Boston-based Skyhook Wireless is integrating GPS from SiRF Technology with its WiFi Positioning System. The original WiFi Positioning System constitutes a database of public and private access points, which currently number 16.5 million, in 2,500 cities in the U.S. Skyhook plans to offer the new combined service to major wireless providers this year. With this… Continue Reading
Learning Chinese The Skype Way
Skype renders a virtual classroom for people wanting to learn a new language. London-based stand-up comic Tommy Campbell sits down for Mandarin lessons, three hours every week, with Lily Huang, a mother of one and a qualified English teacher who resides in the Chinese province of Hainan. Huang charges $20 per hour of lesson, which… Continue Reading
Motorola Offers Exchange Program For Wi-Fi Mesh Gear
For 11 weeks through June 15, Motorola is running a program that will enable early-adopter cities to receive credits for exchanging their wireless gear for Motorola’s “HotZone Duo” products. Under the Superior Wireless Access Program, Motorola will pay $500 for each old unit exchanged with a single-radio HotZone Duo node and $750 for those wanting… Continue Reading
Verizon Wireless Crawls To 4G
Verizon is planning to head down the 4G road but which path they’ll take is still uncertain. Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) is the logical path but not the only option. In fact, at the CTIA Wireless 2007 Conference, Kyle Malady, Vice President of Network Technology Development at Verizon Wireless, stressed that the company feels they… Continue Reading
The Ins And Outs Of Using A Wi-Fi Smart Phone
Technology has now made gaps in cell phone coverage a thing of the past, that is if there is a Wi-Fi Hotspot nearby. Smart phones, complete with Wi-Fi capabilities are hitting the market, albeit slowly, and allow you to make VoIP phone calls, check email, read the latest news and other activities via the internet.… Continue Reading
Thank You Superhacker, You Saved My Computer
You can actually be setting yourself up for identity theft. A recent report entitled Internet Safety: The State of the Nation found that one in five, or 21%, of British households that use wireless broadband connections do not have password protection. These open portals leave users open to fraud, identity theft or worse. To combat… Continue Reading
Icron’s Wireless USB Hub Is Pricey
Icron Technologies unveiled its maiden wireless USB hub, which it will sell for $395.00. Icron chief executive Robert Eisses expects the product to be popular despite the price. “We sell a CAT-5 USB extender for $695. We sell a lot of them. We expect to sell a lot of these, too,” he said. WiRanger Cable… Continue Reading
Intel Modifies Wi-Fi To Add Mileage
Intel is working on a form of long-distance Wi-Fi, which would allow users to get signals within a 100-kilometer radius. According to Intel Research Berkeley director Eric Brewer, the technology uses “regular Wi-Fi hardware but with modified software.” The new technology is intended for emerging markets, where communications systems remain lacking in villages. Intel plans… Continue Reading
EVDO Rev. B Promises More Than 9Mbps Down
Qualcomm has announced that EVDO Revision A is already old hat and Revision B is on its way. Revision B will incorporate new hardware and software updates and offer backward compatibility with older models. Company tests have version B running at an average data rate of 9.3Mbps download speed compared to the previous model’s 800kbps.… Continue Reading
Google Announces Free In-home Wireless Broadband Service
Technology has now made gaps in cell phone coverage a thing of the past, that is if there is a Wi-Fi Hotspot nearby. Smart phones, complete with Wi-Fi capabilities are hitting the market, albeit slowly, and allow you to make VoIP phone calls, check email, read the latest news and other activities via the internet.… Continue Reading
Court Backs FCC In VoIP Case
The FCC’s decision stands. A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Minnesota agreed with the 2004 FCC decision that companies, such as Vonage, provide interstate services, which put them out of an individual state’s control. This decision and its reaffirmation is mainly focused on Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which… Continue Reading
EarthLink To Offer Wi-Fi Handsets
EarthLink has a new Wi-Fi phone, which may be hitting the market this summer. Currently in beta tests, the phone will let you make calls over the Internet through wireless broadband connections. To push this initiative along, EarthLink has been working with a number of cities to establish municipal Wi-Fi networks. The EarthLink phone and… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Persists With Steady Evolution
Wi-Fi has become a staple technology in Australia. Sean Casey, business development manager of Intel Customer Solutions Group, considers the country a mature market, considering the uptake of the technology among consumers and businesses. Casey said the integration of a functional standard into handheld devices and laptops is driving the popularity of Wi-Fi. Part of… Continue Reading
Wireless Industry Gears Up For WiMax
This week, carriers and equipment vendors are converging in Orlando, Florida for the CTIA Wireless 2007 trade show. Mohammad Shakouri, vice president of marketing for the Wimax Forum, expects WiMax to be the main topic of talks, similar to what happened in the 3 GSM World Congress in Barcelona last month. Some vendors plan to… Continue Reading
Could The French Hinder Draft N In Europe?
A French regulation could impede the adoption of 802.11 Draft N standard in Europe. France was the first country to demand compliance with the latest version of the dynamic frequency selection – a mechanism enabling a WiFi system to move away from a channel once radar is detected – that European regulator ETSI released in… Continue Reading