Tech Digest

Bush launches TR2015WIFI internet radio

The more we get, the more we want. I used to be excited about getting 6music in the living room via my DAB radio, but now I'm not content unless I can hear Mr Finewine in New York every week. Yes, the internet radio bug has bitten - and with thousands of stations at my fingertips, UK-only radio will never be enough. If you want to see hear what's out there, a good starting point could be the Bush TR2015WIFI internet radio.

Obviously, you'll need a network for your radio to latch onto. If you have that, switch on the radio and have the pick of 2500 stations, including all your British favourites. Only 10 presets, but searching for stations is half the fun. As well as radio, it can also stream music from your PC.

Available now, with a price of around £120.

Bush website

Torian Infusion pocket internet radio nears UK launch

We've covered the Infusion pocket internet radio from Australian firm Torian on numerous occasions in the past, most recently, at this year's CES. However, we've not had details of a possible UK launch - until now.

It's now set to launch in the UK in the first quarter of 2007 (once distribution deals are finalised), with a price tag of around £130. What you get for your money is a pocket-sized internet radio that uses Wi-Fi to give you access to the thousands of stations out there. There's 16 station presets, a blue LCD backlit screen, FM radio (if you're not in a hot spot), MP3 player and storage via SD/MMC card (MP3, RealAudio, AAC, OGG.), time shift recording and connectivity via USB.

Battery life is around 5 hours for net radio, 8 hours for MP3 playback. We'll let you know when you can get your hands on one when the exact date is announced.

Torian website

Nokia propose new mobile wireless standard to rival Buetooth

Nokia are proposing to fast-track a new wireless standard for mobile devices and gadgets that's ten times more energy-efficient than Bluetooth. Called Wibree (no clue as to pronunciation yet), it has been in development for 5 years and Nokia now want to standardise it and roll it out to other manufacturers.

"Our aim is to establish an industry standard faster than ever before by offering an inter-operable solution that can be commercialised and incorporated into products as quickly as possible," said Bob Iannucci of Nokia Research.

The key advantages of Wibree over Bluetooth seem to be the lower power consumption and smaller chip. Data transfer rates are slower, at around 1Mbps, but this may not be an issue in some of the smaller applications Nokia are proposing the technology is used in, such as intelligent watches, health monitors and sport sensors.

Bluetooth has become a worldwide standard particularly in mobile devices, and analysts wonder if this new system can reach the same status. Do we have enough wireless standards already? Nokia seem to think not. It will also be interesting to see if Wibree stays a proprietary format or is released to be an open standard, as Ericsson did with Bluetooth in the early 1990s.

(Via BBC News)

Pipex adds wireless connectivity to Fulham FC

Fulham's FC's ground, Craven Cottage, is set to turn wireless after the club agreed a deal with Pipex to add 15 wireless access points in the stadium.

Wireless connectivity allows Fulham to offer fans a new ticketing system that provides an RF (radio-frequency) electronic card for all season tickets - so no more paper tickets. It also means stewards can use PDAs to gain to get seat information and press/photographers have network access during and after the game.

All very interesting - but it'll be even more interesting to find out if fans can access it. After all, 90 minutes browsing the net on a smartphone could well be better than watching what's on the pitch.

Pipex website

We want more Wi-Fi claims T-Mobile/You Gov survey

Not content with having wireless access in the home, many of us want Wi-Fi access on the move - whether we're out working or bathing on the beach, according to a new survey by You Gov, in association with T-Mobile.

When those surveyed were asked where they would like more public Wi-Fi HotSpots, more than half wanted access Wi-Fi services on trains, with 37% calling for access at shopping centres. Nearly a third of respondents would like Wi-Fi access in parks, whilst over a quarter want access on the tube. Around 13% of respondents would also like to be able to surf the net whilst soaking up the sun at the beach. Hotels are apparently the most popular choice of location for accessing Wi-Fi services (42%), with cafes second most popular (32%) and airports third (29%). And it's on the increase, with 45% using Wi-Fi for the first time in the last year.

Derek Williamson, Head of Business Marketing, T-Mobile UK says, "The research also clearly shows that such services need not be solely the domain of business. There is clear demand for personal use, there are clear examples of where people want to access such services, and here at T-Mobile we will continue to look at addressing these demands."

The research was commissioned by T-Mobile UK and undertaken by YouGov PLC. It was based on a study of 253 Wi-Fi users in the UK. The research was carried out online between 16th - 23rd August 2006.

T-Mobile website

Virgin Trains will launch West Coast Mainline wi-fi in 2007

Trials of wi-fi Internet access aboard trains have already happened, and now Virgin Trains has announced its preferred bidder for rolling out Wi-fi internet services along the West Coast Mainline sometime in 2007.

It will enable commuters, assuming they pay enough for the privilege, to have uninterrupted access to the Internet, thanks to a series of trackside wireless base stations located every few miles and promising a continuous, seamless connection. Even tunnels aren't a problem with this technology, based on the same WiMax system that's starting to link up whole towns like Milton Keynes.

It seems to be aimed mainly at business customers, and it's not clear at present how much it will cost or whether it's pay-as-you-go or subscription based.

It will be interesting to see how this competes on price and quality with the increasing use of mobile phones and mobile data cards used to connect to the net whilst on the move. Will it take more than a few tunnels to sway the decision? After all, if you've already got a mobile Internet contract on your phone, why pay extra for Virgin's service?

New iMacs: Is Apple using draft 802.11n wireless technology already?

There are some interesting discussions around the Web at the moment which suggest that Apple may already be adopting the draft 802.11n wireless specification in its latest line of Apple iMac computers.

We've already reported the coming "iTV" from Apple next year, and speculated that it will contain the 802.11n next generation wireless specification, but it could be that the latest iMacs are setting the trend.

Reports suggest that when the iMac is booted up into a pre-release version of Vista, the wireless card is reported as being a "Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter" This is possibly the same solution Dell and Acer were reported to be installing on their notebooks back in July.

