Gizmodo: hotspot@home

Sprint Airave, Your Own Personal Cell Tower Box, Goes On Sale Nationwide

John Mahoney — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:13:57 EDT

Sprint and Samsung's femtocell answer to T-Mo's Hotspot@Home is now available everywhere after localized tests in Indy and Denver apparently went well enough to push it nationwide. The box connects to your router, allowing you to make calls over the web with any Sprint CDMA phone. It's $100 for the box, plus $15 per month for unlimited calls for one line, or $25 per month for a family plan, which is pricier than T-Mo's Hotspot. But if your house is in a Sprint dark spot (and you haven't switched providers, for some reason), this is for you. [Sprint]

T-Mobile Shadow II Has MyFaves, HotSpot@Home, But Is It Still Made by HTC?

Jason Chen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:50:00 EDT

The Original T-Mobile HTC Shadow was quite good for a Windows mobile phone because of its non-Windows-Mobile Windows Mobile UI. If this leaked picture really is the Shadow II, then T-Mobile is continuing on the same path of loading a proprietary UI on top of the standard WM facade. There's not much else we can tell from this, but we do see that it has MyFaves and HotSpot@Home compatibility. Is this still made by HTC? Probably, unless T-Mobile defected to i-Mate or something. If you're looking for a HotSpot@Home phone in the near future, you might want to wait to see how this one plays out. [Tmonews]

T-Mobile Gets BlackBerry 8120 With Wi-Fi and Hotspot@Home

Jason Chen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Who knew my son would grow up to not only be an international superstar, but the president of a cellular company? And what a nice company it is, getting this fancy Blackberry 8120 with Wi-Fi. It's already been on AT&T, but AT&T don't have no Hotspot@Home calling support for Voice over IP. Makes a momma proud.

· Wi-Fi support for both voice and data
· Updated visual interface with new font rendering technology and graphic enhancements
· Advanced media player with full-screen video playback, stereo Bluetooth® support and 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
· Enhanced SureType keyboard system with word completion, spell check and easier editing of misspelled words.
· 2-megapixel camera with video recorder
· An external microSD/SDHC memory card slot
· Support for High Speed USB for data transfers up to 10 MB/s.

[Crunchgear]

T-Mobile Cuts HotSpot @Home Subscription to $10 a Month, But You Have to Ask For It

matt buchanan — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:10:23 EST

Just after getting the boot from 'Bucks, T-Mobile is trying pump some new life into their freshly amputated Wi-Fi services. They've chopped the price down to 10 bucks a month (from $20), retroactive to Feb. 6. But you have to ask for the new, cheaper price. Way to bury that selling point!

Also sort of bizarre, they've renamed the service "T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Talk Forever Mobile". We kinda get why they want "forever" in the name, but now it just takes that long to say the whole thing and sounds like a bad Asian OEM product. [MocoNews]

T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home is Like an Awkward, Pimply Teen that Can't Score

Sean Fallon — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:40:48 EST

Much like an awkward teen, T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home is enduring some growing pains. Over the last several weeks, users have experienced frequent dropped calls, poor voice quality, or even complete lack of service. Apparently, the recent flooding at T-Mobile's main data center in Bothell, WA is at the root of the problem, but despite making adjustments, the situation with downtime persists. There is still no telling when things will be fully corrected —maybe after puberty when T-Mobile finds an outlet for its raging chubby. [Boy Genius]

Samsung Katalyst Slider Hits T-Mobile Hotspot@Home

Wilson Rothman — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:26:29 EST

T-Mobile just introduced another phone for its Hotspot@Home Wi-Fi calling service, the Samsung Katalyst. The slider phone basics include a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player, microSD slot (cards up to 2GB only) and stereo Bluetooth. Also called the t739, the phone will sell for $80 after rebate and contract renewal, and will be Samsung's second to run on the @Home service. Jump to see a better shot of the Katalyst, featuring a lady who's way too happy being stuck under glass like one of Krypton's most heinous criminals. [T-Mobile]

T-Mobile's Hotspot@Home Reviewed (Verdict: Great Call Quality, Glitchy Handoffs)

Jason Chen — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 18:00:37 EDT

Wireless Info took the T-Mobile Hotspot@Home Wi-Fi + Cellular service into their own Batcave (similar to ours when we played with it) and subjected it to all sorts of tests. The result? Equally good sound quality on both the cell network and Wi-Fi, but a slightly glitchy handoff when going from Wi-Fi to cell (cell to Wi-Fi is fine). It's nothing to really worry about as long as you're not going in and out of range all the time, so if you're one of those poor dudes who can't get a signal to save your life, this could be the plan for you. [Wireless Info]

T-Mobile Introduces HotSpot @Home

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:01:00 EDT

The news is that T-Mobile is rolling out a three-tiered HotSpot @Home strategy:
• First, there's a pair of $49.99 phones, the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086, that can jump from the cellular GSM network to the Wi-Fi network in your home or Starbucks then back again.
• Next, T-Mobile is giving anyone who signs up a free D-Link or Linksys router that can be a standalone wireless hub for your home, or an add-on to your network that makes Wi-Fi calling more reliable and less of a drain on the phone's battery.
• Finally, it's $10 per month extra for the service, unlimited calls originating from a Wi-Fi hotspot, even if you walk out the door and the call is handed off to the cellular network.

