The Gryphon is stylish way to keep your family safe online

Posted on 05/01/2017 by Engadget RSS Feed

As a group of raunchy former young people, we know all too well the sorts of shenanigans a youngster can get up to on the internet. There's no shortage of companies that want nothing more to protect those wee tykes from themselves, but Gryphon is spe...

FreedomPop jumps to LTE, lets you run out of free data faster than ever

Posted on 06/08/2013 by Jon Fingas

FreedomPop's namesake free data hasn't been especially fast given its reliance on WiMAX and EV-DO, but the company is taking a big step forward with just-launched support for Sprint's LTE network. Those who buy the $149 FreedomSpot 5580 LTE hotspot (pictured above) can get truly high speeds without having to pay a cent for regular service. Future devices and LTE-friendly smartphone service are also coming, although there is a big catch. That free tier is still capped at 500MB per month -- take full advantage of LTE and you're more likely to either pay overage fees or switch to one of FreedomPop's paid plans. Even so, the upgraded service may be tempting for those who aren't willing to sacrifice performance at any price.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Sprint

Comments

Source: FreedomPop

Sprint’s tri-band LTE modems go on sale this Friday

Posted on 15/07/2013 by Stefan Constantinescu

Sprint announced its first tri-band 4G LTE devices back in May, and now the recently acquired carrier says they'll start shipping on July 19th. The Novatel MiFi 500, Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and Netgear 341U USB dongle all support the 800MHz, 1900MHz and 2.5GHz bands. The hotspots will set you back $49.99 with a new contract, whereas the dongle is $19.99 -- that's after a $50 mail-in-rebate, of course. The Zing can roam on GSM networks and has a 2,500mAh battery and, while we don't know how big the battery is in the MiFi, Sprint says it should last 10 hours on a single charge. Plans start at $34.99 per month for 3GB of combined 3G/4G data, with an extra $15 doubling that and another $30 on top of that quadrupling your bucket to 12GB. Sadly, there's no unlimited data option.

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Sprint announces three tri-band LTE devices landing this summer

Posted on 21/05/2013 by James Trew

If your city is one of the many that's part of Sprints ongoing LTE rollout (or will be soon), then the network's just announced three tri-band mobile broadband devices for your consideration. The hope, it seems, is that as different parts of Sprint's LTE spectrum become available (including spectrum from Clearwire), coverage and network performance of the devices will improve. The hardware offerings are Novatel's MiFi 500 LTE, the Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and 341U USB dongle, and are slated to be available by summer. No confirmed availability dates or prices just yet. Sprint also hints at tri-band LTE phones from Samsung and LG to follow. In the meantime, however, you'd better get set up with your Data Link and Static IP.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Via: Phonescoop

Novatel MiFi 2 interface and housing refresh hands-on

Posted on 25/02/2013 by Sean Cooper

With Bell Canada's announcement yesterday of MiFi 2's imminent launch in the great white north comes an update from Novatel for both the device's skin and radio. While we couldn't get any pictures of the updates to support LTE in Canada, we did capture a good pile of the tweaked housing and the skin updates in the touch UI. Physically the device remains exactly the same as far as its dimensions are concerned, though the metal trim has lightened up a wee bit and battery life is still a monstrous 11 hours or so on LTE. Launch price and an exact date aren't available yet form Bell but we expect those any time soon.

Gallery: Novatel MiFi2 hands-on

Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report

Filed under: Wireless, Internet

Comments

Bell Canada set to launch Novatel’s MiFi 2

Posted on 24/02/2013 by Sean Cooper

Novatel's touchable MiFi 2 -- also known as the MiFi Liberate -- receives a fresh coat of paint in the form of a UI overhaul on its way to Bell Canada's network this March. No word on pricing or an exact date, but this 11-hour-lasting king of all portable access points is $50 on a two-year agreement on AT&T, so we'd hazard that sets a decent watermark on the potential price. No word on what the new UI tweaks entail but we're angling to get our hands on one some time this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Filed under: Peripherals, Wireless

Comments

MiFi Liberate review: does the world need a mobile hotspot with a touchscreen?