It's all a little shady at present, based on supposedly authentic screenshots posted on a forum, but it's not entirely implausible either. I'm not about to open up my iMac and take a look at the card that OS X still registers as an Airport Extreme card, and (even if I had access to it) I'm certainly not going to boot up a pre-release Windows Vista on my machine to prove it. However, it could fit well with Apple's living room plans.

Apple aficionados are saying that, whilst Steve Jobs didn't give any details away, the forthcoming iTV will utilise the high-speed 802.11n so as to make wireless streaming of high-def movies a possibility. What better way to keep the Apple branding going than to say that the latest iMacs can already stream that 802.11n.

That would also minimise the risk of the pre-802.11n being superseded and incompatible with the final version affecting Apple's plans, though of course they'd reach a wider audience if more PCs with the standard 802.11n wireless technology could get on board. The trouble is, though, that 802.11n keeps being delayed, and the iTV will surely be released before the standard is ratified. Whether the cards can then have their firmware upgraded is another matter. Apple could also boast that their iTV technology will work seamlessly with other vendors 'wireless home' offerings.

Whatever the situation, having 802.11n wi-fi in the new iMacs is fairly useless at present. If the cards are present, it'll probably show up in the next release of Mac OS X, also due for release early next year. It could prove to be an exciting start to 2007 for Apple fans.

What do you think?

Yay or Nay: Apple "iTV"

Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's plans for superiority over your living room TV by telling us that "iTV" (work in progress on the name) will be available from early next year.

Yay or Nay to the iTV?

Is iTV, coupled wirelessly with a decent desktop computer running iTunes, going to be a hit in the living room? Is this Apple innovation or too little too late? Will Apple be able to get the killer content needed for a system like this to work well, or will it turn out to be a niche system?

Share your thoughts below.

BBC test out Norwich's new free wi-fi

The BBC tested out Norwich's new free wi-fi service yesterday and have some pictures to prove that they actually managed to get some work done on it.

"Leaving the confines of the office, the team set up camp for the day at the Forum, a sparkling community building right next to St Peter Mancroft church in the heart of Norwich."

See the pics here.

IFA 2006: Daewoo plan for wireless high-def TV

A whole host of manufacturers have recently been teaming up with MetaLink, a company that specialise in wireless media streaming technology based on the draft 802.11n specification - the next generation, higher-bandwidth wi-fi that should have sufficient capacity to stream multiple HDTV around the home.

The latest to partner is Daewoo, as announced at IFA 2006 today. It's next-generation set-top box (STB) will allow for just that - multi-streaming video around the home.

There's not a huge amount of detail on Daewoo's next-gen equipment yet, but other manufacturers to do the same thing include Philips and LG, so it's something that is sure to gain ground as both HD and wireless comms move forward over the next few years.

I've written about the concern over standards compliance - but if things continue like this we may just end up with a de facto standard with everyone using MetaLink WLAN technology to power their connected homes and worlds (oops sorry that's a Philips-ism). What I'm wary of is seeing a standard turn into a manufacturer tie-in (Microsoft anyone?) - hopefully that won't happen despite 802.11n not due to be officially ratified until at least mid-2007.

MetaLink do seem to be the real winners here so far, but in an consumer electronics world currently dominated by cables, a decent wireless solution that's as good as wired is a very welcome prospect.

Daewoo UK website
802.11 specifications explained at Wikipedia

IFA 2006: Commodore Gravel - downloadable entertainment on the move or in the home

I mentioned earlier in the week that the first viewing of the new Commodore (the Mpet II mp3 player), but the new Gravel entertainment system seems altogether more in line with the Commodore name.

Commodore's latest baby is Commodore World and the Gravel entertainment systems. The Commodore World website promises "a large variety of entertainment content - music, videos, games, favorite radio and TV programs", accessed on demand via the Gravel devices. As yet, the site is unavailable to view, so we can't confirm what exactly is on offer.

What we can see are the Gravel devices. The Commodore Gravel In Pocket is a pocket-sized multimedia device with built-in Wi-Fi. It supports all major file formats, including MP4, MPEG, DivX, Xvid, WMV, streaming WMV, JPEG, BMP, GIF, along with MP3, WMA, WAVE music files. There's 1GB or 2GB internal flash memory, expandable by SD card and comes with the claims that it's world-first, high-quality flash video device that plays full screen, full motion (24 fps) on a 2.8-inch TFT screen.

The Commodore Gravel In Home is a home entertainment centre which provides access to Video On Demand, Replay TV and streaming music services directly to your TV. It comes with an 80GB drive, with all services accessed via the single jog remote control.

Both sound interesting - and both are up against some pretty strong competition in both the mobile and home-based entertainment market. We'll porbably find out how well the systems will do once we see the downloadable content - and the prices charge for hardware and downloads.

Commodore website

Norwich wireless free-for-some

Norwich is now three weeks into a £1.1m, 18-month pilot covering three sectors of the downtown with free wireless. Kurt Frary, the project manager, says, "We had 1,800 connections in the first week, more than 2,500 in the second and 3,000 in the third. It's been glitch free so far - we have had very few technical problems." Unsurprisingly, early figures show a lot of action around the University of East Anglia, the downtown college and the central library. Frary also warns people to use their standard-sized brains about applying standard anti-virus techniques. [GT]

Norwich pioneers free city wi-fi

Related stories: Impressive UK WiMax trials continue | City of London Square Mile to get complete Wi-fi coverage by end of year | Norwich gets UK's largest free wireless network

Impressive UK WiMax trials continue

We reported on Friday that Milton Keynes is set to be the UK's first WiMax-covered city thanks to Pipex Wireless.

Well, PW have been busy on the latest phase of their WiMax trials in Stratford-upon-Avon, and have achieved some quite impressive connection speeds.

Using both indoor and outdoor antennae powered by Intel Roesdale chipsets, speeds similar to broadband were achieved.

Indoors, a 2Mbps up and downstream speed was achieved, at 1.2km from the base station without direct line of sight.

