Clear's iSpot Is a WiMax Hotspot For iPhones and iPads

With more cities being blanketed in the warm glow of WiMax every month, 3G speeds are going to start seeming primitive, fast. Clear's iSpot hotspot lets iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches get a taste of the delicious 4G future.
Clear's iSpot can serve as a hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices at a time—its site says it was optimized for Apple's mobile devices, whatever that means—while running on its rechargeable battery or juicing up over USB. 
The device, which looks a lot like a Mighty Mouse, or a bar of soap, will be available August 10 for $99, with a no-contract, $25 monthly plan for unlimited data. Not too bad, if your city has already been given the WiMax treatment. Because there's no buzzkill worse than waiting for a snappy new iPhone or iPad to suck down a page over 3G. [iSpot via SlashGear]
Update: Today and today only, you can net the iSpot itself for $29—70% off.
Update 2: Ars discovers why this is so cheap, when the standard CLEAR plan is $40. It's dedicated to just Apple devices—in that, it detects what devices are connected and can only let them connect if it's an Apple device. If you want to unlock it to all devices, they'll bump you up to the $40 a month plan.
Of course, if you're on a laptop, it's probably rather easy to mimic an Apple device by changing some settings, but harder if you're on, say, a BlackBerry. [Ars]

AXIMCom MR-102N mobile router

We’re calling it - the days of the standalone 3G dongle or modem are numbered. In their place, a new class of portable router has emerged. The AXIMCom MR-102N is one such device. Packed into a small device, marginally larger than a cigarette box, is a 3G modem, wireless router and battery pack that will create a wireless LAN anywhere, anytime. 
The AXIMCom MR-102N is very easy to set up. It has an Ethernet port, USB port, power switch and AC input. The Ethernet connection is used for the initial set-up so that you’re not creating an open wireless hotspot before you’ve done any configuration.Unlike many of the routers in this class, the MR-102N supports a variety of advanced network settings such as port forwarding and VPN.

We tested the AXIMCom MR-102N with a USB modem from Optus. We powered on the MR-102N, plugged in the modem and went into the browser-based configuration utility. This was both Windows and Mac friendly. Given that it worked with both Firefox and Chrome, we’d expect the same from Linux.

Setting up the modem required that we choose the brand from a drop down list and then enter the APN settings. Once that was in, we could choose whether to connect automatically or on command. One of the handy things about the MR-102N is that it’s not only able to use USB modems. If you’re an iPhone user and have tethering enabled, you can connect your iPhone and share its 3G connection. You can also use Windows Mobile and Android phones in the same way.

Perhaps the most important thing we can say about the MR-102N is that it just works. Once we’d gone through the initial set up, the MR-102N delivered a reliable Internet connection to an iPhone, iPad, netbook and notebook computer. Battery life was reasonable with several hours of use on a single charge.

Range over the 802.11n radio was solid with ping times only falling once we several several meters away. The signal didn't completely drop away until we were over 12 metres away and with a solid wall interfering with the line of sight.

For $199, the AXIMCom MR-102N delivers an easy way to use your existing 3G data service and share it with multiple devices. With support for all Australian carriers and a bunch from other countries as well, the MR-102N makes a worthy travel companion.

Makes the BlackBerry as a modem for the iPad

Apart from the existence of pro and cons about iPad presence, it seems the latest tablet device from Apple has brought new waves around the world, not only those users who feel eiphoeria with this iPad presence, even some computer manufacturers have chimed in to make a similar device.
And the most exciting thing for us is, that the BlackBerry device was very friendly with the iPad, so we can make the BlackBerry as a modem (tethering modem) to access the Internet using the iPad. By using the WiFi feature also owned a BlackBerry and iPad apparently this can be done, and this method becomes warm conversation at one of the leading BlackBerry forums.
To do this, we are required to download an application called iBluever cydia and install it on iPad device and install the application on the BlackBerry, called PDANet (maybe we are not unfamiliar with the last application, yaahh, it was never used on Palm devices, long before the BlackBerry comes … oops).

After all applications were installed on each device so we can activate the WiFi on the iPad. For the record, we must have access to Internet data packets using Internet access using a BlackBerry, because it makes data access a BlackBerry with a BlackBerry device as a modem does not enter into the unlimited data package (yes, I know most readers know this Twitteling .. ). For more details, we observe there are good references are the steps to do it through a forum that I meant earlier.

Good news for those iPod Touch users, that the tricks above can also be used for the iPod touch device and not just for the iPad. although the connection is not as fast as 3G connectivity but is more than enough to connect the iPad or iPod Touch with the virtual world while it is far from a WiFi connection.

One Solution for China’s Early IPad Adopters

Electronics sellers in China are pushing wireless modems as a solution for Apple iPad users who can only get online when close to a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Huawei

The Huawei E5

Apple has yet to announce a release date for the iPad in China, but some estimate that as many as thousands of early adopters in China have already purchased the iPad. Consumers can get iPads with both Wi-Fi and high speed 3G capabilities, but 3G iPads cost more and the SIM cards used to go online, which can be purchased from Chinese carrier China Unicom, must be cut in half to fit the slot in the iPad.

