The scan above purports to show a Verizon customer brochure that will appear in stores next Thursday, revealing nothing beyond the detailed leaks we’ve already reported but at least providing some reassuringly crinkled corroboration of the salient details. New customers will barred from the happy land of unlimited data, and will instead have to cough up tiered monthly fees ranging from $10 for 75MB up to $80 for 10GB, plus an extra $20 for tethering rights. In a separate turn to this tale, we hear that customers who want to tether to a 4G handset will have to pay $30 per month to keep Big Red happy. This might come as a shock if you’ve been living it up on the free tethering offer that ends next week, but we had a strong inkling it was coming. Besides, it’s not all bad: those 30 bucks will get you unlimited data on the fastest LTE network around, whereas the $20 crew must make do with a mere 2GB monthly.
Egypt is reportedly back online, after the government pulled the plug last week in an attempt to undermine protests in the country. According to multiple reports on Twitter, connectivity has been restored including 3G mobile networks and BlackBerry services.
In the meantime we’ve seen services spring up to offer alternative routes for digital information to propagate, including speak2tweet led by Google, Twitter and SayNow, allowing for Twitter updates to be dictated by voicemail messages. It’s unclear to what extent the period offline will have affected the Egyptian economy.
Fresh iPad 2 speculation this weekend, as a new Chinese analyst report lends weight to some of the more common rumors we’ve been hearing, as well as getting specific about what processor the second-gen slate will run. According to Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities, in a report quoted by AppleInsider, the new iPad will use an ARM Cortex A9 1.2GHz dual-core CPU complete with Imagination’s SGX543 dual-core graphics. However, according to Kuo there won’t be a dual-mode iPad world 3G model.
Instead, he suggests “iPad 2 adds one new CDMA model and it could bring more market share to Apple. Project IDs of Wi-Fi, GSM and CDMA iPad 2 models are different. GSM iPad will use Infineon chip and CDMA iPad will use Qualcomm chip. More suppliers could reduce the risk of component shortage.” As with a previous rumor, the iPad 2′s main camera is believed to be around 1-megapixel in resolution, while the front webcam for FaceTime calls is VGA-resolution.
There’s also more RAM, and faster too, with Kuo claiming “iPad 2 has 512MB RAM, same as iPhone 4 and twice as much as iPad 1, but running at higher clock 1,066 MHz for getting bigger memory bandwidth (iPhone 4 memory clock is 800 MHz).” However there won’t be a super-high-resolution Retina Display, with the second-gen iPad sticking to 1024 x 768 and instead looking to improve the viewing experience and thickness of the panel:
“The improvement of iPad 2 display focuses on thickness and anti-reflection, not resolution. iPad 2 display module is 30~35% thinner than iPad 1 and it’s helpful for better form factor. Thanks to anti-reflection, iPad 2 could have better sunlight readable experience and it’s helpful for Apple to compete with Amazon’s fast growing Kindle business.”
Mobile hotspots are relatively common by now, and more and more smartphones offer data-sharing among their features; what, though, if you’ve already got a USB modem and are tied into – or content with – your existing data package? ZyXEL believes it has the answer in the shape of the MWR211 mobile router, a palm-sized way to share your connection while mobile. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
Hardware
At 4.11 x 3.1 x 1.02 inches and 5.33 oz the ZyXEL MWR211 is a bigger block than most MiFi mobile hotspots, despite not actually having a 3G/4G modem built in. What you do get is WiFi b/g/n with support for WEP/WPA/WPA2 and WPS, an ethernet port and an integrated 3,000 mAh battery which ZyXEL reckon is good for up to 2hrs of standalone runtime.
Setup is straightforward, but also more flexible than with a regular mobile hotspot. You can either plug in a USB modem – ZyXEL has a list of compatible models – and use that to get online, or you can plug in a regular wired internet connection and share that via WiFi instead. If you use a USB modem then the ethernet WWAN port can be used to connect a wired device instead (ZyXel also make a larger version, the MWR222, with two USB and two ethernet ports).