An external antenna saw performance speeds of 10Mbps downstream and 9Mbps upstream at 1.2km from the base station.

At 6km, an external antenna achieved 6Mbps down and 4Mbps up, which is pretty impressive.

(Via Computer Weekly)

Eye-fi SD cards - storage cards with added Wi-Fi

File this one under useful. There have been a couple of cameras with Wi-Fi capability, but the Eye-fi card promises to bring the functionality to all digital cameras.

It's useful because it means you should be able to send photos to yourself, your friends or an online gallery (like Flickr) simply by accessing a W-Fi hotspot and without the need for a PC. The Eye-fi is essentially an SD card featuring a tiny wireless transmitter - plug it in and you've got a wireless camera. The cards also will be able to hold up to 1GB of photos. It's all possible through miniaturisation - because the size of chips used to store data is shrinking, there's enough space to feature the transmitter.

The cards are approaching the final stages of development, with public beta testing due to start in autumn. When we find out more, we'll let you know.

Eye-fi website

Via Sci-Fi Tech

More Wi-Fi:
Sony Mylo - the Skype and Wi-Fi communicator
Wi-Fi detecting pen

Milton Keynes soon to get WiMax - first in UK?

A tree... a flower... a concrete cow... a... a WiMax network.

Milton Keynes is set to be the first UK city to get a high-speed WiMax network according to telecoms firm Pipex.

Ironically, the town that's famed for cheesy 80s adverts about how wonderful new towns in the countryside are, and whose planners scrimped on the communications network, using aluminium instead of copper wiring, could soon be the recipient of one of the most cutting-edge wireless communications networks in Britain.

WiMax is similar but more powerful to wi-fi technology - both operate using radio frequencies but WiMax can operate over miles rather than metres. It's seen as a real alternative to 3G networks.

MK won't get WiMax in one go, but it will be gradually rolled out across the city. Pipex is due to make an official announcement in a month's time.

Longer term plans include a WiMax roll out to 8 UK cities by 2008, led by networks in London and Manchester.

City of London Square Mile to get complete Wi-fi coverage by end of year

The City of London Corporation is to set up almost complete Wi-fi mesh network coverage within the Square Mile by the end of this year, by installing transmitters in street furniture.

Opting for a mesh network means that it's easier to offer continuous Wi-fi coverage rather than using individual unlinked hotspots, where connections would have to be dropped and reconnected.

It's being aimed primarily at businesses for whom the Corporation says uninterrupted network access could add a lot of value - for example in maintaining VoIP calls between locations.

Encryption is using the newer WPA data encryption standard.

No word on what it will cost to use. The Corporation claims that this is the first network of its kind in the world.

The City of Norwich is already establishing what sounds like a very similar scheme.

Sony Mylo - the Skype and Wi-Fi communicator

Sony aims to take advantage of the increasing Wi-Fi world with the introduction of Mylo - a handheld device that offers  wireless networking, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 2.4-inch, 320 x 240 colour display and "straight from the box" GoogleTalk, Yahoo! Messenger and Skype.

The gadget measures 12.3 x 6.3 x 2.4cm and weighs 150g. As well as communicating, Mylo also plays music in WMA, WMA DRM, ATRAC 3 and MP3 format, video via MPEG 4 movies and games, with content stored within Mylo's 1GB of on-board Flash memory or on Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. Web browsing is via Opera, with no specific email client. The rechargeable battery promises up to 45 hours' music playback time. This drops considerably depending on your use of the device - in reality, it's nearer seven hours for web browsing and 3.5 hours if you're running Skype.

A microphone/earphones set comes bundled with the device, which will cost around $350 in the US. Additional running costs will just be the cost of your Wi-Fi connection. As yet there's no comfirmation of a UK price or release date.

Sony website

More Sony:
Review: Sony Ericsson K510i
Sony's PlayStation Spot service goes live

Via The Register

Norwich gets UK's largest free wireless network

The lucky residents of Norwich and the surrounding area have just gained access to Britain's largest free wi-fi network.

Originally designed to provide free broadband to local businesses, it's since been extended to include council employees and the general public, and went fully live today.

The network covers a 4km radius from County Hall, as well as providing for local universities, hospitals and business parks.

The urban areas are fully meshed, with transmitters on lampposts that provide wi-fi access and communicate to one another and the central server. In the middle - on top of County Hall - is a "pre WiMax" 5.8GHz connection. In more rural areas, hotspots of wi-fi access have been set up.

Apparently it's not intended to operate in competition with private telecoms companies. It's an outside network that may or may not work in homes - and in any case individuals will be capped at 256Kbps speed, not bad for free but hardly lightning fast.

This is great news for Norfolk - not only the city of Norwich but rural areas where getting broadband can often be difficult.

Read

Ofcom proposes increased wi-fi power to aid rural broadband

Ofcom is proposing an increase to the power of Wi-Fi transmitters in order to help give those in rural areas access to broadband.

The cost of installing any kind of broadband in more remote areas is often prohibitive, so a move to pump out more power over wi-fi transmitters could be the answer.

Hotspots might be the current trend in city areas - where the main choice is how broadband is delivered, not whether it can be delivered at all - but they tend to work fine at current power output levels.

Up to 3% of the British population live in areas that can't get high-speed Internet access. The most likely solution is to up the power on the upper third of the 2.4GHz frequency to 10W (the MoD use the bottom two thirds of the range).

Though some transmitters can get a software upgrade to increase their power output, most would need to be replaced.

Of course, even if this happens, the choice of broadband providers for rural areas won't be as wide as for those in larger towns, but at least it will be a connection.

Wi-Fi detecting pen

Small W-Fi detection devices aren't new (check out this keyring Wi-Fi seeker), but I think this is the first time I've seen an everyday item with  a Wi-Fi detector built-in, as is the case with this Wi-Fi detecting pen, spotted by our colleagues over at Shiny Shiny.

Press the button on the barrel, and coloured LEDs will indicate the strength of the Wi-Fi signal in the area. If the lights fail to show, you can use the pen with your trusty notepad and type it up later.

