Phandroid has obtained what it believes to be Verizon’s roadmap for the release of phones and other devices (MiFi, USB modems) this Spring. I want to replace my MiFi and my phone. So what’s on my shopping list?
Archive for the ‘Mobile Utilities’ Category
Verizon Spring roadmap is my shopping list
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011Verizon LTE MiFi
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011I’ve owned a Verizon MiFi 2200 for over two years. That MiFi has served me well both when no WiFi was available and to avoid outrageous hotel WiFi charges. But the 2200 is 3G EVDO Rev A, slow lane now that Verizon has gone to the 4G LTE.
Verizon previously has offered LTE USB modems. But because of driver issues, these often only work with certain (e.g., Windows) devices. Android and iOS would be SOL. No such problem with a MiFi as there is no driver issue; the MiFi simply is just another WiFi access point.
Finally Verizon is offering a LTE MiFi. Maybe two.
Geek Stocking Stuffer
Monday, December 13th, 2010
Pepwave Surf Mini
Monday, January 18th, 2010
I rely on WiFi both at home and work. I don’t always want to be tethered to a desktop. At home I may want to “sofa surf”, cruising the Internet while watching cultural events on TV like extreme cage fighting. At work, I don’t sofa surf (or at least admit it), but may want to access the Internet while in another office or conference room.
The problem I have is, due to the layout of my home and my work, and perhaps the construction materials, the WiFi signal is weak to non-existent in many locations. The solution would be a wireless bridge or repeater. I found a gadget that does that, and more!
USB Thumb Drive
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
[Via The Viliv Boys]. This appeals to my deranged sense of humor. Speaking of which, I’m surprised Chris Davies of Slashgear hasn’t pointed this out yet.
Viliv Boys doesn’t say where you can get this must-have gadget. I found this site where a 4GB model costs $20. I think it’s the same one. All severed thumbs look the same to me.
If severed thumbs aren’t your thing, check out The top 10 weirdest USB dri
ves ever for other ideas. Most are food-oriented (sushi, shrimp, sake). #1 though is Barbie. Barbie is weird enough, but worse, you have to remove her head to use the drive.
Update: Chris Davies of Slashgear replied via Twitter that “it’s always nice to be name-checked next to a beheaded doll or severed digit!" Chris, no one is going to mess with you or your blog after that name check! Seriously, I greatly enjoy (and relate to) Chris’ sense of humor. See his comment below for another example 
USB Wall Outlet
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
I’m constantly charging my devices. I often have two USB cables. One plugs into my computer. The other is attached to an adapter which I then plug into an electrical outlet.
Soon you’ll be able to plug your USB cable directly into a wall outlet. You just swap a TruePower UCS power outlet for your regular outlet; no fiddling with the wiring like other solutions. You still have your AC outlets, plus got two USB power ports rated at a sufficient 5.0V 600mA.
The outlet costs only $9.95. But it’s not available yet. Per the website, it’s “scheduled to begin shipping in early 2010” but “is currently waiting on final UL Approval.” Probably best to wait to make sure that plugging your USB cable into a wall outlet isn’t, well, a shocking experience.
[via GottaBeMobile]
PodTrapper for BlackBerry
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
I spend a lot of time in my car going from home to work, work to home, and work to other work. I use what otherwise would be down time to learn more about the tech world through podcasts.
If you have a BlackBerry, you might want to take a look at the podcast application I use on my BlackBerry Storm, PodTrapper. I like PodTrapper because it is reliable, is simple to use and has a companion desktop application to speed up downloading of podcasts (and bypassing your carrier’s data charges).
So which tech podcasts do I listen to?
MiFi, Eye-Fi
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
We’ve talked about MiFi. It’s a WiFi hotspot + a modem that connects to the Verizon network (or Sprint for its MiFi).
We haven’t talked about Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi is an SD memory card plus an integrated WiFi adapter. Eye-Fi enables you to take photos and then upload them wirelessly (no cables!) to your PC or the Internet (such as Flickr) provided of course you are in range of a WiFi signal.
Gadling gear review – Eye-Fi + MiFi + WiFi = wireless camera uploads reports that MiFi and Eye-Fi work well together. I may try this. Ummm … first though I better get a camera. And when I do, I better watch the picture size. VZW does charge for going over 5GB a month. And I don’t recall VZW offering “rollover” bytes.
Source (including picture): jkOnTheRun
Mobile Bing
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
Bing, Microsoft’s replacement for Live Search, already is old news. Reviews are mixed. But why read reviews? Judge for yourself whether Bing suits you better than Google or other alternatives. So I’ll keep my opinion to myself (except to say that I’ll probably stick with Google).
Microsoft now has released a mobile version of Bing. Just point your mobile browser to http://m.bing.com.
DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
A common question I have is, when a website is unavailable, is the problem on their end, or my end. DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com is a good tool to find out quickly.
Source: Pocketables