Major infrastucture supplier calls it: LTE over WiMAX

If you’re Clearwire or Sprint right now, the last thing you want to hear is one of the world’s major suppliers of wireless infrastructure badmouthing the very technology that underpins your next-gen network — so we imagine there’s some groaning in the hallways and boardrooms of the world’s WiMAX carriers today. Why? Alcatel-Lucent’s COO of its wireless business, Patrick Plas, has pulled no punches in a statement this week that the firm is “not putting a lot of effort into [WiMAX] any longer” after noticing that there’s “a clear direction taken by the industry towards LTE.” Of course, it doesn’t take an analyst to notice that Europe, Asia, and virtually every carrier in the Americas have all taken on a decidedly pro-LTE slant in the past couple years, and these guys are just following the money — which in turn makes it harder (and more expensive) for the handful of WiMAX proponents with deployed networks to build out and stay technologically current. In the race to actual 4G commercialization, LTE’s still got a ton of catching-up to do — but once it does, it’s looking poised to blow past WiMAX pretty quickly here. In the meantime, we’ll be loving our Overdrives.

Major infrastucture supplier calls it: LTE over WiMAX originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba to deliver 60GHz wireless products in 2H 2010

Hitachi, Panasonic and Toshiba to deliver 60GHz wireless products in 2H 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wacom Intuos4 succumbs to peer pressure, goes wireless

Okay, so maybe there’s not an overwhelming group of “peers” for Wacom’s Intuos4 graphics tablet, but we’re still kind of saddened to see a device that hardly seems to require wirelessness donning a Bluetooth connectivity option and following the wireless peripherals crowd. Ah well, guess we can’t grumble too much about choice, so if you have some freaky workplace scenarios that require your tablet to be untethered (to up to 10 meters), you should be circling the latter part of March and expecting to pay around $400 for the privilege, or about $50 more than the wired Medium tablet. No luck if you were after the other sizes, unfortunately — you’ll just have to learn to love that wire.

Wacom Intuos4 succumbs to peer pressure, goes wireless originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One Dock to support external speakers, make use of that Bluetooth radio?

Your favorite ill-defined smartphone accessory is back, this time teasing us with talk of external speaker support (via mini audio jack) and wireless audio transmission. We did wonder why the Nexus One dock would have a Bluetooth connection when the phone already has one one of its own, and the trick seems to be that the dock will act as the conduit through which the Nexus will transmit music wirelessly to your nearest set of banging sound thumpers. Simple, yes, but also rather liberating for your Eclair-sporting device. Makes that $45 price seem all the more reasonable, no?

Nexus One Dock to support external speakers, make use of that Bluetooth radio? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wi-Fire long-range WiFi adapter gets updated Mac software

We didn’t run into too many problems with the existing Mac software for the Wi-Fire WiFi range extender in our brief time with the device, but it looks like hField Technologies has decided to make Mac users’ lives a bit easier nonetheless, with it now releasing an updated version for OS X. Among other things, version 2.0 now finally includes an icon that sits in the menu bar for easy access, and fully revamped connection manager that sports a decidedly more Apple-like appearance. Unfortunately, you’ll still have to wait a bit for an 802.11n upgrade, but the software update is at least free, and available to download right now.

Wi-Fire long-range WiFi adapter gets updated Mac software originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire in no rush to move to next-gen WiMAX Release 2

If consistently pulling down a fistful of megabits per second isn’t causing the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end… well, first, we strongly recommend you get that looked at by a professional. Secondly, though, you might have a bit of a wait before you get another hair-raising boost in throughput, because Clearwire — you know, the company that runs the WiMAX network shared by Clear and Sprint — is looking to take a laid-back approach on the migration to WiMAX Release 2. The underlying standard, 802.11m, looks destined for IEEE approval some time this year with the promise of 120Mbps down and 60Mbps up in an effort to wage 4G war with LTE Advanced, but Clearwire’s CTO is saying that he’s not looking to trial the tech this year — even though Russian carrier Yota is on track to make it happen using Samsung hardware. Instead, 2011 is a “much more likely” target for these guys, apparently, with commercial deployment plausible by ‘12. With the updated standard capable of speeds that put even high-end cable and fiber broadband connections to shame, you’ve got to wonder if backhaul isn’t the real concern here — or, even juicier, if they’re not just trying to keep all the options on the table for a little while longer.