It's available now at an affordable $19 (that's around £10). Find out more about this over at Shiny Shiny.

HP's Memory Spot puts a computer on a grain of rice

Sometime in the next two to five years, HP plans to sticker the market with the next incarnation of RFID: the Memory Spot. The size of your average nail paring but infinitely more useful, the Memory Spot holds megabytes of data, and can be wirelessly interacted with. The excellent example they give is a Medicalert style bracelet which contains a complete history of your medical background plus allergy warnings, or a prescription bottle confirming that the drug is indeed meant for you and what you should do with it. Unlike RFIDs, the scan range on Memory Spots is less than a centimeter (half an inch for you old-schoolers) so it's not like someone can wander around with a scanner picking up prescription refills. For now. [GT]

Story page: Memory Spot

RFID stories: Robot Wars | Seiko Epson's Flying Robot

Zyxel P-660HW: ADSL2+ router/modem on a budget

Looking for a home networking solution on a budget that's better than what your ISP provided when you signed up for broadband? If so, the Zyxel P-660HW could be for you.

It's the entry-level offering in a new range of products from Zyxel and at just £47.99 including VAT it's definitely a low-cost networking solution for the home or small office.

The price includes a USB wireless adapter, and this solution can also be used with the PL100 PowerLine Ethernet adapters for where signal strength is weaker.

Amongst the features that you expect to find on much more expensive products are a 4-port Ethernet hub, Media Bandwidth Management - allowing administrators to alter Quality of Service (QoS) settings to cater for critical network traffic like video and audio streaming - Firewall Security, IP Management, and Roaming Support.

As is usually the way, the spec sheet is littered with acronyms and technical details, but I hope to get my hands on one in the next few days, so you'll either get a report from me on how good it is, or I'll be sipping cappuccino from the local Internet café having knackered my Internet connection!

Anyone for Dynamic DNS?

Dell and Acer announce pre-standard 802.11n wireless notebook cards

Dell and Acer have both announced that they are making wireless cards available for their notebook PCs, based on the pre-standard 802.11n wi-fi specification.

802.11n provides vastly superior speeds and reliability over existing wireless 802.11 protocols.

It's all looking a little bit non-standard, a little bit 'vendor tie in'. Though it's based on Draft 1.0 of the specification, that draft hasn't been finalised or ratified. That also means that the Wi-Fi Alliance won't perform interoperability tests until the spec is confirmed.

Dell and Acer have specified different maximum data transfer rates for their cards: Dell say 270Mbps, Acer 300Mbps. Those are optimum conditions, in any case, which in part rely on a compatible base station.

Dell will be using a base station based on Broadcom's Intensi-Fi chipset, according to a statement by Broadcom, and the Wireless 1500 card can be used with all XPS and Inspiron notebooks. It's currently unclear what Acer will be using in its new Ferrari 1000 notebook.

It's not definite that there'll be incompatibility between these and other pre-standard systems, but that won't be officially known until the actual first spec for 802.11n becomes official, and that's not due to happen until late 2007.

Advanced wireless communications system successfully used on London Underground

Good communication is key in an emergency situation, but existing systems on some of our transport networks is not as good as it could be.

Anvil Technologies (Canada) and Primetech (UK) have developed the RECoN system which tests on the London Underground have proved can be deployed quickly and used efficiently.

In the demonstration, Voice Over IP (VoIP), live video and data was transmitted from Aldwych station's platform level to the surface, and via satellite over the Internet. It was also shown that 'first responders' using different, normally incompatible, systems could successfully communicate with one another.

"We believe that RECoN(TM) is a superb solution," said Henry Walker, Managing Director of Primetech. "The underlying technology is already in use with various agencies and armed forces globally. It is easy to use, lightweight, deploys in minutes, is highly secure and can be carried by a person anywhere, anytime. Running off batteries, generators or solar panels, it is not dependent on local power supply."

"RECoN(TM) provides more than just voice communication. Incident Commanders will benefit significantly from the enhanced situational awareness, that is, the ability to view live data streamed from an incident. They will also be able to retrieve critical or sensor data."

RECoN uses the underlying Rajant BreadCrumb auto-meshing network - basically a system that's very good at getting a variety of equipment to talk to each other.

This sounds like a superb mobile solution to the problems associated with coordinating rescue services in difficult and dangerous environments.

Rock offers free Wi-Fi access with The Cloud

We've covered The Cloud previously - it's a Wi-Fi service based around several "hotzones" in the UK (usually populous city centres). And if you pick up a Rock PC, you can try for the service a month absolutely free.

From today (14th July), every Rock notebook purchased before 14th October will include a voucher in the box giving customers 30 days full access to all of The Cloud's 7,000 UK Wi-Fi hotspots. Previously a pay-as-you-go service charging £5 per hour's use, The Cloud recently introduced Ultra Wi-Fi, a flat rate package that cost £11.99 per month for unlimited usage, subject to a 12 month contract.

City centre hotzones are currently available in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Islington. For news of new zones, visit The Cloud website.

More on Rock PCs

More Rock PCs:
Rock introduces Pegasus 660 and Quaddra TX2 gaming notebooks
Rock's Dungeons and Dragons notebook PC

Watch ROK TV on your mobile without data charges using Wi-Fi

I'm sure you're now aware of ROK. They've been offering TV to GPRS/EDGE mobiles for months now and more recently extended their coverage to a number of Windows-powered devices. We usually end our features on ROK's pricing with something like "...on top of that, you'll also have to pay your provider data charges too." But that might not be the caee anymore, with the news that you can now watch ROK TV via Wi-Fi on your Windows device.

Yes, instead of paying your operate the data charges you incur whilst watching ROK TV, you can now just pay your subscription (£9.99 per month for all channels or 99p per month for each one you choose) and watch live and on-demand mobile TV over Wi-Fi without worrying about the mounting data cost. Unless you're on a pay-as-you-go Wi-Fi connection obviously.

