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EE's new broadband router is a 4G MiFi for the home
EE and parent company BT both offer fixed-line broadband services already, but today EE is launching a new router that uses 4G to keep the whole household connected. The "4GEE Home Router" is basically a bigger, beefier MiFi that needs no formal installation. Just plug it into a power outlet, connect your phones, tablets and PCs to it via WiFi -- up to 32 devices are supported -- and enjoy download speeds of up to 90 Mbps (actual speeds will vary, of course).
Marriott no longer wants to block guests' WiFi devices
Marriott's (thankfully) raising the white flag and admitting defeat to Google, Microsoft and everyone else lobbying against its plans to block WiFi devices inside its hotels. The company has issued a statement that makes its new stance clear: guests can now use their own WiFi devices without having to worry that their hotspot connections will be blocked in the middle of something important. If you recall, Marriott recently paid a $600,000 fine due to a complaint that it's been blocking guests' personal hotspots. The hotel chain claims it's to protect guests from connecting to rogue hotspots set up by hackers and has even submitted a request to the FCC to let it continue doing so.
EE's £79.99 'Buzzard 2' is an all-in-one 4G WiFi dongle for your car
In its bid to get more customers connecting to its 4G network while they travel, EE introduced the Buzzard, a £49.99 plug-and-play mobile hotspot designed specifically for the car. Launched in April, the device came in two separate parts, making it difficult to store and plug in during your journey. EE appears to have realised this, as today it's introducing its successor, the Buzzard 2. Like the original avian-themed dongle, the Buzzard 2 plugs into your car's dashboard and supports up to 10 WiFi connections. However, it comes with a new lighting system that makes it easier to use and can also serve as a USB charger, allowing you to charge your devices while you browse (when you're not driving, of course). EE's new hotspot is priced at £79.99 (£30 more than the original) when bought outright, but comes down to £19.99 when purchased with a £10 monthly plan, which includes 1GB of data. However, you can get it for free if you sign up for the £15 tariff, which lavishes you with 3GB of data every month. If you've got small kids intent on watching Netflix all the time, that allowance might not get you very far, but it'll do a job if you want a backup for your smartphone plan.
FreedomPop jumps to LTE, lets you run out of free data faster than ever
FreedomPop's namesake free data hasn't been especially fast given its reliance on WiMAX and EV-DO, but the company is taking a big step forward with just-launched support for Sprint's LTE network. Those who buy the $149 FreedomSpot 5580 LTE hotspot (pictured above) can get truly high speeds without having to pay a cent for regular service. Future devices and LTE-friendly smartphone service are also coming, although there is a big catch. That free tier is still capped at 500MB per month -- take full advantage of LTE and you're more likely to either pay overage fees or switch to one of FreedomPop's paid plans. Even so, the upgraded service may be tempting for those who aren't willing to sacrifice performance at any price.
Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay speaker: Stunning design, incredible sound
When it comes to getting music from your iOS device to a good speaker, there are a lot of different methods. There's the tried and true dock method, which can fall to pieces when Apple comes out with a new connector design as they did last year with Lightning. Some manufacturers have the mistaken hope that people will just use an adapter and a pair of wires to run to a speaker or two, while the vast majority have gone the route of Bluetooth. Wren Sound Systems has changed all that with a Wi-Fi connected AirPlay speaker called the V5AP (US$399) that is provides excellent sound reproduction in a beautiful design. Design The unique design of the Wren Sound Systems V5AP speaker is an eye-catcher. Whether you're using the V5AP in a crowded, dirty dorm room or a mansion, the gently curving lines and wood surfaces immediately draw your eyes to the speaker. The case is finished in either a light finished bamboo or in deep, rich rosewood. Along the front of the speaker is a silvery grille that is backed with a diamond (shaped) matrix so that music is pumped through without distortion. On one end of the speaker is a vertical array of controls. Unlike the confusing mess that many speakers clutter up the control panel with, this simply has four buttons: a power button, a set of volume buttons, and a button for selecting input (Wi-Fi, USB, or AUX). LEDs glow unobtrusively on the speaker case and don't tend to glare or attract undue attention. %Gallery-191635% There are a pair of 19 mm edge-driven soft dome tweeters, one at each end of the speaker, to produce a nice, open sound. On the bass end are two long-throw drivers with 4-layer voice coils. The bottom of the case is covered with a 4 mm silicone pad to absorb transmitted vibration when you really have the volume cranked up. Inside that enclosure you'll also find an Intersil D2 50 Watt DSP-controlled digital amplifier to drive all of the speakers, along with the other fun electronics. There's a tuned acoustic port on the back to help the bass along, and the back is also where you'll find a setup button, USB port and AC adapter connection. By the way, if there's one thing I have to say is a failing of the V5AP is that it comes with a rather generic AC adapter and power brick. Fortunately, it has a nice long cable so you can increase the distance between power outlet and speaker. Last