A growing selection of wireless modems now offer a cheaper way to connect iPads to the Internet anywhere, and also include the option of connecting multiple devices simultaneously — and according to vendors, people in China are snapping them up. Huawei’s E5 modem, which can connect to China Unicom’s 3G network, is particularly popular. The modem creates a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to five devices to connect wirelessly to the 3G service, similar to devices currently being sold in the U.S. like the Novatel MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot from Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

The devices and services are far cheaper in China, making them a more worthwhile proposition than pairing a Wi-Fi-only iPad with similar devices in the U.S. An E5 device and one year of service, including a monthly data allowance of one gigabyte from China Unicom, costs less than $300. In the U.S., a MiFi 2200 with one year of service from Verizon Wireless, including a monthly data allowance of 250 megabytes, costs $650 excluding taxes and fees. In effect, purchasing a Wi-Fi iPad in China with an E5 modem and 3G service costs less and has more capabilities than purchasing a pricier 3G iPad with 3G service for only the iPad.

A Huawei spokeswoman said the company had sold 1.5 million E5 wireless modems as of the end of the first quarter, since the third quarter last year, but declined to say how many were sold in China, where the device was released in the first quarter of the year. She added that the E5 is also available in other regions including Europe and the Middle East, and will be released in North America later this year (though service plans vary by operator).

– Loretta Chao, with contributions from Bai Lin

AT&T Just Killed Unlimited Wireless Data (and Screwed Everybody in the Process)

Unlimited, all-you-can-eat wireless data was a beautiful thing for Apple devices on AT&T, delivering streams of Pandora, YouTube videos, a million tweets, and hundreds of webpages without worry. And now it's dead.

AT&T's new, completely restructured mobile data plans for both iPhones and iPads have officially launched the era of pay-per-byte data, which we've known was coming. We just hoped it would take a little longer. It's the anti-Christmas.

AT&T is likely just the first, since carriers rarely do anything alone (like when everybody launched unlimited voice calling in lockstep), and Verizon's CTO has rumbled that plans with "as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change." And so it is.

If you look at the costs per megabyte, you can see how, despite the fact AT&T is pitching the availability of lower priced plans as a value move, you actually are paying more for less. (Update: Corrected chart, moved a decimal place.)

Under AT&T's old iPhone and smartphone plans, $30/month bought you truly unlimited data. With their new plans for smartphones, arriving June 7 (not coincidentally, the day of Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote) the confusingly named DataPlus offers 200MB of data for $15 a month, while DataPro gives you 2GB for $25. With DataPlus, if you run over 200MB you get another 200MB for $15. But, AT&T tells us that if you're running over the 200MB limit, you can actually switch to the beefier 2GB DataPro completely pain-free (no ETFs or any of that business), and then switch back to the skinnier plan "over time." With DataPro, if you run over 2GB, you get another 1GB of data for $10, ad infinitum. So, if you use 5GB of data, you're looking at a $55 bill for data.

Tethering for the iPhone is here, finally! Hurray! Right? Wrong. First, consider that the old, non-iPhone tethering option offered you 5GB of tethering data for an extra $30 a month. The new plan charges you $20 extra to use the same 2GB pool of data for tethering. You are not buying extra data. You are simply paying extra to use it for tethering.

Let me repeat that: AT&T is charging you an additional twenty dollars a month based purely on how you use your data. This is bullshit, plain and simple.

Why does it matter how you use that 2GB? Why does it cost extra to use it in a slightly different manner, if you're paying for it all the same?

It's asburdity—especially when you consider the basic math. Under the old plan, you paid $60 a month for unlimited data, plus 5GB worth of tethering. Under the new plan, you will pay $45 for 2GB of data, total.

When you break out the dollar-per-byte value, showing just how much data you get per dollar, it becomes clear how outrageous the new pricing schemes are, whatever AT&T murmurs about how much data 98 percent of users actually consume.

The new plans apply to the iPad as well. Meaning the no-contract $30 unlimited data plan, the plan both Apple and AT&T pitched so hard, assuring us that we would never have to worry about data or contracts, is no more. If that $30-whenever-you-want-it unlimited data was a part of your calculus in buying the 3G iPad—it was part of mine—you've effectively been baited-and-switched. They promised one thing, and in just two months, it's gone. I suppose that's the downside of not having a contract with a multi-billion dollar corporation—you're free to ditch them, but they're free to screw you in return.

There is a way out, though it's really more like a way in, since it requires you to dive more securely into the vice grip of AT&T. If you already have an unlimited smartphone data plan and you renew your contract after June 7, as long as you don't change your plan, you can keep on keepin' on with your unlimited plan. In other words, you can get a new smartphone, but keep the same plan—then you're grandfathered in with unlimited data. Same deal with the iPad: If you start an unlimited data plan before June 7, and let it keep automatically renewing, you'll keep unlimited data.

