Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Here’s a quick question: would you give up beer before Wi-Fi?  According to a new study by the Wi-Fi Alliance, 48 percent of the 501 college students polled would.  That wasn’t the only question asked, though to some it can be interesting what college students prefer over beer.  Of the students polled, over half admitted to using MySpace, Facebook and/or email during class.  That’s not really all that surprising, a lot of college students flood computer labs during free time to check Facebook/MySpace, so why wouldn’t they during class if it’s available?

The main focus of the study, however, seems to be if Wi-Fi helps in college at all.  In the study, 79 percent of students “said that without Wi-Fi access, college would be a lot harder.” Again, not surprising.  Later, it mentions students getting a head start on assignments on their laptops before class ends, or quickly researching some small detail in order to appear smarter.  Another not-so-surprising finding, but an important fact is that more incoming students and their parents are looking at technology when choosing colleges, with 60 percent saying that “widely available Wi-Fi on campus is an indication that a school cares about its students.”

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With the number of home-based entertainment and productivity applications that are running over home networks growing by leaps and bounds, some Wireless-G routers just can’t handle users’ demands.

Netgear saw this problem, and as a result, developed a new Wireless-N technology, which they feel is leaps and bounds above anything out there now.  The “Green” crowd will also appreciate Netgear’s new products since they are eco-friendly. 

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How do you get the new Treo Pro free?  Two easy steps:  1. Move to the UK.  2. Sign up for Vodaphone.  In a move that is sure to have Treo fans jealous, Vodaphone is offering the new sexy black Treo Pro to its customers with different plans ranging from free to 340 pounds.

My hands on

Last week, we got to play with the Treo Pro.  To see what Gadgetell thought of it, click more.

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Clarion recently came out with a product that combines everyone’s on-the-go, PMP, GPS, and Internet, needs into one device.  Here comes the Clarion MiND (Mobile Internet Navigation Device).  Although it doesn’t come with cell phone support, so maybe not all your on-the-go-needs, but 3 out of the 4 isn’t bad.

When thinking of devices that incorporate all these essential features, only a few devices come to mind, such as the iPhone, UMPCs, and maybe NetBooks. However, each of those devices lack some features that the Clarion MiND has, except for iPhone which can make calls. 

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Finally, someone found the paddles, charged to 350 and zapped some life back into Moto.  These images of the Moto Q11, captured by a website I’ve never heard of, show a phone that looks rather modern.  There certainly is no mistaking this phone for anything else but a Motorola.

Haptic changeable buttons?

The businesses-y Moto Q9 was launched on AT&T back in November.  This update does not bring the haptic changeable keypad I was hoping for, opting for actual hard buttons.  The keypad’s shape looks to take up less real estate of the Q11 vs the Q9.  This phone is still the phone equivalent of an oar blade: flat and wide.  Whatever, at least it is something new.

The rumored specs and keypad image are just a click away, hit more to follow.

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Google seems to be advocating a lot of things recently, with the latest being their “Free The Airwaves” campaign.  Free The Airwaves is about asking the FCC to free allow anyone to use unused airwaves that currently carry analog TV signals.  About 3/4 of these waves are currently unused, and Google wants to leverage these waves for the good of everyone.  Its idea is to use it for cheap and easy wireless internet access, of course.

FCC engineers will be testing the airwaves that could carry Wi-Fi, with the ban on using the “white space” airwaves possibly coming by the end of the year.  This would be great news for just about everyone.  There are still places in the United States that don’t have access to broadband (shocking to realize sometimes, I know), and these waves should already be there anyway.  It should just be a matter of buying a device that can connect to the airwaves.

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Developer: VTech
Price: $99.95
Availability: Out now
Pros: Great phone, great instant message/instant voice tool
Cons: Spare a USB port buddy?
Overall: Decent phone, does all it says with aplomb.  If you’ve got a lot of IM’ers or just want to have IM without booting up, check out this combo.

Like a product stolen right out of Spaceship Earth at Disney’s Epcot, VTech advances the lowly house phone into something from our ancesters wouldn’t have even guessed.  Our Arnold Zafra picked up this phones release a while back and expected good things from it.  After reviewing it, he was spot on.  V-tech has done a pretty good job at merging the texting fun of your cell phone into your home phone format.

