--- Lee Barken <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Source: > http://news.com.com/Wi-Fi+to+go+The+hot+spot+in+a+box/2100-7351_3-6042710.html?tag=nefd.top > > Wi-Fi to go: The hot spot in a box > > By David Pogue > http://news.com.com/Wi-Fi+to+go+The+hot+spot+in+a+box/2100-7351_3-6042710.html > > > You know what would be so cool? A portable Wi-Fi hot > spot. Whenever you > wanted Internet access, you wouldn't have to hunt > for a wireless coffee > shop or pay $24 a night to your hotel. > Instead, you'd travel with a little box. Plug it > into a power outlet--or > even your car's cigarette lighter--and boom, you and > everyone within 200 > feet could get onto the Internet at high speed, > without wires. > > Actually, such boxes exist. They come from companies > like Kyocera, Junxion > and Top Global, and they're every bit as awesome as > they sound. > (Unfortunately, the category is so new that it has > no agreed-upon name. > "Portable hot spot" is descriptive but unwieldy. > "Cellular gateway" is a > bit cryptic. Kyocera's term, "mobile router," may be > as good as any.) > > Before you start thinking that you've died and gone > to Internet heaven, > however, you should know that these boxes don't work > alone. Each requires > the insertion of a PC laptop card provided by a > cellular carrier like > Verizon, Sprint or Cingular. The card provides the > Internet connection, > courtesy of those companies' 3G (third generation) > high-speed cellular > data networks. The box just rebroadcasts that > connection as a Wi-Fi signal > so that all nearby computers--not just one > privileged laptop--can go > online. > > With those PC cards, you can go online anywhere > there's a cellular signal: > in a taxi, on a bus, in a waiting room or wherever. > In major cities, the > speed is delightful, like a DSL or slowish cable > modem (400 to 700 > kilobits a second). In other areas, you can still go > online, but only > slightly faster than with a dial-up modem. (Also > note that uploading is > far slower than downloading.) > > All right, go ahead, ask it: If you can already > outfit your laptop with > one of these miraculous cards, why do you need a > mobile router that > translates the cellular connection into a Wi-Fi one? > > > First, not all computers have the necessary card > slot. (Apple Computer's > iBooks and new MacBook Pro laptops come to mind.) > Second, a mobile router > can accommodate machines with no wireless features > at all--like desktop > computers--thanks to standard Ethernet network jacks > on the back. (The > Kyocera has four, the Junxion two and the Top Global > one.) > > Above all, Wi-Fi lets lots of computers share the > same Internet signal. > Cellular PC-card service is very expensive: $60 a > month for unlimited use > ($80 if you don't also have a voice plan). That's a > lot to pay for a > single computer to go online. A mobile router opens > up that signal to any > computer within about 200 feet; $60 a month is a lot > more palatable when > 10 or 20 of you are sharing it. > > Mobile routers have become essential equipment for > traveling groups. Bus > and train companies are experimenting with these > boxes to see if having > high-speed Wi-Fi onboard appeals to passengers. > These boxes are also > becoming standard amenities for the casts of TV > shows and movies and for > rock bands, so that they can check e-mail or surf > the Web between takes or > whenever they're on location or on the tour bus. > > But a mobile router might make sense even in > stationary environments. > Small businesses can use one as a backup connection > when the power goes > out. (A mobile router can draw its power from a car > or battery pack.) > > Other people are canceling their home DSL or cable > modem service > altogether. Instead of paying twice for Internet > access--for a cable modem > and a cellular laptop plan--they use the cellular > card at home and on the > road and save a lot of money. > > To use a mobile router, you insert your cellular > laptop card (which must > first be activated in a Windows laptop). Then you > connect the router to > your computer using an Ethernet cable (included). > You type the box's > numeric address into your Web browser, and presto: > You're viewing its > configuration page. Here's where you indicate which > brand of PC card you > have (Novatel, Sierra Wireless or whatever), turn on > password protection, > and fiddle with pages and pages of network and > security settings, if > you're into that sort of thing. > > The Junxion box is a biggish slab of folded sheet > metal, unimpressive > except for its bright green paint job, measuring 6.3 > by 10.3 by 1.1 inches > and costing $600. As you can tell from the price, > Junxion seeks corporate > buyers, not individuals. Yet only a few of its > features cry out > "corporate." (One of them lets a network geek > configure a fleet of Junxion > boxes by remote control, from the comfort of company > headquarters.) > > For $600, you might expect more than two measly > status lights, and geeks > might expect the wireless signal to be 802.11g > instead of the older "b" > variant. On the other hand, the Junxion has some > neat features, including > the ability to greet colleagues with a splash > screen. ("Welcome to Dave's > free Wi-Fi highway! Click Connect to continue, and > don't forget to thank > Dave by dropping off cash or baked goods at his > cubicle.") > > The new Kyocera KR1, developed jointly with D-Link, > is more attractive for > a couple of important reasons. First, it costs only > a third as much ($200 > after rebate). It's also much smaller and > better-looking (8.5 by 5.3 by > 1.3 inches) and feels more like a finished > commercial product. Note, > however, that the KR1 works only with Verizon and > Sprint cards--or as the > techies might say, it works only on EV-DO networks. > Its rivals, by > contrast, can accommodate almost any card from any > service, including the > new BroadbandConnect service from Cingular (so far > available in 16 > cities). > > On the other hand, only the KR1 can draw its > Internet connection from > certain EV-DO cell phones instead of a PC card. That > is, you can connect > the Samsung A890 or Audiovox 8940, for example, with > a USB cable. The > phone becomes a sort of Internet antenna for the > router. > > If the Junxion box represents the complete absence > of industrial design, > then Top Global's 3G Phoebus represents the height > of it. This mobile > router is a white, gray or black plastic pyramid (7 > by 7 by 5.5 inches) > that makes no attempt to look like a piece of > networking equipment. You > either love that approach or you don't. > > Design aside, the Phoebus has a lot to recommend it. > It's the only model > with an on-off switch--a clicky chrome marble on the > front. It's also the > only model that when used with Sprint or Verizon > cards, === message truncated === -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