If you add the $20 tethering option after June 7, though, you move to the new plans (which obviously screws iPhone owners interested in tethering). If you don't already have an unlimited smartphone data plan, and buy one after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. If you come to AT&T after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. If you start a new iPad 3G data plan after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. (Here's a bit more on various scenarios and what'll happen with different configurations.)

So, what'll be? Tie yourself up more tightly with AT&T to preserve your data privileges, or join this brave new world, where you pay for every byte you eat? Any hopes you could've possibly had for unlimited 4G, you might as well shred them now. It's true, for most people (98 percent of users, says AT&T), 2GB a month might be fine—I've only used 1GB on my iPad 3G, even after streaming a ton of movies with the intent of killing my battery. And I'm not opposed to metered internet, per se. But I am opposed to higher costs per megabyte, BS charges for tethering, and broken iPad promises. And there's a principle at stake here, dammit. [AT&T]

Jailbreak App Turns iPhone Into 3G Modem for iPad

Data-hungry iPhone owners eager to grab iPads can forgo paying for a 3G model altogether and save a good buck. That is, so long as they’re willing to take a risk.

MyWi, an app available for hacked (i.e., jailbroken) iPhones, turns the handset into a wireless 3G modem that can be tethered to an iPad. That means you can skip paying the extra $130 on a 3G-only model, along with the $15 or $30 fee for data, and get internet access for free from your iPhone’s unlimited data plan, instead.

The process of turning your iPhone into a wireless modem for the iPad looks quite simple. According to AppAdvice, which originally reported on MyWi, all you have to is launch the app and flip the “WiFi Tethering” option to “On.” Then, your iPhone will create a Wi-Fi network that you can choose with your iPad.

There is a drawback, of course: Jailbreaking comes with risks. Apple recently issued a support bulletin stating that hacking your iPhone can result in application instability, unreliable voice and data service and other issues. And of course, turning your iPhone into a modem drains its battery pretty fast.

Nonetheless, the jailbreak community has come a long way. The MyWi app looks less cumbersome to set up than an official tethering app we reported on in 2008 called NetShare, which actually made it into the App Store briefly — it was almost immediately pulled and banned by Apple.

The MyWi app can be downloaded through the Rock app store available for jailbroken iPhones. It costs $10, and it comes with a free 10-day trial. For information on jailbreaking an iPhone, visit the Dev-Team Blog.

How to Make a DIY Micro SIM to SIM Adapter

We've shown you how to turn a regular SIM into a Micro SIM, but what if you want to do things the other way around? Here's how to turn a Micro SIM into a regular-sized SIM card.

You'll simply take a regular SIM card and trace it onto an old gift card, credit card, or other piece of hard plastic. After you cut out the shape, you'll need to figure out where your Micro SIM would have to sit inside that in order for its contacts to be in the same spot on those of the regular SIM.

Then you'll cut and trace a hole, slip in your Micro SIM, slap some tape onto the back so that it doesn't fall out, and tada! You've made yourself a Micro-SIM-to-SIM adapter.

If you want to use this adapter in order to turn your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS into a data-only device by using your iPad 3G's Micro SIM, you'll have to change some carrier settings, but that'll only take you a few taps. [Hijinks Inc—Thanks, Aaron!]

AT&T Selling Micro SIM with Full SIM Adapter? (Update: Don't Think So)

The iPad 3G may require a micro SIM—a lilliputian SIM card incompatible with anything else you own—but AT&T will be selling each bundled with a full SIM card adapter—meaning you could potentially use your data plan elsewhere. UPDATE:

UPDATE: Actually, a better look from BGR shows us that this seems to be a punch out scenario in which you can't reuse the larger SIM casing once you choose to break away the Micro SIM. It's probably just going to make stocking at AT&T easier. Luckily, given that SIM and Micro SIM have the same contacts, adapters (even homemade ones) are likely to be available soon. [BGR and Engadget]

So There's a Sprint WiMax iPad... Case

Presented without comment: Sprint's 4G Case for iPad, with room for its WiMax Overdrive box. [Sprint via iLounge]

Eternal optimist Verizon calls iPad launch 'an opportunity' to sell some data plans

That's the "glass is half full" attitude we like, Verizon -- always looking for a way to sign a few more of those lucrative data contracts, no matter the circumstances! Turns out Big Red is tipping off its staffers on how it can encourage customers to go with the WiFi-only version of the iPad and pair it up with a device like the MiFi rather than shelling out $130 more for integrated AT&T 3G and waiting a few extra weeks. As usual, Verizon's keen on playing up the anti-AT&T sentiment it's cultivated in its recent ad campaign by openly calling its biggest competitor's 3G network "overloaded," but we see one big hangup: 5GB of data on a Verizon MiFi is going to run you $60 a month, twice as much as AT&T will be charging for its dedicated, unlimited iPad plan. Then again, AT&T's own boss thinks WiFi's a bigger deal than 3G for this thing, so who knows -- maybe this is a zero-sum game for both of these guys.

[Thanks, Mark]