The phone itself is nice, the form factor is pretty similar to a Palm.  The qwerty keypad is nicely laid out and is quite usable.  I had no issue tapping away messages or answering the phone.  What I really enjoyed about the VTech is the ringer choices.  Not only do they stock some nice ones, like you’d expect on a cell phone, but they offer the ability to download new ones.  Really nice for those of us with short attention spans.

The phone comes with software you’ll need to install on your home PC.  Once installed and running, it drops a tray icon in and your phone can now IM at will.  Connecting through the phone was as easy as hitting the Messenger button.  It can connect with MSN Messenger, Windows Live and AOL.  You can have multiple text conversations going at once, which is handy.  It also has voice chat for VOIP applications.  I didn’t get to try that.

One minor annoyance was the need for the unit to plug into an open USB slot and the phone line.  For many of us, these two things are not far apart but it would have been so nice to have this hook into WiFi.  Just saying, I am running out of USB slots and I seem to be too lazy to get a hub.  To it’s credit, the cordless phone didn’t interfere with any of the crazy things of got going on; its interference-free DECT 6.0.

In fairness, the phone and recharger can be almost anywhere in your house; it doesn’t need to be by the home base.

All in all, a great phone that can be much more, especially for your teens who hog up your computer time.  Now you can let them IM without monopolizing your computer.  Sweet.

Company site: [VTech]

There’s a relatively new mobile app called Mobifindr which allows you to track your cellphone by simply sending a text message to it. Developed by a company known as the first to combine the power of Wi-Fi, GPS and phone positioning, this set-and-forget software help track your cellphone in case you lose it. Most importantly, you can use this to monitor kids or your naughty lover! Essentially, making alibis will become very difficult with such technology.

There’s a simple video demonstration below on how the system works. Initially, Mobifindr was only available to the ultra-popular iPhone. Now, it is compatible with Blackberry devices. It has a free version which tracks location based on the nearest cell tower or with 1,500 meters accuracy. The premium version worth $25 has an accuracy of 10 to 30 meters.

Navizon, the software developer, is currently tweaking Mobifindr to work with S60 and Window Mobile-powered smartphones. However, there’s no word yet on its official release. Keep reading to check out the video below.

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Want some free WiFi?  All you have to do is a) stay within 100 feet of a Chrysler; b) be able to run fast to keep with the Chrysler or c) hang out at the Chrysler dealer where they demo this baby all day long.  Or you can pay.

Yes, Chrysler is bringing a WiFi router, dubbed UConnect Web, to their cars to help differentiate themselves in the market.  Coming supposedly this August as a dealer installed item with a $449 price tag and a $29 monthly.  The connection service is by Autonet Mobile who has apparently been offering a service like this for the rental company Avis.  How about that?

I expect Chrysler to roll this into offering diagnostics, warnings and safety fun.  I also expect this to be common place in 2 years as other makers can’t afford to lose any marketshare; especially at the hands of something people are willing to fork over cash for.

I like the sound of this.  Chrysler still makes cars huh?

Read [Wall Street Journal]

Alltel has been working with Wi-Fi leader, Boingo, to bring unlimited Wi-Fi access to more than 25,000 hotspot locations. This service is available to both Alltel customers as well as non-Alltel users. In addition, Alltel is also offering their Internet Anywhere Bundle - more on that later.

Now, for $19.99 a month, or even $3.99 a day, you can get access to Alltel’s Wi-Fi in hotspots, which includes hotels, bookstores, restaurants, airports, and coffee shops. The neat thing about this is that you are not tied down to any contract, so if you wish to stop using it, you can easily opt out. Alltel is already offering this service in nearly 100 popular airports. So if you are waiting to catch a plane, you can get some work done using their Wi-Fi. Over the past year, Alltel has added nearly 15,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, so as time goes on, they will probably add even more to their already 25,000 hotspots in total.

Back to the “Internet Anywhere Bundle”, basically that gives you the option to use Alltel’s EVDO network or access to a Wi-Fi hotspot, and that costs $69.98 a month.

Angela Rittgers, Director of Product Marketing, had this to say about the new partnership and deals they have to offer;

“The Internet Anywhere Bundle is a common-sense approach to network connectivity and will enhance the choices available for our customers. Alltel, together with Boingo Wireless, is pleased to offer the flexibility of Wi-Fi to stay in touch with families and friends or access work email and schedules through a reliable connection.”

Read [Alltel] Via [Press Release]