wireless

FCC Starts Up Its Radio White Space System, New Wireless Tech En-Route

Kit Eaton — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:42:31 -0500

Today's Vision of Tomorrow: Entertainment

Kit Eaton — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:09:35 -0500

To brighten up your dreary winter's morning, here's something to tickle the dreamer inside you: Exactly how might we be enjoying our digital entertainment in the future? Three news pieces today point to different TV-based ways to digest our media.

Hulu Joins the Online Music Fray, Kinda--With Video

Are Wireless Road Trains the Cure for Traffic Congestion?

Addy Dugdale — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:30:18 -0500

The concept of road trains--up to eight vehicles zooming down the road together--has long been considered a faster, safer, and greener way of traveling long distances by car. And now, thanks to a European Union-financed project, the idea could be coming to a freeway near you (that is, if you live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean).

Four Ways to Fast-Track 4G, Says FCC

Chris Dannen — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:17:11 -0400

Today FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski took to the stage at CTIA and outlined his agency's plan to handle the welter of wireless transmissions coming in the next decade. The goal: 4G, as fast as possible. According to Mashable, the FCC's plans fall into four categories:

Silent Movie Theaters, Courtesy of Anti-Wireless Paint

Chris Dannen — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:51:03 -0400

Clever, mischief-minded researchers in Japan have developed an interior paint that blocks wireless signals. Made with aluminum-iron oxide, the paint resonates at the same frequency as many household devices like routers and cell phones, absorbing and deflecting waves of data.

ISPs to Add Mobile Broadband to Service Plans

Chris Dannen — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:22:49 -0400

Internet providers like Comcast and Time Warner are beginning to offer mobile 3G service as a bundle with home Internet, reports the New York Times. The goal: undercut wireless providers like Verizon and AT&T, who sell such services for around $60 a month.

Ooma: The Wonderful, Oddly-Named Phone for Google Voice

Chris Dannen — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:18:29 -0400

There are a few major reasons why we all don't have VOIP phones: monthly subscription fees are a big one, as is cost of equipment. But Ooma may change all of that, while adding icing to the cake, with full native Google Voice support.

BICSI Fall Conference and Exhibition

Clay Dillow — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:13:51 -0400

Back when information transport systems were but networks of hard wires moving telephone signals, Building Industry Consulting Service International pulled itself together from a handful of small telcos looking to discuss concerns in the industry. More than three decades (and a few different AT&Ts later), the group has a lot more to talk about.

Vote on the National Broadband Plan

Chris Dannen — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:55:30 -0400

On Friday, the FCC launched a new crowd-sourcing platform to try to generate some consensus on the direction of the agency's National Broadband Plan. Built by IdeaScale in the style of Digg and Reddit, popular voting-based social news sites, the new Broadband.gov presents users with a list of ideas to vote up or down. (Below, an Internet "splat-map" by jurvetson.)

IBM Patent Means Your TV Remote Will Twitter Too

Kit Eaton — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:32:39 -0400

It's only a matter of time before someone releases a dedicated gadget for Tweeting. And now an IBM patent has surfaced implying that soon your TV remote control will do your microblogging for you.

Accolade Wireless Network Will Save Miners' Lives

Kit Eaton — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:29:58 -0400

Mining is a dangerous business. But it might be getting a little safer thanks to wireless tech, a key part of a new underground comms and miner-locating network dubbed Accolade.

Need Fancy Wireless Audio Equipment? Sony and Best Buy Can Help

Kit Eaton — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:11:02 -0400

Sony, high-tech electronics giant, has just announced a partnership with Best Buy, U.S. retail giant, to produce a whole new audio product line. It sounds like an unusual pairing, but it looks like it's borne some pretty interesting fruit.

Wireless Revenue to Overtake Wireline in 2014

Clay Dillow — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:59:21 -0400

Many would say the wireless era is already upon us, but soon it's going to be official. A study released today by research firm ATLANTIC-ACM shows that wireless revenues will overtake all wireline revenues by 2014.