For more details on ROK, check out our recent feature on the service or take check the ROK website to find out if your phone or device is compatible with the service.

ROK TV website

More ROK:
ROK TV comes to Sony mobiles
ROK extends coverage to Microsoft handsets

Cheap Wi-Fi router - if you share your connection

Spanish company Fon is aiming to create a Wi-Fi commune around the world, offering a Wi-Fi router for just £2.75 if you're prepared to share your connection outside your home to create a streetwide and eventually global public hotspot.

The company, which has financial backing from Google and Skype, is aiming to have 50,000 working hotspots worldwide by September, 150,000 by year-end and one million hotspots by the end of 2007. To date, 54,000 people worldwide have signed up to become "foneros," up from 3,000 in February, according to the company.

Users install software on their home PCs which then lets other people access their wi-fi network safely - if they can pick up the signals from outside their homes. In exchange for receiving a router, users must agree to share their connections with other Fon users for 12 months.

There are problems with creating such a network - firstly, to make it work, the company will need a huge uptake of the devices. In addition, ISPs and other broadband carriers are unwilling to allow a private conection to be used publicy. But it's certainly an interesting way to create a Wi-Fi network, especially away from the city centres.

Fon website

Via BBC

More Wi-Fi:
Keyring Wi-fi seeker
The Cloud offers flat-fee Wi-Fi

Keyring Wi-fi seeker

Gone are the days of novelty keyrings - these days everything needs to earn its keep with some kind of practical use. And if you're out and about with your laptop, what could be more useful than a device that locates a Wi-Fi hotspot?

The Wi-Fi Seeker is a pocket-sized device for seeking out a wireless connection, which can also be used as a keyring. Using it is as simple as switching it on. If there's a signal in your vicinity, it will register on the Seeker, the signal's strength indicated by four red LEDs - 1 is a weak signal, 4 is a strong signal. It operates with a radius of 300ft.

You can pick up the Wi-fi seeker now, priced around the £20 mark.

Find out more

More Wi-Fi:
Try GNER's Wi-Fi on the train for free
The Cloud offers flat-fee Wi-Fi

Try GNER's WiFi on the train for free

GNER reckons that all its East Coast trains will be equipped for WiFi by August this year, so to celebrate, it's offering the service free of charge this summer.

As an attempt to get punters used to using it, from Monday 5th June to Monday 31st July, GNER is giving Standard Class passengers the chance to trial the service with a one-off unlimited 24-hour session free of charge. The standard rate will be £9.95. If you travel first class, it's not an issue, as WiFi access comes free for those in the better seats. To use it, you just have to launch your web browser which will automatically detect the GNER landing page. After that, just follow the instructions for your freebie.

The company is also running a competition for passengers to win £1,000 worth of PCWorld vouchers in a prize draw - so if you've got a WiFi enabled PC, you might be able to win one!

Find out more about the service

More WiFi:
The Cloud offers flat-fee WiFi
Free wireless access on the coach

LINDY’s Wi-Fi Finder and spy detector

With laptops steadily becoming a holiday essential and Wi-Fi hotspots popping up everywhere, keeping up to date with things like Tech Digest is now pretty easy. One thing can still be a bit of problem, is tracking down those Wi-Fi hotspots and, as I once discovered, wandering round with an open laptop to look for a signal is fraught with danger.

Luckily there are plenty of Wi-Fi detectors available and the prices are dropping fast. LINDY has released this Wi-Fi Finder which picks up any 802.11b/g and Bluetooth networks, showing their strength on a simple red yellow and green indicator. It has a range of 50m and would probably also fit quite nicely on a keyring.

An amusing feature and one that I expect you hope never to have to use, is the Spy detector. A switch basically just changes the scanning frequency on to one commonly used by wireless cameras. Then you can tell if some shadowy, international organisation is watching your every move.

The Wi-Fi finder is available now for £19.99 which compares pretty reasonably with other similar products out there.

Find out more

More Spying:
3's Pupillo surveillance camera
Spy camcorder clock

D-Link’s wireless 3G router

Here’s an idea that could rack up a phone bill large enough to cripple a small nation quicker than you can say ‘data fee’. D-Link has come up with a way to let users share a 3G wireless internet connection through an ordinary 802.11g wireless connection using a special router.

The D-Link Wireless 3G Mobile Router comes with a built in Cardbus slot into which you insert your 3G notebook adaptor and away you go. The router also has four 10/100 Ethernet ports and two USB ports so that you can rig up an ordinary mobile phone to act as the modem instead.

Obviously this router is aimed squarely at the more serious users of wireless broadband services. It would also be very nice if someone saw fit to rig a few of these up on public transport. However, unless 3G connectivity spreads itself a little wider, this albeit clever idea is probably only going to have limited potential at the moment because it seems quite unlikely you’ll find many places with no access to ordinary broadband and somehow yet covered by 3G.

This innovative gadget doesn’t have a price or release date yet but is currently on show at The Wireless Event currently taking place in London’s Olympia.

More 3G:
Averatec unveils 3G UMPC
WiMAX worries for UK 3G operators

Wi-Fi usage on the rise

Results from a study by market research company GfK has found that Wi-Fi usage is on the rise, with home users forming the majority of customers. Apparently some 380,000 wireless routers were sold in the first quarter of this year alone and that figure is expected to rise steadily. Those airwaves might be getting pretty crowded soon.

Sales will probably be helped along by the arrival of draft-n standard wireless networking and the ever increasing number of VoIP handsets making better use of the hotspots. Yesterday we reported that Buffalo has joined the ranks of Draft-n supporters, alongside Netgear and D-Link (and probably others) but we haven’t seen any many products that can take full advantage of the increased data transfer rates yet – more things like this would be good though.

Interestingly, business users heavily prefer mobile wireless technology such as 3G cards. I assume that’s because they can happily pass on those monumental data charges to some faceless corporation.