but not least, the box includes a remote control that I frankly never touched, preferring to use the controls on my iOS devices. Note that the V5 speaker also comes in a Google Play-Fi version (V5PF), and a Bluetooth version is in the works. Functionality Setup of the Wren Sound Systems V5AP is very simple. The company actually provides two methods; I chose to use my iPhone to set it up. Basically, you plug in the speaker, turn it on, make sure that USB is selected for connectivity, and then plug your iPhone or other iOS device into the speaker. Almost immediately, a dialog appears on the iOS screen asking if you wish to share your Wi-Fi settings with the speaker. Tap OK, and a few moments later your V5AP is joined to your Wi-Fi network. You can unplug the iPhone at this point, although I kept mine plugged in for a while to give it a charge! Next, it's just a matter of selecting the speaker from the AirPlay controls on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You'll want to make sure that the speaker has good Wi-Fi connectivity, but once you're connected you can begin playing music... ...and that's where the joy of this product comes in. The sound is full, crisp, and just plain amazing. The V5AP sounds better than any other AirPlay speaker, Bluetooth speaker, or dock that I've reviewed. I was able to crank this speaker up to the point that the floor was shaking and the sound was still undistorted. Regarding my comment about needing good Wi-Fi connectivity: I moved the speaker to several locations, one that's a known "dead spot" on my Wi-Fi network. While I still had connectivity, traffic from the MyFi card in the camera I was using for photographs actually caused the connection to drop momentarily. Bringing the speaker back into an area with better Wi-Fi coverage resolved this issue. Conclusion Many AirPlay or Bluetooth speakers on the market are plagued with either boring design, bad sound, or complicated setup. Wren's V5AP is simple to set up, pleasant to look at, and boasts audiophile sound quality. Pros Beautiful case design Easy to use controls Simple and fast setup Best-in-class sound quality Cons Uninspired use of a generic AC adapter that Steve Jobs would hate Who is it for? The connoisseur of good design and excellent sound quality -- in other words, the V5AP is perfect for any Apple customer
Hong Kong's CSL preps network for LTE Cat 4, offers Huawei's 150 Mbps mobile hotspot (video)
With Hong Kong boasting pretty much the fastest average internet speed on this planet, it's no surprise that the city is also one of the first to launch commercial 150 Mbps LTE Cat 4 service -- just right after SingTel's launch in Singapore earlier this month. Announced yesterday by CSL (who operates both one2free and the more premium 1010), its FD-LTE network takes advantage of the recently acquired 5MHz extended spectrum, in order to increase the capacity of 2600MHz from 2 x 15MHz to 2 x 20MHz. This upgrade is what enables Cat 4 download speed of up to 150Mbps on compatible devices, and it went live yesterday. The company's 1800MHz spectrum will also get an upgrade from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 15MHz in June, followed by another jump to 2 x 20MHz towards the end of the year. You'll find a live demo video (courtesy of RingHK) showing the performance difference between Cat 3 and Cat 4 after the break, with CTO Christian Daigneault claiming he's seen a speed increase of up to twice as fast in the lab.
Sprint announces three tri-band LTE devices landing this summer (hands-on)
If your city is one of the many that's part of Sprints ongoing LTE rollout (or will be soon), then the network's just announced three tri-band mobile broadband devices for your consideration. The hope, it seems, is that as different parts of Sprint's LTE spectrum become available (including spectrum from Clearwire), coverage and network performance of the devices will improve. The hardware offerings are Novatel's MiFi 500 LTE, the Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and 341U USB dongle, and are slated to be available by summer. No confirmed availability dates or prices just yet. Sprint also hints at tri-band LTE phones from Samsung and LG to follow. In the meantime, however, you'd better get set up with your Data Link and Static IP. Update: We had a brief run-in with the three new broadband devices and without being able to field test at blazing LTE speeds we can only offer up impressions of their design. In short? They're all essentially what we've seen before with the MiFi's shape being our favorite because of its smaller but taller -- and ultimately more pocketable -- footprint. Gallery is just below. %Gallery-188998% Brad Molen and Sean Cooper contributed to this report.
T-Mobile's Sonic 2.0 mobile hotspot revealed, brings LTE-powered WiFi to the masses
T-Mobile's UnCarrier announcement event is taking place a little later today, but some bits of news have started to leak out ahead of time. First was the BlackBerry Z10, and now comes an LTE mobile hotspot, the Sonic 2.0. It's T-Mo's first LTE mobile hotspot and can feed data to up to eight devices at a time. Not only that, it's compatible with both Mac OSX 10.8 and Windows 8, plus Microsofties get the added benefit of compatibility with the Win8 Carrier application so users can easily access real-time data usage info for every connected gadget. As for the hardware, the Sonic 2.0 has a 1.77-inch color LCD on the front, a 3,000 mAh battery, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and quadband LTE and 3G radios on board. There's also a MicroSD card slot for simple file sharing of up to 32GB cards. It'll be available by the end of the month, though we don't yet know how much it'll cost. Guess you'll have to tune into our liveblog to find out.
