mifi
Latest
Novatel MiFi to hit Verizon soon for $99.99?
Novatel's sleek little MiFi is undeniably one of the coolest mobile routers ever to hit the market, and something tells us it's going to sell pretty well -- but naturally, it's got to... you know, go on sale first before that can happen. We don't have an exact date, but our tipster believes it could happen shortly after the 10th of this month -- possibly around the same time of the Samsung Alias 2 launch which is slated for the 11th. What we know with more certainty, though, is the price: $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That's less than we would've guessed, and we're thinking it could be a real sweet spot for this type of device; now, let's just get those nasty 5GB caps abolished and we'll be ready to rock and roll. [Image via PhoneArena]
Verizon MiFi 2200 EV-DO hotspot leaks out, will sell like Canadian bananas
It's not quite as sexy as the brushed aluminum version we saw back in December, but these leaked images showing a Verizon-branded Novatel MiFi 2200 personal hotspot are certainly enough to get the blood pumping. If you don't recall the concept, the MiFi is a battery-powered EV-DO router the size of a credit card that can provide network access over WiFi for up to four hours on a charge. There's still a lot of details up in the air here, like how many devices can connect at once and the max data rate, but if this thing comes in anywhere close to its estimated $200 price tag we'd say a lot of those answers might not matter. Couple more pics at the read link.
Sprint's 2009 roadmap comes to light, packed with goodies
There aren't terribly many surprises in the latest roadmap docs leaked out of Sprint, but there are a couple -- and we finally have some target launch windows around a few of the more anticipates devices we've been expecting this year. Perhaps least surprisingly, the Palm P100 -- that's the Pre for you lay folk -- is still on track for the second quarter of the year, which could mean anything between April and June. Staying in the landscape QWERTY smartphone realm, we'll see the HTC Cedar (or Willow, depending on which slide you're looking at) and a new Samsung Ace -- creatively named the Ace II -- in the second and third quarters, respectively. The landscape HTC Rhodium will likely replace the Touch Pro in the third quarter, and the hotly (and we do mean hotly) anticipated BlackBerry Niagara will be hitting in the same three-month period.Things are getting interesting down in the dumbphone realm, too, with both the Instinct Mini and a true Instinct successor -- the Dash with an HVGA display -- in the pipe. The Sanyo 2700, dual-slide Samsung Cello, and the Samsung Chianti (which looks suspiciously like a Propel) will all follow the Rumor 2 down the text-centric path, and a handful of new ultra-basic devices will fill in the bottom of the range. For data, Sprint will be launching Novatel's totally awesome MiFi portable hotspot, which warms our hearts. What doesn't warm our hearts is the utter void of Android devices here -- but we can hold out hope, and as always, all of this is subject to change. Stay tuned![Via Boy Genius Report]
Novatel Wireless' GSM MiFi 2352 premieres with Telefonica Espana
While lacking the decidedly stylin' brushed metal housing seen in its CDMA sibling, we're alright with the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2352, as it brings the GSM. Running a Linux-based OS, the MiFi can support up to five users connected within a 10 meter (roughly 30 feet) range using a SIM card from your provider (in this case, Telefonica Espana) to grab a data connection and share that over WiFi. Plans are afoot to add apps to the device adding functionality like email sync, VPN connectivity all stored on internal memory or through the up to 16GB of expanded microSD memory. While the PR we've seen doesn't give the nitty-gritty specs involved here, we'd go out on a limb and suggest that 3G has to be in there, and at a price point that'll make it attractive enough to pick up as a data only device. Oh, an hopefully some sort of access control can be arranged, as having the entire world near you stealing your internets would hurt.%Gallery-44790%
Novatel's MiFi passes FCC in GSM flavor
We're not going to even try to hide our enthusiasm for Novatel's upcoming MiFi router; honestly, what's there not to love about a credit card-sized sliver of metal that routes 3G over a little cloud of WiFi for a few hours on a charge? Nothing, that's what -- but you sure couldn't detect any enthusiasm out of the lab that dryly put a prototype through its paces in preparation for FCC approval. This one's a little weird and not entirely appropriate for North American use, featuring 850 and 1900MHz EDGE plus 1900MHz HSPA (there could be some foreign bands thrown in there, too, but the FCC doesn't give two craps about those, so they typically aren't listed). We're not sure why there wouldn't be any 850MHz HSPA if they're doing 1900, but there'll undoubtedly be a number of MiFi models released for different locales and carriers, so we're not going to break a sweat about it. Yet.
Hands-on with Novatel's MiFi 3G hotspot
We've talked about the svelte silver -- and a black version is in the works -- MiFi card and of course CES gave us a chance to put one to work. And, well, what can we say, it works as advertised. While we've not had a chance to speedtest it, hide it in the darkest corners of the temporary Engadget Mansion or otherwise abuse it, we know we want. Launch is expected sometime midway through 2009 on some US CDMA carrier with two GSM / HSDPA variants coming shortly after. Short video of it doing its blinky thing after the break.
Switched On: MiFi pushes 3G past the router limits
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In a commercial featuring 30 Rock actress and producer Tina Fey and director Martin Scorsese, the former Saturday Night Live head writer uses her credit card to gain entrance to an airline lounge. The notion of a faceless slice serving as an access pass would also apply to Novatel Wireless's MiFi, the simply named 3G personal hotspot that will support up to five users simultaneously connecting to a 3G network when it is offered through operators next year.MiFi is not the first product to enable a small group to bridge WiFi products to the wireless WAN. One early entrant, Junxion, was acquired by Novatel Wireless competitor Sierra Wireless. And Cradlepoint has created a battery-powered device sold at Best Buy that, like the Junxion device, relies on a laptop card to create its WAN connection. That's not true, though, of the MiFi, which integrates an HSPA or EVDO radio along with the battery that can provide over four hours of Internet access to devices such as a PC, iPod touch, Zune, Nintendo DS or Sony PSP. In fact, without apologies to Right Said Fred, the MiFi may be "too sexy for my LAN" -- particularly for a product that can work silently in a backpack as it serves its nodes. A thicker frame could provide all-day access, but perhaps such lengthy sessions will generally take place where there is access to an outlet; the device continues to perform normally if it is drawing juice from a PC's USB port. But the MiFi is not simply a dumb dispenser of digits.
Novatel MiFi proves "3G hotspot" and "sexy" can coexist
Our EV-DO ExpressCards are looking a whole lot frumpier (and less functional) today now that Novatel's shown off this hot little metallic number, the "MiFi" mobile 3G hotspot for getting high-speed data to you and your closest friends on the go. Routing your choice of EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA over WiFi, the slab is about as wide and long as a credit card -- goodness -- and features an internal battery that'll allegedly be good for four hours of use or forty hours of standby on one charge. The MiFi is scheduled to blast off in the first half of 2009 for roughly $200 through carriers and retail channels, which means we can finally look forward to ditching our N78 with Joikuspot and a couple hundred dollars worth of spare batteries.