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Buffalo joins the draft-n Wi-Fi generation

We’ve see a fair few interesting goodies from Buffalo in the past but mostly to do with memory solutions. Buffalo has already had a presence in the wireless networking market and will be continuing that with its first draft-n standard router and accessories. Draft-n refers to the new 802.11n standard of wireless networking which enables data rates up to a whopping 300Mbps and with greater range thanks to MIMO functionality.

Buffalo has reported that it will be releasing these new networking devices in the UK in June and the line up with consist of the AirStation Nfiniti Wireless Router/Access Point, PCI Adapter and CardBus Adapter for laptops.

Buffalo has reported that it will be releasing these new networking devices in the UK in June and the line up with consist of the AirStation Nfiniti Wireless Router/Access Point, PCI Adapter and CardBus Adapter for laptops.

Draft-n standard is pretty exciting for us because the greater transfer rates mean that wireless transmission of high definition signals – perhaps from IPTV – would be made much more possible. The companies we’ve asked about this all seem to be pretty certain that the new standard is paving the way for a lot more wireless transmission of entertainment media about the home and High Definition is sure to play a part in that someday.

The AirStation Nfiniti Wireless Router, Wireless CardBus Adapter and Wireless PCI Adapter will be available from June for aroung £110 for the router, £85 for the CardBus adapter and £85 for the PCI adaptor plus VAT.

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Juniper predicts 1.7m Mobile WiMax subscribers for 2007

A new study from Juniper Research  forecasts that the number of Mobile WiMax subscribers will grow from 1.7 million in 2007 to 21.3 million worldwide in 2012 following the initial release of certified equipment in 2007. However, the report predicts higher growth in developing regions where the technology will leapfrog 3G. Developed regions such as South Korea and Japan are expected to see a reduced adoption rate. A free whitepaper and further details of the study are available at Juniper Research's website.

Other highlights and findings of the report include:
* The global market for Mobile WiMAX equipment including base stations and CPE equipment is estimated to reach $2.53bn by 2012.
* Juniper Research predicts that Mobile WiMAX services will be primarily data driven and that the voice services market will be less than 10% of the total Mobile WiMAX services market in 2012
* North America will be one of the largest markets for Mobile WiMAX voice services and is expected to make up 32% of the total worldwide market in 2012.
* Juniper Research have identified a greater interest amongst OEMs in a dual mode WiMAX - WiFi product rather than a dual mode WiMAX - 3G solution.
* Fixed Internet providers are more comfortable with using Mobile WiMAX as a fixed wireless solution rather than competing with incumbent mobile carriers

Sony's LocationFree TV hits the UK

We mentioned in our coverage of this year's CES that Sony wuld be launching LocationFree TV in the UK. Well, PSP (and notebook) owners rejoice - this month, you'll be able to stream your home TV or DVD recordings straight to your device, no matter where you are in the world. Not to mention all that World Cup coverage you'll have at your fingertips!

With LocationFree, you can watch live TV, playback recorded programmes or set up future recordings from a PC, laptop or best of all, a PSP console. LocationFree uses built-in wireless technology in the home, along with your internet connection if you want to enjoy it outside your own four walls.

So how does it work? Well, the LocationFree Base Station has two connections for AV equipment such as a satellite box and DVD/HDD recorder. It drops into your existing home network or it can establish a wireless link to a PSP, notebook or desktop PC, typically over a 100-foot range. Install the software on your notebook or PC and you've got your living room set-up available all over the house.

That's not all - used with a broadband connection, it’s easy to watch TV and control the other hardware on the network securely from anywhere on earth using "NetAV" - and according to Sony, it's as simple to set up as the connection in the home.   

It's available later this month, though at time of writing, we're still waiting for a confirmed price.

Find out more

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The Cloud offers flat-fee Wi-Fi

We've covered the blanket Wi-Fi coverage offered by The Cloud previously, but never been sure that a £5 per hour charge was going to bite into the mass market. So we're pleased to report that that Wi-Fi service is moving to a subscription-based model later this year, which should the service more appealing.

From July 1st, you can sign up to a new unlimited flat rate package called UltraWiFi for £11.99 month, which is subject to a 12 month subscription. There's also a "pay-as-you-go" version if you don't fancy being tied to the contract. For the same price (£11.99), you can use the service as much as you like - but just for a week.

UltraWiFi will come into being at the same time as The Cloud introduces new city centre hotzones in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Islington.

Find out more

Via The Register

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DS Web Browser due in June

Opera has often differentiated itself by making browsers for more alternitive platforms and the new Nintendo DS browser looks to be no exception. It is due out in Japan in June - no word on a European release yet sadly.

It comes on an ordinary DS card and looks set to cost 3800 Yen (a little less than £20). Obviously it connects using the DS’ built in wireless connection. Opera has made sure the navigation is tailored to the DS interface; you can choose between two modes – fit-to-width and DS mode. Fit-to-width just resizes the page to spread across two screen where as DS mode lets you navigate around an overview on the lower screen whilst the top screen remains at full proportions.

You can also input website addresses using a handwriting recognition tool and the console's stylus. This is in fact already compatible with Japanese and English characters so getting the browser over to the UK shouldn't pose too much of challenge.

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For more of the latest gaming news, head over to our sister-blog Games-Digest.

GNER brings Wi-Fi to all its trains

It seems like the transport companies are finally getting the message that we need to keep in touch and keep working, wherever we are, especially when we're on the move. We told you earlier in the month about National Express offering free Wi-Fi access on some routes, now train operator GNER is extending its trial of Wi-Fi access to all of its East Coast Mainline trains.

GNER began trialling on-board Wi-Fi in December 2003 and has since equipped ten of its Mallard-class trains, which run between London King's Cross and Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The company has now announced an extension of the service, bringing the wireless technology to the rest of the Mallard fleet and to its 13 remaining diesel High Speed Trains by this summer.

The company's system, designed by Swedish net access specialist Icomera, uses line-of-sight satellite links for the main connection, with GPRS and 3G mobile phone links as back up and to provide connectivity when trains are in tunnels and covered stations.

