Novatel sues ZTE and Franklin over MiFi-related patents
Smartphones aren't the only mobile devices caught up in patent warfare , it seems: Novatel's just sued ZTE and Franklin over five patents related to the "key architecture and functionality" of its MiFi series of mobile hotspots. What's interesting is that Verizon carries the MiFi and ZTE-built Fivespot , while Sprint's MiFi lives alongside the ZTE Peel and carrier-branded Franklin modems, so we're curious to see if any of the carriers step in to mediate the dispute.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: 3g mobile hotspot, 3gmobilehotspot, broad-enough, fri, legal, mifi, novatel, patent, verizon, wifi tethering, zte
AT&T starts selling Novatel MiFi at long last: November 21st for $50
AT&T's finally taking a cue from its mobile hotspot-equipped archrivals at Verizon and Sprint, launching a branded version of Novatel Wireless' MiFi 2372 this Sunday, November 21st, for $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate. The device is a little more advanced that the one you're used to using on American CDMA networks, featuring an integrated microSD slot that can be shared among connected devices and support for built-in, browser-based widgets that can take advantage of the unit's AGPS for providing weather, local search, and so on
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: att, branded-version, breaking-news, breakingnews, Downlink, entry, finally-taking, mifi, mifi 2372, mifi2372, novatel, starts-selling, sunday
Sprint CEO thanks iPad for uptick in Overdrive demand
Well, wouldn't you know it? Seems that tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign may actually be working
Categories: Mobile Phone, Other Tags: Carrier, ceo, danhesse, hotspot, ipad, mifi, mobile, overdrive, result, wifi, wimax, wwan
Verizon’s tiered data plans go live, including $30 for a smartphone buffet or $15 for 150MB
It's October 28th, and Verizon's full suite of data plans have changed just as foretold -- if you want to save a few bucks, you can revise your megabyte-munching lifestyle right now. There's no need to fear for unlimited 3G smartphone data, as it's still available for the usual $29.99, but that plan's no longer required when buying a new Droid, as you can opt for a new $14.99 plan if you can bare to live with just 150 megabytes.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: 28th, Data Plan, dataplan, droid, lifestyle, longer-required, mifi, plans, smartphone-data, tiered data, vzw
Vodafone R201 mobile WiFi hotspot review
Mobile broadband has come a long way since the early (and expensive) attempts at integrating 3G modules into laptops; today, cubicle dwellers are liberated by cheaper mobile data, along with the abundance of 3G dongles and the emerging mobile WiFi (ergo " MiFi ") hotspot devices. It's no secret that Huawei's been flirting with both Three and Vodafone for some time, but it was only recently that the manufacturer also made a MiFi -- the R201 -- for Vodafone (the carrier's lesser-known MiFI 2352 in Spain is from Novatel ).
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: Abundance, data, emerging, entry, hotspot, huawei, mifi, mobile hotspot, vodafone, wifi hotspot
Verizon’s Fivespot gets FCC approval by way of ZTE
This actually happened a few days ago, but since we admittedly weren't on the lookout for hot filings from Chinese manufacturer ZTE, we totally missed it until we circled back for our FCC Fridays roundup this week. That's right: what you're looking at above is a non-carrier-branded version of the Fivespot global mobile hotspot for Verizon that we'd broke the news on last month -- and if you sift through the user's manual in the FCC filing, you'll see that this is indeed the same thing as the Verizon device. As a refresher, this puppy is supposed to replace the aging MiFi and offer support for triband HSPA alongside EV-DO in the event you're dying for some 3G coverage outside the States.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: approval, entry, hotspot, lookout, lte, manufacturer, mifi, mobile, mobile hotspot, news, totally-missed, user, verizon, verizonwireless
Verizon launching $80 5GB prepaid data plan next month, FiveSpot too?
At present, Verizon only offers prepaid mobile broadband in buckets ranging from 100MB up to 1GB at prices from $15 to $50. Problem is, 1GB goes by in about two seconds if you're YouTubin' your way through a layover in Atlanta, enjoying a little too much Hulu and Pandora, or torrenting a few ISOs (perfectly legal ones, of course) -- so to that end, we're hearing that a 5GB option will be launching on August 23 for a breathtaking $80. Presumably, it'd be good for 30 days from the date of purchase the same as the current 1GB plan, though we don't know that from the information we have.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: buckets, engadget, exclusive, hotspot, launch, launch-as-well, mbb, mifi, pandora, price, verizon-wireless
Verizon FiveSpot CDMA / GSM mobile WiFi hotspot leaks out
Looks like Verizon's about to take its mobile data game worldwide -- we just got this snap of the "FiveSpot," a "global ready" mobile WiFi hotspot . That certainly sounds like a hybrid CDMA / UMTS mobile hotspot to us, which makes sense -- Verizon already sells a bunch of world phones with dual CDMA and GSM radios, so a globetrotting riff on the MiFi fits right in. Based on the name, we'd guess this supports five simultaneous users, but that's a guess
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: after-the-break, already-sells, data, fivespot, game-worldwide, hotspot, hybrid, mifi, much-it-might, result, rumor, snap, Supports
Virgin Mobile launching prepaid MiFi next week
The spotlight on Sprint's MiFi has definitely faded since the launch of the Overdrive and EVO 4G -- both of which can kick it into high 4G gear when in range -- but Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile is bringing Novatel's groundbreaking mobile hotspot back into the forefront by taking it to the prepaid world. What that means is that you'll be paying $149 for the MiFi itself -- contract free, naturally -- plus any of a number of prepaid data rates ranging from $10 for 100MB all the way up to $60 for 5GB.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: buy, engadget, entry, mifi, mobile, mobile hotspot, radio, sprint
Verizon MiFi surgically implanted in iPad to create world’s first bionic tablet
Sometimes, hackers hack without any constructive purpose -- they do it just because they can.
Categories: Mobile Phone Tags: decidedly-isn, entry, fact, from-the-ipad, hack, hackers, mifi, providing-power, purpose, result, verizon, verizonwireless