Globalgig expands its roaming hotspot coverage into more English-speaking countries (plus Sweden and Denmark)
More good news for anyone that likes to buy their overseas data in bulk. Voiamo's Globalgig service is making good on its promise of worldwide domination expansion, announcing deals with carriers in Ireland, Hong Kong, Sweden and Denmark. The company has also detailed a 18-month deal that will net users the typically $119 mobile hotspot for free, with the same per-month pricing as its off-contract setup. Monthly charges start at a (now reduced) $17 for a gig of data, moving up to 10GB for $80 a month. Our overseas editors will be putting Globalgig's hotspot through its paces at Expand in a few weeks time.
Novatel MiFi 2 interface and housing refresh hands-on
With Bell Canada's announcement yesterday of MiFi 2's imminent launch in the great white north comes an update from Novatel for both the device's skin and radio. While we couldn't get any pictures of the updates to support LTE in Canada, we did capture a good pile of the tweaked housing and the skin updates in the touch UI. Physically the device remains exactly the same as far as its dimensions are concerned, though the metal trim has lightened up a wee bit and battery life is still a monstrous 11 hours or so on LTE. Launch price and an exact date aren't available yet form Bell but we expect those any time soon. Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report
AT&T Unite LTE hotspot coming to stores February 8th for a dollar
The second touchscreen LTE mobile hotspot has just been announced for AT&T. Known as the Unite, the Sierra Wireless device will be available on the network February 8th and will cost you no more than 99 cents after a two-year contract gets involved. This particular device, which has a 2.4-inch display, boasts a 10-hour battery life with regular use (10 days standby). For more info about the Unite, head to the source link below.
Globalgig roaming data service launched: devour up to 5GB abroad for $49 per month (update: UK carrier)
Voiamo has just taken the veil off of Globalgig, a new roaming service that'll let road warriors consume up to 5GB through a monthly contract and the purchase of a $119 hotspot dongle. So far, it will only be available if you're roaming in the US, UK and Australia through the company's Sprint, O2 and Optus partners, respectively. However, the company has promised it'll expand to "key Asian, European Union markets, and other large global travel hubs" in the next 12 months, bringing 1GB of data for $25, 3GB for $39 and 5GB for $49 per month. Contracts will run month-to-month, and you'll be able to cancel anytime with 48 hours notice, according to Voiamo. Sounds like just the thing for globetrotting bloggers, especially with a certain electronics spectacle coming up in the New Year. Check the PR after the break for more info. Update: The UK partner is Three, not O2.
The Daily Roundup for 11.20.2012
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
MiFi Liberate review: does the world need a mobile hotspot with a touchscreen?
There are two factors that are of the utmost importance when it comes to choosing mobile hotspots: speed and battery life. Further down the list is portability, with hardware design ranking even lower. So the idea of a touchscreen MiFi struck us as a ridiculous luxury, the sort of thing we'd find in a SkyMall catalog. This is why we were intrigued by the MiFi Liberate, Novatel Wireless's first-ever 4G LTE MiFi with a built-in touchscreen. While it might seem like a gimmick, the interface does, in fact, provide quick access to vital stats like data usage. Novatel wasn't content to leave it at that, though: the Liberate has features we would never dream of adding to a MiFi, including media streaming, GPS and even a basic messaging app. Fortunately, the addition of such features don't inflate the price: it's available for $50 with a new two-year agreement with AT&T. How well does it all work? Join us after the break for our review.%Gallery-171089%
AT&T ships $100 Samsung Galaxy Express, $50 MiFi Liberate hotspot on November 16th
AT&T will have more to come after its Windows Phone 8 launches are underway this month, as it's has committing to launching two of its previously promised affordable devices on November 16th. Its mid-tier Samsung Galaxy Express will go on sale that day with a $100 contract price to satisfy those who want a Galaxy S III-like experience at half the cost. Those who just want LTE and HSPA data should also find Novatel's MiFi Liberate touchscreen hotspot on sale for $50 under similar terms. Neither will necessarily shake up the mobile world, but they won't have to at their prices.
Mobile data gets even more piecemeal with 24-hour offerings from Virgin Mobile
Sure, you can already buy Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go on a monthly basis, but what about when you want that data on a daily basis? For instance, what if you're Johnny Lee Miller in the hit '90s film Hackers? Exactly. Good thing, then, that Virgin Mobile is now offering a 24-hour daily plan for its Broadband2Go service, charging just $5 per day. Unfortunately, if you're only able to find 3G service, that broadband is limited to just 200MB of data -- those who can find 4G get unlimited data access (and much faster access to boot). Currently, Virgin's Broadband2Go is only offered via a proprietary ($70) USB stick or a proprietary ($120) mifi device, so don't think you're getting off too cheaply. It is, however, available right now.
