How To Make A 3G Router

Bought a Chumby One and aren't sure what to do with it? Turn the device into a 3G router! It's quick and you'll need nothing but a Chumby One, a 3G USB modem, and these instructions. [BunnieStudios via Make]

The Best and Worst Hotel Wi-Fi

I'm not going to pretend HotelChatter's chart works, so I'll just point to their list of best hotel Wi-Fi (Holiday Inn for mega-chains) and worst (avoid mid-high-enders like DoubleTree). My hotel criteria? Waffle House proximity. [Hotel Chatter via Lifehacker]

How Much Less AT&T Is Sucking

Sure, sure, AT&T added another 1.9 million subscribers and activated 2.7 million new iPhones. But the most interesting slide in their earnings statement was the one detailing, statistically, how much less they suck. With graphs and stuff.

The improvements are indeed caveat-loaded. Dropped 3G calls in Manhattan, one of AT&T's admitted trouble spots, are down 6 percent, and 9 percent overall in NYC. That's great, especially if you consider they've been adding subscribers. But note that's not calls on EDGE, which some people are stuck with, or resort to in an attempt to pull a more reliable signal—which, since AT&T's mostly focused on improving 3G, presumably haven't gotten any better.

Faster 3G speeds via AT&T's deployment of HSPA 7.2—32-47 percent faster downloads—are only happening where they've actually deployed fiber backhaul. Thing is, limited backhaul—the pipes that actually run to cell towers—has always been a huge aspect of AT&T's data crunch. The fact the boosts are only happening where they've deployed new fiber backhaul shows how tapped out they are. Given that they made nearly a billion dollars more in data revenues vs. last year, this is non-trivial. [AT&T]

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]

This Is How to Fix Your Horrible AT&T Reception: 3G MicroCell

I tapped dial. There's ringing, and the call goes through. It's the first call I've made from my house in two years. All it took was AT&T's 3G MicroCell to give me 5 solid bars where there were none.

Price

$150, no monthly fee, with no strings attached—but it counts against your monthly cell minutes. It's $20 a month for unlimited MicroCell calling. If you get an unlimited plan, the MicroCell drops to $50 after rebate. (If you have AT&T broadband, it knocks another $50 off.) Update: If you complain loudly enough to the right rep, you might be able to snag one for free.

It's a Lifechanger

A box about as big an oversized cable modem, the MicroCell is a mini cellphone tower that plugs into and passes calls through your existing broadband connection, giving you about a 40-foot radius of solid cell reception. Dead zones crackle to life; calls can be made without dropping.

The setup process is mostly plug and play—if you've got a router, it jacks into that, or if you plug your computer directly into a modem, it has a port for passthrough. You just activate the MicroCell through AT&T's website and then wait for about an hour as it springs to life (which is agonizing if you're revving to make the first call from your house in over two years. The MicroCell's only inconvenient installation requirement is a view of the sky for GPS reception—a necessity for 911 location services (and presumably the way AT&T prevents you from using it overseas).

It only works with AT&T numbers, and you can only have 10 numbers registered at once tapping into the MicroCell. Since you have to assign the numbers through AT&T's site every time you want to add one, friends who're just stopping by (or your neighbors) won't be able to take advantage of your newly awesome reception, unless you add them to the list. And, even if you're friendly enough to add your buddies to the list, if they (or you, for that matter) have original iPhones, they won't be able to hop on—the MicroCell supports 3G phones only. The plus side is that it's the only femtocell that supports data, so you can actually use it to check email on your phone.

AT&T's stated range of 40 feet held up flawlessly in our tests, passing through a wall and delivering strong reception 30 feet outside of the apartment (thanks to its combo of 850MHz and 1900MHz bands). Where it got sticky was at the edge of the reception zone—our test phones continued to show full bars until the connection abruptly died completely, and the phones began hunting for new signals.

It's nothing short of revelatory, to suddenly have full reception where there was none, to make calls where one couldn't before.

There is a philosophical problem though: Should you buy a device that makes a service you already pay for simply work the way it's supposed to? Every carrier offers some form of in-home extension of their service—Sprint's Airave femotcell, Verizon's Network Extender, and T-Mobile's @Home—and they all charge you for it, even though you're routing calls over your own broadband connection. (And even though using the femtocell eats up your minutes, unless you pay even more for unlimited.) It sucks. Maybe we should take a stand, refuse to pay more just to make cell service usable, and demand that they fix it or give the boxes away.