Clearwire in no rush to move to next-gen WiMAX Release 2 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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McDonald’s starts dishing out free WiFi at most of its U.S. restaurants

McDonald’s starts dishing out free WiFi at most of its U.S. restaurants originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Line 6 announces Relay G30 system for guitar players who want to rock you sans tether (video)

We’ve been to concerts where the lead guitar player seemed more concerned about tripping over the wire running to his amp than actually putting on a good show, and that’s not cool. Line 6, creator of a series of rockin’ music gadgets in the past, is back to sever that tether without trampling your tune, man. It promises great sound over 100-feet, even able to replicate the frequency loss from different lengths of cable, and pledges to be “the most dependable wireless unit you’ve ever experienced.” It uses the 2.4GHz band (so hopefully nobody’s running a boosted 802.11b router nearby) and costs $420 — a bargain in this line of work. Don’t believe us? Trust Steve Stevens, who not only has a lovely last name but also rocked out with Billy Idol on Rebel Yell and said “there are systems that cost well over $3,000 that sound nowhere near as good.” Of course, if you’re a big-spender with tour funds to blow, Line 6 will happily sell you the 12-channel G50 and G90 models, which will set you back $560 and $840, respectively.

Continue reading Line 6 announces Relay G30 system for guitar players who want to rock you sans tether (video)

Line 6 announces Relay G30 system for guitar players who want to rock you sans tether (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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D-Link’s adorable myPocket 3G router gets FCC approval

Announced last month, D-Link is entering the mobile 3G router space with a suspiciously MiFi-esque product dubbed “myPocket” that pushes up to 7.2Mbps worth of HSPA over a portable WiFi cloud. The device — model number DIR-457 — has just been blessed with FCC approval today, which is a particularly good thing considering that it offers North American 3G compatibility on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. D-Link is no stranger to the 3G router market — it’s been making them for several years, actually, but this would be the first model that looks pocketable (hence the name, we suppose). It’s not shipping Stateside just yet, but between this and Novatel’s offerings, AT&T’s got to make a move at some point.

D-Link’s adorable myPocket 3G router gets FCC approval originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell Labs spearheads Green Touch initiative to improve network energy efficiency

Normally we might not cover the formation of a new consortium with ridiculously lofty goals like this, but check it: Bell Labs has managed to corral a who’s-who of carriers, universities, government agencies, and industry labs with the goal of making communications networks more energy efficient than they are today. What makes the goal so lofty, though, is the fact that Bell wants to improve efficiency by a whopping 1,000 times — a number it says should be possible based on research it has done suggesting a 10,000-fold improvement is theoretically possible. Heavy-hitting members include China Mobile (the world’s largest carrier), AT&T, Swisscom, Telefonica, MIT, Stanford, Freescale, and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, so we’re feeling good about the plausibility of Green Touch’s first proposed milestone: a reference architecture and sample components within five years capable of meeting the 1,000-fold improvement mark. The group’s first meeting is next month — just be sure to drive your plug-in hybrids to the gathering, guys.

Bell Labs spearheads Green Touch initiative to improve network energy efficiency originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AirStash wireless SD card reader hands-on

Just as CES is wrapping up, we managed to get some hands-on time with the AirStash wireless SD card reader, which is targeted at iPhone OS devices (but does work with other WiFi-enabled devices). Like many of the mysterious products from Vegas we have no price, release date or battery life, but what we do know now is that it’s indeed very light (1.5 ounces), fits nicely in our hands and supports up to 32GB SDHC cards. As for wireless connection the AirStash acts as a WiFi 802.11b/g access point — a cunning way to dodge the Apple dock connector license fees or the lack of Bluetooth profiles. Sadly, the prototype wasn’t working properly due to “some RF interference,” but as you can see above, the AirStash is accessed via a browser (UI design not final). Sure, this would mean you’d lose Internet connection via WiFi, but if the AirStash is cheap enough, then we’ll live with it. Let’s hope they hurry up with the release, though.