Novatel Wireless MiFi Liberate MiFi for AT&T hands-on
It's not too often that a mobile hotspot graces our home page, but this one is worth a mention. Novatel Wireless is launching the Liberate, a MiFi with a built-in touchscreen, on AT&T in the coming months, and we had the opportunity to play with the new device at MobileCon 2012. The hotspot, also known as the MiFi 5792, sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 400 x 240 pixels, LTE, a microSD slot, DLNA streaming capabilities and a 2,900mAh battery that promises 11 hours of life between charges. While it seems pretty fancy for a MiFi, the touchscreen may be appealing to some. The hotspot runs on a proprietary build of Linux and offers a wide variety of options to choose from: connection details, data usage, a list of connected devices, settings, file sharing, media streaming, WiFi protected setup, messages, GPS and so on. Many of the activities (checking your use, which devices are connected and other settings) previously relegated to a proprietary URL can now be easily viewed directly on your MiFi without any hassle. Don't expect the quick and buttery-smooth response of a modern smartphone here, but since this is Novatel's inaugural attempt at a touchscreen device -- in addition to the fact that the display is of secondary importance on a MiFi -- we're willing to cut the company some slack. It handles the limited needs of most hotspot consumers without much concern.
Tep Wireless review: another great option for international mobile hotspot rentals
Traveling is great -- nay, amazing. And travel that requires a passport can be even more fulfilling for those willing to open their minds to new cultures (and, perhaps, deal with entirely too much security screening). But here's the thing -- travel is a lot better, generally speaking, with an internet connection within arm's reach. Things are never more likely to go awry than when you leave your comfort zone (or, you know, home nation), and we here at Engadget have been investigating the best methods for maintaining a connection whilst abroad for the better part of our lives. To date, you've got a smattering of options: rent a mobile hotspot from XCom Global, pick up a rental SIM from iPhoneTrip, pray that you can find a shop that rents data SIMs upon your arrival or pony up for whatever absurd roaming fees that your home operator deems fit. All of the above options have their pros and cons, but the good news here is that your choices are expanding. As the market for ubiquitous connections continues to grow, another player has recently entered the market. Tep Wireless began as a hotspot rental service that mainly looked after those traversing the United Kingdom, but recently, it expanded its coverage umbrella to include some 38 countries across Europe and 50 nations total. This here editor recently had the opportunity to cross through four of those on a single journey, with a Tep hotspot in hand the entire way. Care to see how things turned out? Let's reconvene after the break.
Tep Wireless expands mobile hotspot rental plan to 50 countries, revamps pricing
The international mobile hotspot rental market just got a lot more interesting. While Xcom Global's offerings are still broader, Tep Wireless is expanding in a major way. Previously reserved for European nations, the upstart is now serving a full 50 nations, adding Brazil, the United States, South Africa, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and UAE to its repertoire. For those in need of a refresher, the company enables customers facing an international trip to order their hotspot and get it delivered prior to departure, with a prepaid envelope included to ship it back once they've returned. The company's made clear that its hotspots will track data usage in real time right on the inbuilt display, and they're programmed to hop onto different networks as borders are crossed. (If you're curious, we confirmed that it all works as advertised in a recent jaunt across European borders.) The full pricing chart fo is hosted up after the break, with those needing unlimited buckets able to pay a $6.95-per day surcharge. (It should be noted that the preexisting EU-wide pricing options remain for those sticking to that region.) It'll probably look a touch pricey to light users and common tourists, but business travelers unwilling to take chances on connectivity when heading overseas will find the rates far more palatable than roaming fees from their home carrier.
AT&T's new MiFi Liberate is LTE-capable, 'world's first' with touchscreen display
We'll have to give it to AT&T for going with something a wee bit different than what we're accustomed to seeing in the world of handy MiFis -- but with touchscreens apparently being a thing nowadays, it also shouldn't surprise us that the company chose to go this route. Either way, the newly introduced MiFi Liberate will surely be of help to those who need to stay connected while on the go, offering features such as LTE connectivity (provided the network's live in the area, of course), simultaneous pairing of up to 10 WiFi devices, 11-hour battery life, a microSD slot, DLNA capabilities and, as you can see above, a 2.8-inch touchscreen display. Unfortunately, the carrier didn't say when we can expect the Liberate to be up for grabs (or for how much), with a company representative only telling us that it'll be at some point "in the coming months." While we wait for those details, however, feel free to check out the extra pic located just past the break.