What that means is that the MWR211 can not only share out your USB dongle’s connection but allow more than one device to access hotel internet service. There’s also a physical WiFi switch (as well as a physical power switch) allowing you to turn the wireless off altogether and solely use the ethernet port. As with a regular router there’s MAC filtering, port forwarding, VPN support and a NAT firewall; you also get data usage monitoring, with user-assignable alerts to let you know if you’re nearing your monthly allowance, together with prioritized bandwidth (so that, say, VoIP traffic is treated as more important than gaming traffic) and even the ability to assign bandwidth limits by IP address or for clients hooked up to the ethernet port. Unlike most mobile hotspots there’s no artificial limits on WiFi clients, either, so assuming you have sufficient bandwidth you can share it with as many devices as you like.
Performance
Plugging in a modem got us online straight away, with the default SSID and password easily changed through the web interface. We tried a number of different USB modems from various carriers and had no problems at all; similarly, having plugged in a wired connection from our router, we were able to share that connection as well. A simple row of LEDs show USB, ethernet, WiFi, WPS, battery and power status; although a display of some sort would be preferable, the browser-based control panel served its purpose.
Speed was obviously dependent on the 3G or 4G network we hooked up, though we noticed no difference in performance whether we were using the USB modem directly or connected via the ZyXEL. Battery life, meanwhile, fell in line with the company’s estimates, which means you’re getting around half the time most mobile hotspots with integrated modems promise. An AC adapter is bundled for recharging or using the MWR211 in a fixed position, and we had no issues with overheating.
Wrap-Up
A dedicated mobile hotspot or a hotspot app on your phone is always going to be more elegant than the ZyXEL; with a USB modem hanging off the back, and given its physical heft, this isn’t a device that slips comfortably into a shirt pocket, for instance. Still, what you lose in discretion you gain in flexibility. Being able to pick and choose between multiple networks depending on the coverage and data plan pricing of each is a real advantage, especially if you’re travelling and want to get online with a local data stick or make the most of a hotel connection. USB modems also tend to be cheaper than their hotspot counterparts, though obviously there’s the price of the MWR211 to take into account as well; ZyXEL given an RRP of $114.99, but you can find the mobile router for around $85 online.
For pure mobility purposes the 2hr battery is underwhelming, though of course you can easily unplug the modem and hook it up to your notebook direct if you can’t find a power point. Most users will probably find mobile hotspot apps easier to handle, but for those who regularly travel or who juggle a few USB modems to cater for different areas of coverage, the ZyXEL MWR211 does a lot to warrant inclusion in your gadget bag.
The Sony NGP may have a significantly more impressive spec sheet than its PSP predecessor, but there’s still confusion as to whether all versions of the console will have integrated 3G connectivity. While it’s on the spec sheet alongside WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, SCEE president Andrew House told Eurogamer that there will be 3G and non-3G versions of the NGP.
“The first thing to clarify, which I’m not sure the presentation did a perfect job of doing today, is that all of the devices will have Wi-Fi capability” he explained, while “a separate SKU will have 3G.” That would certainly help keep the cost of what – given the high-res OLED display and quad-core CPU – is likely to be a reasonably expensive handheld down, as well as give buyers wary of a 3G contract a way to avoid that.
However, confusing matters is an ITMedia tweet suggesting that all of the Japanese NGP versions will indeed have 3G. Now, it could be that Sony plans to only offer 3G SKUs there – perhaps with some sort of bundled data package – or it could be a mistake. We’ll hopefully find out more before the NGP launches later in 2011.
The Verizon iPhone 4‘s inability to do simultaneous voice and 3G data is still one of the key differentiators between it and AT&T’s GSM version, but it seems not all Verizon smartphones are created equal. According to a purported leak from inside the carrier and passed to Phandroid, the upcoming HTC Thunderbolt will actually support simultaneous voice and 3G data; however, it’s not something we should expect to hear Verizon making much noise about.
According to the leak, Verizon “cannot promise the experience will be one that is consistent with [the] brand” and so are advising sales people to “not reference this functionality as a benefit during your conversations with customers.” As sales strategies go this seems somewhat bizarre, but we can understand Verizon not wanting to overshadow its other devices – including the new CDMA iPhone – with a single HTC handset.