AirStash wireless SD card reader hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aircell to start in-flight video download service later this year

Aircell may have skipped out on having a presence at CES this year, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on in the wide, wacky world of in-flight internet. The company confirmed to us via email that it’s planning a new video download service for 2010, a little something that’ll go by the name Gogo Video. PC World was able to sit down with Eric Lemond, director of product management for the company, and they found that the service will be a lot like the iTunes Video Store in function. Users will be able to tap into their onboard WiFi in order to suck down TV shows and film rentals, which will be available for viewing up to 24 hours from the time of purchase. The files themselves will remain on the laptop (as in, this isn’t just a streaming service), and while the exact launch date has yet to be nailed down, we are told that it will only be available for Windows laptops initially. Prices should range from $2 to $4 based on the programming, though we’re still waiting to hear what kind content partners will be signing on. Fret not, jetsetters — the unfriendly skies are about to get a bit more bearable.

Aircell to start in-flight video download service later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TrendNet’s latest Wireless N router intertwines 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands

We’ve told you before how awesome setting up a dual-band network is — and in case you’re wondering, it still is — but if you don’t want to set it up yourself, TrendNet’s got you covered. Wrapping up 2.4GHz and 5GHz in a spectrum snuggie is the 300Mbps TEW-673GRU Wireless N router. Not much in the bells and whistles department, but sometimes working well is really all you need — besides, how many more ways can the company claim the “world’s smallest” market? The price and release date, in no particular order, are February and $149.99.

TrendNet’s latest Wireless N router intertwines 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer hits the Xbox 360 with Onza controller and Chimaera headset, we go hands-on (video)

Continue reading Razer hits the Xbox 360 with Onza controller and Chimaera headset, we go hands-on (video)

Razer hits the Xbox 360 with Onza controller and Chimaera headset, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MagicJack makes a femtocell, might make that advertising worth hearing

Femtocells now offer cell phone service for $1.70 a month with MagicJack! That’s just $19.95 a year. $19.95 a year! MagicJack’s femtocell works with mobile phones “potentially” from any carrier, though only GSM is mentioned. Apparently just coming within eight feet connects your phone to the femtocell, after which you can supposedly travel anywhere you like in the house. Calls through the femtocell won’t use your minutes. Replace your phone company or get a second line, with MagicJack!

Continue reading MagicJack makes a femtocell, might make that advertising worth hearing

MagicJack makes a femtocell, might make that advertising worth hearing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile takes entire 3G network to 7.2Mbps

It’s really that upcoming 21Mbps HSPA+ action that has us all hot and bothered, but T-Mobile USA took a nice little interim step today in announcing that its entire 3G footprint has now been upgraded from 3.6 to 7.2Mbps. Considering that AT&T won’t be at 100 percent 7.2Mbps coverage for some time to come, this is a nice little boost — of course, T-Mob’s got a smaller network to contend with, so it’s a trade-off for customers. Can someone do us a favor and drop us a line when we can finally have both a blazing network and coverage everywhere? At the same time?