If you travel first class, it's free. The rest of us will be charged between £2.95 and £9.95 for 30-180 minutes' access.

GNER website

Via The Register

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Find free wireless hotspots - for free

There are devices on the market to help you locate your nearest wireless hotspot, but that doesn't mean that the location you find will be free. Enter a new phone-based system that will find you your nearest free hotspot - without even a cost for the call.

The service, run by free-hotspot.com, lets you call from anywhere in Europe and speak to an operator in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish, who will inform you of your nearest free location. Ideal if you're out and about with work on even on holiday with your mobile device.

The number is 00800 28 25 23 26. Calls are free from anywhere in Europe where such calls are permitted. In the UK, there may be a charge for calls made from a mobile phone and from some pay phones.

Find out more

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Free wireless access - on the coach

What lengths would you go to for free wireless access when you're out and about? Would you swap the train for a coach? That's what National Express are hoping after installing Telabria's mSystem mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on coaches between London and Cambridge.

The plus points are obvious - travellers on the National Express's 010 London to Cambridge route will be able to access the internet on the move via their Wi-Fi enabled laptops, PDAs and other handheld devices at no extra cost. The downside? Well, you'll have a struggle opening a laptop and getting some elboow room to work it if you're squeezed onto a single seat!

Each coach on the route will carry Telabria's mSystem MobilAP-3G, a multi-radio system that combines an 802.11b/g access point with 3G data network backhaul, offering net access at speeds of up to 300Kbps wherever there is 3G network coverage. There is the option to charge with the system, but National Express are doubtless hoping the service pays its way via bums on seats.

Via The Register

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The Imp Wi-Fi radio

Wi-Fi radio isn't new, but the technology is still alien to many - even those who have a wireless network in the house. Which is a shame, as the music choice, in comparison to DAB, is so huge. Maybe The Imp can change things.

The Imp is an all-in-one internet radio and media player, compatable with all major streaming formats. New channel listings are uploaded free of charge every twenty-four hours, so the listing of stations is always current. And as long as your network is running, you can listen to any of 2.000+ stations without going near your PC. You can also access your PC's music library and the BBC's "Listen Again" content too - nice touch.

Available in white and silver, The Imp also features an integrated alarm clock and ‘line-out’ for connection to Hi-Fi systems and is available for around £150.

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Wi-Fi struggling to catch on in UK

Have you got a laptop with wireless capability? Do you use it out and about? If so, you're in a very small minority. A survey has discovered that, despite the installation of wireless technology in over 10,000 locations across the UK, users are still wary of using it.

Only 11% of consumers questioned by Toshiba make use of them in hotels, only 7% on trains and just 3% in coffee shops. Around 23% of users with wirelessly equipped notebooks said they didn't use the technology because they don’t want to pay for it with 19% saying security concerns made them think twice. Most worryingly, 19% claimed they simply didn’t know how to use the wireless functions of their notebook.

However, the biggest reason for not making use of Wi-Fi in public has nothing to do with technology - it's simply fear of someone stealing their notebook!

Via Pocket-Lint

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Go Bluetooth with music headphones

Another MacWorld development, this time from Tekkeon, who have unveiled myTalker, the first Bluetooth gateway that lets you use your own music headphones to make and receive mobile calls while listening to an iPod or MP3 player.   
   
myTalker connects between a music player and headphones, then pairs with any Bluetooth phone. Like a Bluetooth headset, calls are heard directly through the music headphones and the user speaks through a microphone built into myTalker. Use myTalker's buttons to adjust volume or use phone features, such as redial or call waiting. A rechargeable lithium polymer battery offers up to five hours of talk time and 120 hours of standby time.

It will hit the US market in February for $74.95. No news on a UK date as yet.

Via Slashphone

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DWL-G730AP Wireless Pocket Router

If you work on the move, the DWL-G730AP wireless pocket router from D-Link is a possible portable wireless solution, delivering 802.11g wireless connectivity with a maximum wireless signal rate of up to 54Mbps - ideal for creating a network for multiple users in hotels or conference rooms for example.

The DWL-G730AP supports multiple operation modes including Access Point (AP) to create a wireless connection, Router mode to share a net connection and Wireless Client mode to connect an existing wireless network. You can easily switch between these modes by using the 3-way configuration switch located at the bottom.

The unit is smaller than the average PDA and comes packed with cables and a power adapter, so convenient for popping in your laptop bag.

You can pick one up now for £44.56 excluding VAT. To find out more visit www.dlink.co.uk.

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Saitek Audio bluetooth headphones

If you want good quality audio, but could do without the wires, it might be worth looking at Saitek's bluetooth headphones.

The wireless kit provides a 10m range without interference, so you can listen to your music with your player safely tucked away in your bag or pocket. A lightweight rechargeable battery offers 8 hours play between charges. The headphones have an integrated volume control and connect with a standard 3.5mm audio jack, allowing easy connection to almost all forms of music - portable players, home hi-fi and your PC or Mac. 

The phones are also lightweight - ideal if you want to take them running or to the gym.

You can buy them now at the usual online shops for around £79.99

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Vonage goes wireless

We told you about this back in May, but now it's become reality. Leading VoIP company Vonage will be launching their Wi-Fi phone in the UK. The device will enable broadband telephone calls over home and office wireless networks.

It is designed for use on open wireless networks, though secured home and office networks can be easily set up to recognise automatically when the device is in range. The big selling point is the ease of use - no other equipment is necessary and the phone contains all the software needed for connecting calls over broadband. Turning an internet phone into a cordless phone has got to be a good move commercially.

The Wi-Fi phone will be available from February 2006 for £99.99. A subscription to Vonage currently costs £9.99 per month for unlimited calls to landlines in the UK and Ireland, along with reduced rates to mobiles and international lines. If you are a heavy phone user, it might be worth a look.

You can find out more by visiting www.vonage.co.uk.