As expected, Sony has outed its “PSP2“, currently codenamed the Sony next generation portable entertainment system or NGP, and expected to go on sale at the end of 2011. Based on a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor and Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, the NGP has a 5-inch OLED 960 x 544 multitouch-capable touchscreen on the front and a multitouch pad on the back, for what Sony describes as “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” gestures in gameplay.
There are also two cameras, one front and one rear, and a suite of sensors including six-axis motion-sensing (pairing gyroscope and accelerometer), a three-axis digital compass, GPS and WiFi. There’s also 3G, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR with support for A2DP stereo headphones. Sony is now using a flash memory card to store games, but there’ll also be access to the new PlayStation Suite, also announced today, which offers titles for the NGP and for Android smartphones.
As with the 3DS‘ StreetPass feature, the Sony NGP will use a new service called Near, part of the PlayStation Network, to flag up gamers in the vicinity and show what they’re playing now or having been playing recently. There’ll also be wireless multiplayer support. Each NGP game will LiveArea access, with a log of activity and other information.
The whole thing measures in at 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5 mm and has dual analog sticks, the usual directional buttons, action buttons and shoulder controls. No word on pricing; that won’t be revealed until closer to launch at the end of the year.
Press Release:
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES
ITS NEXT GENERATION PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
Ultimate Portable Entertainment System Makes Its Debut This Year,
Further Expanding the PlayStation® Business in the Portable Gaming Market
Tokyo, January 27, 2011– Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) today announced its next generation portable entertainment system (codename: NGP), which delivers the ultimate portable entertainment experience. NGP will make its debut at the end of the year 2011.
NGP is designed to offer unparalleled interactive entertainment that is only possible on PlayStation®. This new system offers a revolutionary combination of rich gaming and social connectivity within a real world context, made possible by leveraging SCE’s experience from both PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®3 (PS3®) entertainment systems.
Deep and immersive gaming is at the core of PlayStation’s DNA, and NGP is the latest embodiment of this vision. By having both Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity, together with various applications, NGP will enable infinite possibilities for users to “encounter,” “connect,” “discover,” “share” and “play” with friends wherever they are. Within the device are a range of features that provide a genuinely cutting-edge, next generation ultimate portable entertainment experience.
?Stunning OLED and Revolutionary User Interface
NGP incorporates a beautiful multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display. A high-performance CPU / GPU combined with OLED enables rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system, for both games and other digital entertainment content. The new system also incorporates a unique multi-touch pad on the rear, and together with the front touch display, NGP offers new game play allowing users to interact directly with games in three dimension-like motion, through “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” moves of the fingers.
?Super Oval Design and Dual Analog Sticks
While succeeding the basic design philosophy of PSP, NGP adopts the Super Oval Design form factor, created to fit comfortably in users’ hands. For the first time, a portable entertainment system will feature two analog sticks, which enable a wider range of game genres to be brought into the portable experience.
?LiveArea™
Every game title for NGP will be provided with a space called “LiveArea™” where users can share the fun and excitement with other players. Users will have access to the latest information of games provided from SCE and 3rd party developers and publishers through PlayStation®Network. Additionally, NGP users will be able to view an “Activity” log that is constantly updated with accomplishments from users who are playing the same game, which in turn can trigger active real-time communication among users.
?Near
SCE will also provide location-based services on NGP as part of the basic features utilizing PlayStation Network. The new application called “Near,” developed specifically for this service and the network, will be pre-installed in the system to let users find out what their friends in the vicinity are playing now or what they were playing recently. Users can meet their friends and new players virtually, regardless of what games they are playing, simply by sharing their game information across different dimensions of time and distance.
?New Game Medium
NGP adopts a new game medium, a small flash memory based card, dedicated for NGP software titles. Taking advantage of the flash memory feature, this innovative card can store the full software titles plus add-on game content or the game save data directly on to the card. By adopting flash memory based card, SCE will be able to provide game cards with higher capacity in the future, allowing developers to store more game data to deliver rich and immersive games.