[Thanks, Patrick]

T-Mobile takes entire 3G network to 7.2Mbps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear to stream Full HD anywhere in the home over 4×4 MIMO WiFi

Hey Netgear, did you have a surprise for us at CES? Say the world’s first 4×4 MIMO 802.11n WiFi HD Video bridge? Sorry, but Quantenna just revealed your partnership that promises to deliver Full HD video quality streams across distances of “100 feet or more, regardless of signal interferences and dead zones.” According to the Quantenna press release, anyway. That’s up to 5x the distance of existing wireless HD solutions thanks to Quantenna’s 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, adaptive transmit digital beamforming, and wireless channel monitoring and optimizing; a lot of scary sounding jargon that should allow the device to carry up to four streams of full HD video pretty much anywhere in the house with claimed “near-perfect transmission performance.” While we don’t have pics yet you can expect Netgear’s baby to be sporting 4 antennas (like the Quantenna reference design pictured) when it’s announced proper in the next few days.

Netgear to stream Full HD anywhere in the home over 4×4 MIMO WiFi originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

When we walked the sound-filled halls of Klipsch’s Indianapolis headquarters last month, the company insisted that it was always looking at possible expansions into new markets. Today at CES, it’s proving that those words aren’t being uttered carelessly. The all-new LightSpeaker is a unique and potentially game-changing device in the whole home audio market, as unlike similar contraptions, this one requires no external wiring or power. The device is designed to fit into normal 5- to 6-inch light recesses, which enables existing homeowners to easily retrofit these into their ceilings and walls. We were granted some hands-on time with the light, and put simply, you just screw it into a conventional fixture, dial up the desired zone on the bundled remote, and listen. A full-range driver sits just beneath the LED light, and it receives signals via a 2.4GHz base station that can be plugged into just about any source.

Klipsch plans to ship these soon in two main packages: a kit that includes a base station and two LightSpeakers for around $600 and a single LightSpeaker by its lonesome for around $250. The bundled controller allows users to control two zones and two sources, and you can also adjust lighting brightness and volume via the main station or the smaller remote. Each zone can easily support four LightSpeakers, and when we asked if these could withstand the elements, we were told that they’d do fine in a covered patio but probably not within an unshielded pool deck. In other words, some humidity shouldn’t be an issue, but you probably wouldn’t want ‘em to get rained on all night. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see a bundle in the future that includes a wireless subwoofer to really round out the audio, but don’t say you heard it from us. Peek the gallery for a closer look!

Continue reading Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on)

Klipsch LightSpeaker makes whole home audio as simple as screwing in a light bulb (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ralink debuts suite of networking hardware to form your beams and transmit your HD

Ralink has been hot on the high-definition streaming content front since this past summer and is now introducing networking hardware that’ll make it easier to get all those lovely pixels from disk to display wirelessly — plus a bevy of other high-speed networking goodies to boot. The RT3572 is a 300 Mbps 802.11n-enabling chip designed for inclusion in high-end displays and media players, including wireless streaming of Blu-ray playback, DLNA content, and IPTV. For general networking the company is introducing the RT3883 and RT3593 chips, which enable 450Mbps 802.11n connectivity and feature beam forming, meaning the transmitter can locate receivers and modify “various transmission parameters” to optimize connectivity. Finally, there’s the RT3090BC4 combination 802.11n and Bluetooth Half MiniCard adapter, and a “world’s smallest” USB 802.11n adapter, little larger than the USB port you’ll plug it into. You know what that means: no unsightly protrusions.

Ralink debuts suite of networking hardware to form your beams and transmit your HD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HSTi Wireless Media Stick nixes the need for dedicated storage drives

The banners aren’t even officially up in Vegas yet, and already we’re catching a drift of what all will be unveiled in the days to come. Take this Wireless Media Stick for example, which is HSTi’s way of telling you that a dedicated storage drive beside your Blu-ray player or media player is completely unnecessary. Put simply, this device (and the accompanying software, we presume) plugs directly into any USB-enabled disc player or media streamer that’s connected to your television; from there, you can easily stream media that’s already shacked up within your main PC to your TV-connected device(s), which cures the problem of having your media fragmented between varying drives. We’re still waiting to hear exactly what kind of technology this thing relies on (we’re guessing 2.4GHz), but hopefully we’ll find out more (along with a price and ship date) real soon.

HSTi Wireless Media Stick nixes the need for dedicated storage drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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