Posted on 19/11/2012 by Nicole Lee

There are two factors that are of the utmost importance when it comes to choosing mobile hotspots: speed and battery life. Further down the list is portability, with hardware design ranking even lower. So the idea of a touchscreen MiFi struck us as a ridiculous luxury, the sort of thing we'd find in a SkyMall catalog. This is why we were intrigued by the MiFi Liberate, Novatel Wireless's first-ever 4G LTE MiFi with a built-in touchscreen. While it might seem like a gimmick, the interface does, in fact, provide quick access to vital stats like data usage. Novatel wasn't content to leave it at that, though: the Liberate has features we would never dream of adding to a MiFi, including media streaming, GPS and even a basic messaging app. Fortunately, the addition of such features don't inflate the price: it's available for $50 with a new two-year agreement with AT&T. How well does it all work? Join us after the break for our review.

Gallery: MiFi Liberate review

Continue reading MiFi Liberate review: does the world need a mobile hotspot with a touchscreen?

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile

Comments

PSA: HTC One X+, five other devices from ASUS, HTC, Novatel and Samsung on sale at AT&T

Posted on 17/11/2012 by Jon Fingas

American carriers love to launch their device lines in bundles, and AT&T just proved the rule in style. Forget the LTE iPad mini -- six other devices have shipped in one day, covering just about every category Big Blue offers. Want a Windows tablet? There's a $500 ASUS VivoTab RT waiting for you. Smartphones? HTC's $200 One X+ covers the high-end, while its $50 One VX and Samsung's $100 Galaxy Express target the more frugal among us. Even shutterbugs and cutting-edge networkers can pick up a $500 Samsung Galaxy Camera or Novatel's $50 MiFi Liberate hotspot. There's no doubt that AT&T is cramming the channel full of new gadgets in the hopes of scooping up all the Black Friday sales it can, but we'll forgive the slightly cynical strategy for the sake of a wider device selection.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Tablets, Networking, Mobile, Samsung, HTC, ASUS, AT&T

PSA: HTC One X+, five other devices from ASUS, HTC, Novatel and Samsung on sale at AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 22:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

AT&T (phones), (tablets), (others) | Email this | Comments

AT&T ships $100 Samsung Galaxy Express, $50 MiFi Liberate hotspot on November 16th

Posted on 08/11/2012 by Jon Fingas

AT&T will have more to come after its Windows Phone 8 launches are underway this month, as it's has committing to launching two of its previously promised affordable devices on November 16th. Its mid-tier Samsung Galaxy Express will go on sale that day with a $100 contract price to satisfy those who want a Galaxy S III-like experience at half the cost. Those who just want LTE and HSPA data should also find Novatel's MiFi Liberate touchscreen hotspot on sale for $50 under similar terms. Neither will necessarily shake up the mobile world, but they won't have to at their prices.

Continue reading AT&T ships $100 Samsung Galaxy Express, $50 MiFi Liberate hotspot on November 16th

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

AT&T ships $100 Samsung Galaxy Express, $50 MiFi Liberate hotspot on November 16th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Novatel Liberate MiFi for AT&T hands-on

Posted on 09/10/2012 by Brad Molen

It's not too often that a mobile hotspot graces our home page, but this one is worth a mention. Novatel is launching the Liberate, a MiFi with a built-in touchscreen, on AT&T in the coming months, and we had the opportunity to play with the new device at MobileCon 2012. The hotspot, also known as the MiFi 5792, sports a 2.8-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 400 x 240 pixels, LTE, a microSD slot, DLNA streaming capabilities and a 2,900mAh battery that promises 11 hours of life between charges.

While it seems pretty fancy for a MiFi, the touchscreen may be appealing to some. The hotspot runs on a proprietary build of Linux and offers a wide variety of options to choose from: connection details, data usage, a list of connected devices, settings, file sharing, media streaming, WiFi protected setup, messages, GPS and so on. Many of the activities (checking your use, which devices are connected and other settings) previously relegated to a proprietary URL can now be easily viewed directly on your MiFi without any hassle. Don't expect the quick and buttery-smooth response of a modern smartphone here, but since this is Novatel's inaugural attempt at a touchscreen device -- in addition to the fact that the display is of secondary importance on a MiFi -- we're willing to cut the company some slack. It handles the limited needs of most hotspot consumers without much concern.

Gallery: Novatel Liberate for AT&T hands-on