Cool Tech Reviews

Lost in the din of last week’s Apple iPhone launch was the announcement of an interesting service in the USA from T-Mobile called HotSpot @Home that combines the best of cellular phones and low cost Wi-Fi VoIP (technically, it’s GSM over IP).

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Adam Pash at lifehacker:

Of all the great DIY projects at this year’s Maker Faire, the one project that really caught my eye involved converting a regular old $60 router into a powerful, highly configurable $600 router. The router has an interesting history, but all you really need to know is that the special sauce lies in embedding Linux in your router. I found this project especially attractive because: 1) It’s easy, and 2) it’s totally free.

So when I got the chance, I dove into converting my own router. After a relatively simple firmware upgrade, you can boost your wireless signal, prioritize what programs get your precious bandwidth, and do lots of other simple or potentially much more complicated things to improve your computing experience. Today I’m going to walk you through upgrading your router’s firmware to the powerful open source DD-WRT firmware.

Check the list of routers that can be converted but there are some very popular Linksys models, as well as a number from Buffalo and others.

Marguerite Reardon at ZDNet:

Sprint Nextel is preparing to take on the big phone companies in the broadband market.

The assault on DSL is coming quietly, but recent announcements and development in Sprint’s technology indicate that the company believes it can be the third pipe into the home–a pipe that would challenge the phone companies’ DSL service and perhaps would rival even faster-than-DSL cable-modem service.

On Tuesday, Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, announced the Wireless-G Router for Mobile Broadband (WRT54G3G-NA), which allows Sprint mobile broadband customers to plug their broadband card, used to connect their laptops wirelessly, into the PC Card slot on the router. The EV-DO mobile broadband connection is then turned into a shared 802.11g Wi-Fi connection. The companies are showing off the new router at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show here this week.

Initially, Sprint and Linksys are marketing the product to businesses that require network connections in areas where wired broadband access is not readily accessible, such as construction sites, special events, offsite consulting, and at events focused on public safety. But Sprint admits the product may appeal to consumers and could be viewed as a harbinger for much larger ambitions, especially as the mobile operator deploys a faster version of its wireless broadband called EV-DO Revision A, which will be available in early 2007.

Ah, but the data rate and price are the deal makers or killers for home or regular office use. See this PC Magazine EV-DO review:

Sprint’s prices have come down, too. The company charges existing voice subscribers a maximum of $59.99 a month; data-only customers pay up to $79.99 for unlimited use. That’s the same as Verizon’s price, and at press time, Sprint was giving away free PC Cards with a two-year signup. Sprint also sells a 40MB bucket plan for $40 per month that scales up to a maximum of $79.99 per month as you use more data.

The price isn’t out of whack although obviously more attractive for current Sprint mobile subscribers. The free PC Card offer is here.

In recent tests in Washington, Baltimore, and New York using the Novatel S620 PC Card Novatel S620 PC Card, Sprint’s network blazed. We got average downlink speeds of 821 Kbps over 26 file transfers, with one test peaking at 1.14 Mbps. Upload speeds averaged 136 Kbps. That’s in line with our earlier August results in Hartford, Connecticut, and Newark, New Jersey, where we got an average of 772 Kbps downlink and 134 Kbps up.

And back to the ZDNet article:

Today, average EV-DO speeds are slightly slower than the lowest tiers of DSL broadband service. EV-DO Revision Zero, the current version of technology, provides downloads between 400 kilobits per second and 700kbps with upload speeds of about 50kbps to 70kbps. The new version of the technology, EV-DO Revision A, is likely to offer average speeds between 450kbps to 800kbps for downloads and 70kbps to 144kbps for uploads. These speeds are comparable to Verizon’s lowest-speed DSL option, which offers 769kbps downloads and 128kbps uploads.

It looks like the PC Magazine tests are beating the nominal rates, but still it’s just OK compared to DSL. Another big consideration is coverage - the speed will be real slow outside Sprint’s coverage area. Sprint’s coverage maps are here. But that raises another point - how sensitive is this router to placement inside a house? It’s not like a mobile phone or even a laptop that can be expected to be moved around. Since the router is completely wireless, it can go anywhere there is a power plug, but somehow I envision a customer wandering around trying to balance Wi-Fi and EV-DO reception, presuming there is good EV-DO reception anywhere inside a particular structure. I doubt it is hardened enough to go in the average residential attic and certainly not outdoors.

It’s too early for any real tire-kicking reports on the WRT54G3G-NA (although there are some for its cousins for other types of wireless networks outside the USA), but I’d suggest waiting unless you can’t get a DSL or cable broadband connection and basically have nothing to lose. There’s hope for the future though - again from the ZDNet article:

But EV-DO is only the beginning for Sprint in the mobile broadband arena. The company is looking to its large holding in the 2.5GHz frequency band to provide new 4G wireless services. Sprint is still testing several technologies, but a front runner in the race is WiMax, which supports peak data download speeds of about 20 megabits per second, with average user data rates between 1mbps and 4mbps. The company will start offering 4G wireless services sometime in 2009, Tishgart said.

Now they’re talking!

Update 4/13: A press release for the WRT54G3G-NA finally showed up on the Linksys web site with more details including availability:

The Linksys Wireless-G Router for Mobile Broadband (WRT54G3G) is scheduled to be available this summer through distribution channels and select mobile broadband providers in North America for an estimated street price of $199. A Mobile Broadband connection PC card and mobile broadband service is sold separately.

Ed Oswald at BetaNews:

Skype on Thursday launched a beta of the second major revision to its popular PC calling software, adding video support and announcing partnerships with Logitech, Creative and Web log software maker Six Apart.