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CES 2006: Slingbox set to hit the UK

We've already told you about Sony's Location Free device at the CES, which enables PSP owners to watch remotely via Wi-Fi whatever is showing on their home TV. Well, the competition is coming to the UK and probably before Sony's device.

The Slingbox is a clever gadget that also turns your home TV signal into an internet stream, which you can access from any networked device. That means you can watch live or recorded on your laptop from your hotel, work or wherever you are.

Sling is now optimising their device for UK-based TV services including Freeview, Sky and Cable. No news on how much it will cost, but it's likely to be around £200.

Release date for the UK is around spring. Next move Sony.

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CES 2006: Netgear launches Skype Phone

Skype and VoIP in general have been big themes this year and there’s a lot of ‘Skype Phones’ kicking about. Technically I suppose this offering from Netgear, purveyor of a huge amount of networking products, has a little more right to that title than most others given that it is not dependent on a PC to work and is in fact a stand-alone phone. All you need to use it is a wireless internet connection and a Skype account, then you enter your details into your handset and make free calls. It also looks pretty smart although you would probably get it confused with your mobile pretty quickly. All SkypeOut functionality works fine too. No word on pricing or availability just yet.

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Wi-Fi clouds over the UK

According to a report on The Register, Nine UK city centres are to get blanket wireless broadband coverage as part of a deal between Wi-Fi operator The Cloud and BT. About 500 BT payphones in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool, as well as in the London Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, Camden and Islington, are to be fitted with Wi-Fi boxes to create the "cloud" of coverage.

The Cloud's network will be available immediately to customers of BT Openzone, O2, SkypeZones and Nintendo Wi-Fi.The company has around 6,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the UK, Sweden and Germany - but has stated a desire to work with local councils to expand the network still further.

Via The Register

Find your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot easily

If you want to get some work done on the road, it might help if you could locate your nearest wireless hotspot. Now you can with the ZyXEL AG225H, a small wireless hotspot detector and USB adapter which allows you to detect Wi-Fi hotspots without even turning on your computer.

The AG-225H is a small USB device with a host of features to get users wirelessly connected.  Even before powering up, you can scan locally to detect potential public access hotspots or open wireless networks to connect to. The high definition LCD screen gives users the SSID, channel, Wi-Fi standard (802.11 a (5GHz), b or g (2.4GHz)), security settings and signal strength of all the visible wireless networks in the local area.

The AG-225H also features a built-in soft AP that can turn a user's laptop into an access point to instantly share wireless access with others - ideal for conference rooms, meeting rooms and hotels where there is one wired network connection but multiple users requiring  access. You can even plug it into your Sony PSP to play against other people and shop online.

The ZyXEL AG225H retails for around £51 plus vat. You can find out more at www.zyxel.co.uk.

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Nintendo takes major step in wireless gaming

All credit to the Japanese granddaddy of gaming for never doing anything by halves. November 25th will be a day to remember for anyone who placed their trust in the Nintendo DS to go above and beyond gaming expectations, even in the face of the stiff competition from Sony’s PSP. DS owners will no doubt have noticed the wireless connection indicator on the handheld unit and many, like me, might have raised a wry smile thinking “that’s probably something only for Japanese gamers”. How wrong I was. A groundbreaking deal with Wi-Fi hotspot providers BT Openzone and The Cloud means that from the 25th your DS will be able to play online multiplayer games, such as the much anticipated Mario Kart DS, for free at over 7,500 locations across the UK. And yes that is free as in no subscriptions, fees, whatever. If you have a broadband connection at home with a wireless router you can also connect and, if you have no Wi-Fi network, Nintendo is kindly releasing a USB Wi-Fi adapter for £30. The really interesting question, however, is what else could we use the DS’s built in microphone and free Wi-Fi connection for I wonder…?

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Wi-Fi airship

There’s nothing quite as beautiful as an airship floating across the north London sky, and hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of them now that boffins at the Chubu University in Japan have come up with a really good use for them. Their Solan-2 airship is being used at the World PC Expo this week to deliver Wi-Fi signals to the gathered techies. Even more impressive is that the ship is solar powered and features wireless remote-controlled cameras for taking sneaky pics of the show visitors. There’s more about the Wi-Fi airship than you ever really need to know the ace new gadget blog Digital World Tokyo. Kind of reminds us of this – wonder whatever happened to this concept? Maybe it proved to just be a load of hot air?

London (almost) tops Euro poll for free Wi-Fi

The guys at free-hotspot.com have taken it upon themselves to track down free wireless internet hotspot across Europe and document it all on the site. London is placed second only to Paris and for the moment the number of these zones is still very limited. Nonetheless, comparing the two gets you a surprisingly good indication of each capital’s culture. If you were to undertake a free Wi-Fi tour in each, Paris would see you inhabiting an enormous number of cafés and expensive sounding restaurants (although that could be because of the French names), where as London should see you visiting a decent selection of watering holes including The Shaftesbury Tavern, The Westbourne and The Mucky Pup which seem like the right kind places to be our nation’s wireless internet ambassadors. Sadly the vast majority of locations are actually hotels or the like, but I suppose you could still stride in, laptop in hand, sit at the bar and rack up a few stiff drinks to Mr Smith in room 104…

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Is the end nigh for DAB?

So Wi-Fi internet radio ain’t the newest kid on the block, but Acoustic Energy reckons that it may have got the edge over DAB with this device. Compatible with Real, MP3 and WMA format audio, this wireless internet radio boasts an ability to access over 99% of all internet radio stations thanks to AE’s partnership with Reciva. It comes preset with over 2,500 stations to choose from, but will receive around 10,000 if you have a lot of patience.

Obviously you’ll need broadband and a wireless hub/router to get it running and AE even boasts that some of the high bit-rate stations put DAB clarity to shame. The best feature is that the radio is also a media adapter allowing you to play you digital music from you PC library through it over the wireless network. There’s not much mention of the sound quality that the unit will produce itself but it is possible to rig it up to an existing Hi-Fi. The AE Wi-Fi radio will be available from November for around £199.

Read