I say this is T-Mobile's long delayed attempt to make good on its Wi-Fi overzeal. I know for a fact that this is something they have been trying to pull off for years, and that the handoff on a cheap little phone is more of a trick than the handoff on a smartphone, not that that's super easy. But three or four years is a long time to wait just to hear that I can buy a special phone to save cash when I'm at home or in a Starbucks, especially when T-Mobile's regular rates are noticeably lower than the heftier competition.

A dear colleague of mine thinks it's a "loser's play," the last chance that the network with no high-speed data service (and no iPhone for its EDGE network) has to get attention. Either way, it's a hell of a week to try and sell it. What it really needs is a test, and that hasn't happened yet, at least not here at the Giz. Stay tuned, and we'll let you know how it feels. For now, check out the press release:

T-Mobile Introduces Unlimited Calling Over Wi-Fi with the National Launch of T-Mobile HotSpot @Home
Consumers Get Great Coverage Plus Unlimited Nationwide Calling From Home with a New Service that Supports Calls Over Both Wi-Fi and T-Mobile's Robust Wireless Network

BELLEVUE, Wash. - June 27, 2007 - T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announces the national launch of T-Mobile HotSpot@Home, a ground-breaking new wireless service designed to provide people with one phone for all of their home and mobile calling needs.

T-Mobile HotSpot @Home helps people stay connected with those who matter most by combining the power of Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) and T-Mobile's nationwide voice and data network While at home, customers can enjoy great mobile coverage and unlimited domestic calling over Wi-Fi; while mobile, customers also can get the same benefits at all of the nearly 8,500 T-Mobile® HotSpotSM locations across the country.1 In addition, unlike VoIP calling, when T-Mobile HotSpot @Home customers leave home or exit a T-Mobile HotSpot, their calls will seamlessly transfer onto T-Mobile's GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network, giving people the freedom to continue their important conversations uninterrupted as they go about their day. Calls also transfer from T-Mobile's network onto Wi-Fi.

Key components of the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service include new mobile phones designed to seamlessly connect the user to a home Wi-Fi connection or T-Mobile HotSpot. T-Mobile today is introducing two HotSpot-enabled phones - the Samsung t409 and the Nokia 6086 - providing consumers with a choice of style and features. Each phone currently retails for $49.99 with a two-year contract on a qualifying rate plan.

T-Mobile also has partnered with leading router manufacturers D-Link and Linksys for Wi-Fi routers optimized for a first-rate calling experience with the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service. These select routers are designed for simple set-up and enhanced battery life for the handset, as well as ensuring voice calls are carried with the utmost call quality. These routers also have commonly available data features found on standard routers, and work with customers' existing broadband connection. Consumers can choose which router to use with the service; each is currently offered at no charge with the HotSpot @Home service via mail-in rebate.

For a limited time, to kick-off the launch of T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, the service can be added to any qualifying T-Mobile voice plan for only $9.99 per month for a single line, and $19.99 per month for up to five lines on a FamilyTime plan. 2 This means five family members each can have unlimited calling from home over Wi-Fi for one low price, when the service is added to a qualifying FamilyTime plan.

Calling Trends
Today, more people are choosing the simplicity of having just one phone. Americans are increasingly dropping their traditional landline phone service and switching instead to mobile phone use. According to Gartner, over ten percent of respondents to a survey indicated they used their mobile phone as their only phone — a trend that's even more pronounced among people aged 18-34, where almost 30 percent uses their mobile phone as their only phone3.

"We see a clear trend towards mobile phones displacing landline phones especially with younger consumers," said Tole Hart, an analyst at Gartner Group. "The most common barriers to cutting the cord to date have been the reliability of their mobile phone in the home and the cost of buying additional minutes."

T-Mobile HotSpot @Home addresses each of the most common concerns consumers express when using their mobile phone as their only phone:

* Cost of purchasing more plan minutes - For some, upgrading to a voice plan that provides enough minutes for all their calling needs can be cost prohibitive. T-Mobile HotSpot @Home solves this by providing unlimited local and long distance calls nationwide, day or night, when originating their calls from their home Wi-Fi network, which means no 'burning' wireless minutes from home and no additional charges for nationwide long distance.
* In-home service reliability - According to Gartner, 27 percent of all wireless minutes are used inside the home4. However, many cell phone users from various wireless providers report call quality issues as a result of inadequate in-home coverage4. HotSpot @Home addresses this by leveraging a Wi-Fi connection to provide great mobile phone coverage throughout users' homes.

Beginning today, customers can purchase T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service at T-Mobile retail stores nationwide and online at www.t-mobile.com. For more information on T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, visit www.theonlyphoneyouneed.com or www.t-mobile.com. For more information on T-Mobile HotSpot service, including a list of the nearly 8,500 active U.S. locations that includes leading retail outlets, hotels and airports, visit .