Logitech will bundle Skype with some of its webcams; Creative has a webcam, microphone, and Skype bundle; Sixapart is promoting Skype and offering special Skype features in its TypePad weblog service. Besides the video,

Other features of the Skype 2.0 beta include a simplified user interface; a self-expression feature that allows the user to communicate whether they are happy, sad, available to talk or do not want to be disturbed; personalization features; as well as integration with Microsoft Outlook through an an optional toolbar.

Of course, the best part is that it’s still free for Skype to Skype calls, video or not. You can download the Skype 2.0 beta here. While it’s for Windows XP only so far, the current production (non-video) version is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Pocket PC.

If you don’t have a microphone or headset/speakers, you can run on down to RadioShack where the promised Skype Trial Kit is now on sale for $4.99 for which you’ll get a headset and 30 free minutes of “SkypeOut” calls to regular phones. They also have Skype compatible internet phones and fancier headsets, and I’m sure they wouldn’t be put out at selling a webcam too so you can try the video version.

But how well does the new version work? Walter J. Mossberg reviews the Skype 2.0 beta at the Wall Street Journal:

I’ve been testing Skype 2.0, along with the new, cheap, Skype-branded microphones and a new Skype-compatible phone that frees users from sitting in front of a computer while talking. Despite some flaws, this new combination of hardware and software generally worked well, and I believe it stands a chance of propelling Skype into the mainstream.
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All my test calls were very clear, though in most cases there was a slight problem in the first few seconds, when callers couldn’t hear me. In a couple of cases, the sound dropped out briefly during a call. And Skype disconnected my call to Berlin in the middle, forcing me to redial. Still, as a tradeoff for free calls, the glitches were tolerable.

I used a variety of microphones, built-in and added-on, cheap and expensive. In general, the built-in and costlier add-on mikes worked best. Skype’s new cheap mike, which comes with an earbud as part of a $4.99 Skype “starter pack” available at RadioShack stores, was a little muffled unless I held it close to my mouth.

I also made a few video calls, using a Logitech Web camera. These worked fine, though they displayed the graininess that marks most Web video calling. An audio conference call also worked well, though you can’t use video if you’re calling more than one person. Skype also offers a conventional text-based chat system and a feature for transferring files. I tested both, and they worked fine.

More by following the link where you’ll see he was most impressed by the Linksys CIT200 VoIP cordless phone which I have mentioned here previously.

Carmen Nobel at eWeek has the story:

Cisco Systems Inc.’s Linksys division is offering new Wi-Fi hardware that offers throughput and data transfer rates that rival Fast Ethernet, albeit with proprietary technology.

The WRT54GX4 Wireless-G Broadband Router and WPC54GX4 Wireless-G PC Card are based on the third generation of MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) chip sets from Airgo Networks Inc. The chip sets can support data rates of up to 240M bps, with “real-world” TCP/IP throughput rates huddling around 120M bps, according to Airgo officials in Palo Alto, Calif.

“The cool thing about this generation is that it’s not just for notebooks anymore,” said Greg Raleigh, CEO of Airgo. “You can connect your desktops and do away with the Ethernet.”

You can do that with 802.11a, b, or g too, but MIMO gives you more speed (likely not noticeable in everyday use) and more range (likely very noticeable).

MIMO technology runs multiple data streams in a single channel to boost throughput to rates of up to 108M bps, which is double that of the maximum speeds of 802.11a and 802.11g. Some variant of MIMO will be at the heart of the upcoming IEEE 802.11n standard. Many enterprise-level hardware makers plan to wait for the standard before releasing a MIMO product, but ratification of that standard isn’t expected until early 2007 due to an ongoing stalemate between two competing contingents within the standard task group.

In October, a splinter group called the Enhanced Wireless Consortium announced itself and its plans to expedite the ratification of 802.11n with its own draft specification. The group includes several powerhouse players in the Wi-Fi space, including Intel Corp., Cisco, Atheros Communications Inc., Broadcom Corp. and Linksys—but not Airgo.

So Cisco/Linksys is on the opposite side of the fight from Airgo, but releases a “pre-n” product based on Airgo’s technology? Makes sense to me! See also a previous post on the 802.11n standards battle.

In any case, the Linksys press release is online with more info and prices:

The WRT54GX4 and WPC54GX4 are available now through Linksys e-commerce resellers at estimated street prices of $149.99 and $99.99 respectively. The products will soon also be available from retail, direct response, and VAR partners.

as well as the spec sheets: WRT54GX4, WPC54GX4.

Tom Keating kicks the tires at the VoIP blog:

Linksys has partnered with Skype to offer a cordless DECT 1.8-1.9Ghz phone complete with a backlit color display, backlit keyboard, and other features, called the Linksys CIT200 Cordless Internet Telephony Kit. The Linksys CIT200 is tightly integrated with Skype utilizing the Skype API for not just making and receiving calls but also accessing your Skype contacts and profiles.
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A USB base station acts as the “go between” communicating with both the PC (running Skype) via USB and with the CIT200 using the DECT standard. Linksys gave me an exclusive first look at the Linksys CIT200 and I have to say the Linksys CIT200 is probably one of the coolest if not the coolest product that works in conjunction with Skype. One of the coolest features is that you can scroll through your Skype contacts using the Linksys CIT200’s color display and you can see their current Skype presence (online, offline, etc.). Then using the arrows on the phone you simply highlight the Skype contact and dial.

Much more by following the link. The Linksys site has CIT200 information here.