On other the hand, if you're not interested in making a stand, and just want to use your phone on the toilet after two years of not being able to, maybe $150 is worth it to you.

I CAN MAKE CALLS FROM MY HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS

Basically perfect reception within a 40-foot radius

Only femtocell that pipes data too

Only available in a handful of cities so far

$150 to fix the service you already pay for

3G phones only

[AT&T]

Vonage VoIP Apps Now Available for T-Mobile and AT&T Android Phones

T-Mobile and AT&T customers with Android phones can now finally download a Vonage VoIP app to their devices to make cheap international calls over Wi-Fi or 3G. They'll also get free domestic calls, but only over Wi-Fi.

Vonage Delivers Worldwide Calling Savings to T-Mobile and AT&T Android Users

HOLMDEL, N.J., April 9, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ — Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG), a leading provider of high-quality voice and messaging services over broadband networks, today announced the expansion of its Vonage Mobile offerings to AT&T and T-Mobile devices that use the Android mobile operating system.

Vonage Mobile will be available to download for AT&T and T-Mobile Android devices at www.vonage.com later today and is already available for iPhone(R), BlackBerry(R) and iPod touch(R) devices. Vonage Mobile customers enjoy high-quality, outbound international calling over Wi-Fi and cellular networks as well as free domestic calls over Wi-Fi.

"We are focused on ensuring that our customers can enjoy all the benefits of their Vonage service from any location using any device that can access the Internet," said Michael Tempora, senior vice president of product management. "We will continue to expand our offerings in 2010 to include a robust set of voice and messaging services that utilize Wi-Fi and 3G wireless networks."

The Vonage Mobile application gives customers the flexibility to choose between Vonage World Mobile, which includes unlimited international calling to more than 60 countries, or Vonage Mobile Pay-Per-Use. Vonage Mobile Pay-Per-Use provides savings of more than 50% - compared to rates charged by wireless carriers - for calls to dozens of countries.

With Vonage Mobile, there are no access numbers or new phone numbers to give to friends and family. Customers simply enter an international number or select a contact from the existing contacts on a mobile device and hit send.

To follow Vonage on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/vonage_voice. To become a fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/vonage.

*iPhone allows calls on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. BlackBerry allows calls over cellular networks. iPod touch allows calls over Wi-Fi networks. Service subject to minimum monthly usage fee, taxes and certain other fees. Forfeiture rules apply. See Terms of Service for details. There are important 911 limitations when using Vonage for Mobile service. See vonagemobile.com/tos for details.

[Vonage]

Belkin has new 802.11n wireless router range

Belkin is an old hand when it comes to wireless devices as well as other computing peripherals, and this time round they have a new range of 802.11n wireless routers for you to choose from, basically with a handful of models to suit just about any needs there are out there. These new wireless routers feature fun and powerful applications, and comprise of the Surf, Share, Play, and Play Max Wireless Routers which will allow you to play music, games, and HD videos while sharing photos and enable wireless printing from just about anywhere in your home.

Belkin has specially designed such applications to enhance your wireless experience, where they are a snap to set up while keeping you online with the most optimal connection always. For instance, the Self-Healing app will automatically detect and resolve network problems while running routine maintenance scans in order to provide you with the clearest wireless channel. All Share, Play, and Play Max Routers will come with the Print Genie application which enables one to wirelessly print from any computer on the network in your home, while Memory Safe will perform an automatic backup your photos and files to an external hard drive (needless to say, you will need to pick up the external hard drive by yourself) so that you can be sure all your digital memories are archived in a prim and proper manner.

The use of advanced Dual-Band N technology in Belkin’s Play and Play Max Routers are more than capable of providing the best speed and performance. Simultaneous networks will eliminate interference while enabling you to optimize performance for media-intensive activities, including streaming HD movies, gaming online, and downloading large media files for those who love Torrents. As for apps that are available on the Play and Play Max routers, you will be more empowered by your music more than ever before. Music Mover will play your whole music library on a range of smart devices including the Xbox 360 or PS3, where creating your own tunes is but a touch away. The Daily DJ app will unveil daily personalized playlists to stay in step with your current mood. Prices range from $79.99 to $129.99, depending on the model of your choice.