoolSmartPhone]
Nokia handsets to get iPass WiFi connectivity client
Owners of WiFi-enabled, Series 80- and S60-powered Nokia handsets will soon have "one-click" access to over 50,000 hotspots worldwide thanks to a new software client being developed in conjunction with trusted connectivity services provider iPass. Already available for Windows, Macintosh, and Windows Mobile devices, the iPassConnect client gives people an easy way to connect to any hotspot across some 28 different networks, including T-Mobile, Wayport, and The Cloud, offering both a consistent user experience and simplified billing. The first models to receive the iPass treatment will be the 9300i and 9500 Communicators, which should see the new software sometime this summer, followed by a version for E-series devices by the end of the year.[Via PC World]