NGP will also come equipped with two cameras on its front and rear, as well as three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass, all of which are designed to enable users to enjoy the world of entertainment that is linked with real life experiences.
PlayStation®Suite (PS Suite), announced today, will also closely coordinate with NGP. The newly developed and released game content for Android™ based portable devices can also be enjoyed on NGP. As a result, users will have access to not only the most leading-edge content, but also some of the more casual experiences that typify the mobile market place.
SCE will vigorously promote NGP towards the launch as the next generation portable entertainment platform and deploy various measures to further expand the portable gaming market.
It’s definitely one of the first things we thought of trying with AT&T’s 3G MicroCell back in 2009, but our dreams were quickly dashed after finding that said device was hard-wired to only operate when receiving a GPS lock within the United States of America. Thankfully, it looks as if at least a few engineers at Ubiquisys are riding our same train of thought, and come Mobile World Congress, it’ll be debuting the device of our dreams. The Attocell is described as a personal femtocell for use with 3G smartphones, and best of all, it’s designed for use internationally. In essence, this would allow a smartphone from one country to use their international web connection to tunnel a cell call through — presumably free of charge — and definitely bypassing those nasty roaming fees that are incurred when ringing through an overseas cellular network. The company admits that it has been tested with the iPhone, BlackBerry handsets, a few Nokia phones and a gaggle of Android handsets, and we’re guessing that Windows Phone 7 and webOS users won’t have any issues, either.
The idea is fairly simple: connect the Attocell to your laptop via USB, which provides power and an internet connection. From there, it’ll analyze the IP address and radio environment to determine which country it is in, and sets its 3G radio power accordingly to below the licensed level. In some countries its range will be just five millimeters, in other countries, it could cover a whole room. For those in the former, you’ll need to place your phone atop the dongle and use a Bluetooth headset to make a call, but hey, it’s still better than paying AT&T two arms and the vast majority of a leg just to phone home from wherever you may be. Crazier still, Ubiquisys thinks that the device’s low power output — coupled with its ability to “continuously monitor its radio environment to ensure that there is zero impact on existing mobile networks” — will make the Attocell exempt from regulatory controls and the requirement for type approval. Here’s hoping it flies through just as the company hopes, and we’ll be hitting the floor in Barcelona to pry out a price point, release date any carrier deals they’ve managed to land.
I think that at this point most of us are familiar with a femtocell and what it is and when you need one. Basically, the femtocell is a way to give you a better mobile phone signal indoors and to allow you to route phone calls over your broadband connection rather than the mobile network.
Ubiquisys has announced a new femtocell that is the world’s fist attocell. The device is designed for people that travel abroad and want to be able to make and receive calls just as they would at home. The device was developed specifically for the iPhone, but will work with any 3G mobile phone including Blackberry, Nokia and Android devices.
The device connects to a laptop via USB for power and a web connection. It will then gather IP information about the country it is in and sets the 3G radio inside to the allowed level. That means the coverage area will vary from a scant 5mm in some areas to a whole room in others. The phone is laid n top of the attocell if 5mm is all the coverage allowed and calls are made with a Bluetooth headset. The device will be shown off at MWC.
Barnes & Noble is reportedly planning to discontinue the NOOK 3G, the original version of its dual-display ereader. According to Engadget‘s source, the retailer has warned stores not to place large orders of NOOK 3G units, since there won’t be stock sufficient to fulfil them.
The NOOK WiFi will continue to be sold, as will the newer full-touchscreen NOOKcolor tablet. It’s unclear on B&N’s motivations behind the decision – while it was originally suggested that poor sales were the reason behind the discontinuation, that’s apparently not necessarily the case – but it could well be a sign that the bookseller is reluctant to continue subsidizing mobile data access.
As on the Kindle, the NOOK offers bundled data for downloading ebooks and samples; the end-user doesn’t see a monthly bill. With the WiFi-version of the NOOK, the onus on connectivity is placed on the user, rather than B&N, which reduces ongoing costs for the company.
