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Tag: wifi hotspot

  • AT&T Announces Samsung Galaxy Express and MiFi Liberate For November 16

    AT&T Announces Samsung Galaxy Express and MiFi Liberate For November 16

    AT&T today announced that the Samsung Galaxy Express and the AT&T Mobile Hotspot MiFi Liberate will both be available for AT&T customers on November 16. The Galaxy Express will cost $100 (with a two year contract) and the MiFi Liberate will cost $50 (with a two year contract).

    The Galaxy Express is a low-end Samsung smartphone that has a 4.5-inch screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 2000mAh battery, and a 5MP rear camera. It’s the less-expensive cousin to Samsung’s flagship android smartphones, the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II.

    The AT&T Mobile Hotspot MiFi Liberate is a Wi-Fi hotspot device with a touchscreen display, which AT&T claims is a first. The 2.8-inch touchscreen displays all of the options for the device, allowing customers to manage connected devices, change settings, and view data usage. It offers 4G LTE speeds, has 11 hours of battery life, and customers can connect up to 10 Wi-Fi devices to the Liberate. It even has a microSD card slot, from which it can stream media such as music and video. AT&T also touted the fact that customers would be able to use the device in over 200 countries around the world, though they will need a thick wallet to pay for the international roaming data rates outside the U.S.

    AT&T provided a short video detailing all of the features of the MiFi Liberate. Though the device does look well-designed, Mi-Fi devices should really be a very niche product. The Android operating system for years now has had the ability to turn 4G devices into mobile hotspots, but carriers disable the function before shipping them to customers. So, really, a rooted $50 4G Android smartphone, such as one of the four that AT&T sells on its website (including a refurbished HTC One X), could really do the same job as the MiFi Liberate and so much more.

  • Companies Align to Build CableWifi Network

    Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable are teaming up to combine their wifi networks to create roughly 50,000 new wireless hotspots. The companies are calling the new partnered network “CableWiFi,” and was first installed in NYC and central Florida earlier this month, and will be rolled out on a broader scale in the coming months.

    Comcast, while recently announcing that it would be eliminating a 250GB per month data cap on its services, mentioned that it was interested in “improved data usage management approaches.” The CableWifi network can be seen as an extension of this.

    CableWiFi users, while outside of their home markets, can search for the “CableWiFi” network, and log on using their home network user information. An auto-connect function for CableWifi hotspots will become available, as the network expands.

    Nomi Bergman, President of Bright House Networks, states, “This effort adds great value to our high speed Internet customers by providing free wireless Internet access on all of their WiFi enabled devices in our markets and additional areas across the country.” Kristin Dolan, Cablevision’s senior executive vice president of product management and marketing, adds, “We’ve built an extensive WiFi network in our own service area, and see real value and potential in other leading providers joining with us to extend that connectivity to major markets across the country – We believe that WiFi is a superior approach to mobile data, and that cable providers are best positioned to build the highest-capacity national network offering customers fast and reliable Internet connections when away from their home or business broadband service.”