Eye-Fi's Geo Card Makes Photos Location-Aware

Kit Eaton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:21:41 -0400

Eye-Fi's wireless SD cards already simplify the task of sending pics from a digital camera to your hard drive, and now it's got a version that also auto-geotags the photos--and it's especially aimed at Mac users.

The Insanely Byzantine Radio Spectrum Map [Graphic]

Chris Dannen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:15:59 -0400

This week, Comcast announced it would begin the first official commercial rollout of 4G wireless broadband in the U.S. in Portland, Oregon, after using Baltimore and Atlanta as test markets. The company plans to bundle the WiMAX service, which is about twice as fast as 3G network speeds, with its "Triple Play" cable and Internet offering as a wireless Internet service for laptop users.

How Toumaz Is Building a Complete Ecosystem for the Networked Body

Kate Rockwood — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0400

Alison Burdett
Director of Technology
Toumaz
Abingdon, England

Building the Plumbing

Alison Burdett, 42, developed the Sensium, a tiny chip-based wireless system for medical-device developers that is sold through Texas Instruments. It consumes up to 100 times less energy than other chips for wireless body-monitoring networks.

Jabra Bluetooth Headset With Touchscreen: Design Overkill?

Kit Eaton — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:42:21 -0400

Jabra's latest Bluetooth headsets come with a bizarre extra--a charger base-station equipped with a color touchscreen. Is this product design for a world gone mad, or just a handy extra?

A Solar Tent for Glastonbury Campers Who Can't Live Without Creature Comforts

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:00:28 -0400

U.K. cell phone company Orange takes festival tent envy to new heights with its Solar Concept Tent, designed to celebrate the eleventh year of Orange's presence at the Glastonbury music festival.

Winners announced for the Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project

Brittany Hinchliff — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:14:47 -0400

Innovative technology has the potential to save lives, and wireless technologies hold a special promise for vexing global problems. In some resource-limited areas, access to reliable wireless service is among the only infrastructure platforms available.

WiGig is Another New Wi-Fi Standard, But At Least It's Fast

Kit Eaton — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:06:22 -0400

Gigabit speed Wi-fi--that's around ten times faster than current Wi-fi speeds--sounds all very groovy, and as everyone's file sizes rise while we all get used to HD video, faster Wi-fi is becoming a necessity. But the WiGig technology is just another new Wi-fi standard in waiting. Haven't we got enough already?

Boost Mobile's Streetfight for Prepaid Dominance

Chris Dannen — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:24:18 -0400

In January, Boost Mobile began offering a flat-fee $50 wireless plan for unlimited minutes, texting, Internet, and push-to-talk. Consumers flocked: the little division of Sprint added almost 700,000 subscribers in Q1, after a net loss of customers just one quarter prior. When Sprint announced Q1 earnings on May 4th, Boost's surge in sales was the only thing stemming its parent's massive losses.

Leyio Personal File Sharer: Clever, But Doomed

Kit Eaton — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:44:53 -0400

Leyio launched a Personal File-Sharing Device recently--a small gadget designed to simplify the swapping of personal or business-related digital data between people. It's clever, secure, and the first device to use UWB wireless. But guess what? It's doomed.

SmartSynch Future-Proofs the Smart Grid

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:16:25 -0400

One of the biggest issues facing utilities that switch to a smart grid is how to deploy these technologies on a large scale while still leaving room for upgrades.

Could Rumored "PSP Go" Save Sony's Tiny Games Machine?

Kit Eaton — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:49:13 -0400

Sony's PlayStation Portable has had a few tweaks and adjustments throughout its life, and if we can trust a new rumor, then it's about to undergo a radical design overhaul. If it ditches the proprietary UMD drive, as is speculated, the PSP may get a new lease on life in the handheld gaming market.

Presidential BlackBerry Enters Final Security Tests

Clay Dillow — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:50:53 -0400

While the world breathlessly awaited the first glimpse of the Obama pooch, another much-anticipated member of the family was quietly gearing up to join the President's side, and it just might edge out Bo for the role of best friend.