Covering Wireless Routers, Network Adapters, Switches, Media Converters and More.

iSuppli: iPad way ahead of the pack

Brad Reed — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 -0700

After a brief dip in late 2011, the Apple iPad has firmly reasserted its position as the dominant player in the tablet market.

How to surf safely with a VPN-for-hire

Glenn Fleishman — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:20:00 -0700

If you regularly use public networks--such as those in airports or coffeeshops--to access the Net, you should know that your data is at risk. You should also know that private, commercial VPN services are available that will keep your data safe.

LightSquared declares bankruptcy after GPS worries sank its mobile dream

Stephen Lawson — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:15:00 -0700

LightSquared, the startup that planned a nationwide wholesale mobile network only to be shot down by regulators because of GPS interference concerns, is declaring bankruptcy.

Apple drops '4G' from new iPad's name

Daniel Ionescu — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:00 -0700

Apple has changed the "iPad Wi-Fi + 4G" to the "iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular" after regulators cracked down on its U.S.-only capability to connect to high-speed LTE networks.

Review: D-Link Cloud Router supports network monitoring on iOS

Yardena Arar — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:30:00 -0700

This router lets you monitor and control some network functions from an Internet-connected iOS or Android device.

CTIA: At a show full of pom-pom waving, Sprint's Hesse sounds a warning

Brad Reed — Thu, 10 May 2012 05:45:00 -0700

CTIA is normally a show where you hear about the dazzling future that the wireless industry will bring about. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, however, thinks carriers...

AT&T sees an end to Wi-Fi-only tablets

Stephen Lawson — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:15:00 -0700

Tablet makers are moving toward selling only models equipped with cellular radios and away from having separate Wi-Fi-only units, according to an AT&T executive.

Remains of the Day: Fortunate ones

Dan Moren — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:30:00 -0700

Apple's fortune is rising, AT&T's inflating a new pool, and if you work at an Apple Store, John Browett would like to shake your hand.

Remains of the Day: Tender is the night

Dan Moren — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:30:00 -0700

Apple tenders a settlement proposal in China, Warner Bros. puts tender loving care into its new high-definition movie purchases, and your iPhone will soon be legal tender (as far as your Amtrak ticket goes).

Mobile experts disagree on who should protect privacy

Grant Gross — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:45:00 -0700

Users of mobile apps need more information about the ways those apps use their personal information, a group of experts agreed Thursday, but they didn't agree on who is most responsible for protecting user privacy.

FCC launches new mobile broadband subsidy

Grant Gross — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:10:00 -0700

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has begun seeking competitive bids for new mobile broadband subsidies for 3G or 4G service.

Skype investigates tool that reveals users' IP addresses

Jeremy Kirk — Tue, 01 May 2012 07:00:00 -0700

Skype said Tuesday that it is investigating a new tool that collects a person's last known IP address, a potential privacy-compromising issue.

First 802.11ac WF-Fi router coming from Netgear

Ed Oswald — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:10:00 -0700

Netgear is officially the first networking company with an 802.11ac Wi-Fi router, the company announced Thursday. The R6300, which will debut in May, will...

Engineers ponder easier fix to dangerous Internet problem

Jeremy Kirk — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:45:00 -0700

IT engineers are studying what may be an easier way to fix a long-existing weakness in the Internet's routing system.

Apple's IPv6 misstep is a sign of the times

Carolyn Duffy Marsan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:20:00 -0700

Apple's controversial decision not to support IPv6 on Version 6.0 of AirPort Utility is the latest example of a broader problem plaguing the next-gen Internet protocol.

2012: The year LTE becomes a standard, not a luxury

Brad Reed — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:50:00 -0700

The mobile industry may well remember 2012 as the year when LTE became the dominant wireless technology in the United States.

Opinion: FCC's ruling that Google's Wi-Fi snooping is legal sets horrible precedent

John P. Mello Jr. — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:52:00 -0700

The FCC's Paltry fine on Google for monitoring Wi-Fi networks will only encourage snoopers.

Weekly Wrap: Flashback malware, ebook litigation, and iPads for kids

Lex Friedman — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 10:00:00 -0700

The Department of Justice threw the book at Apple. Apple and several others threw their technical resources up against the Flashback virus. And Lex Friedman threw together this very edition of the Weekly Wrap, highlighting our most interesting and important stories from the past week.

Apple under fire for backing off IPv6 support

Carolyn Duffy Marsan — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:00:00 -0700

Apple came under fire for back-pedaling on its support for IPv6, the next-generation Internet Protocol, at a gathering of experts held in Denver this week.

AT&T's LTE network now in 32 cities

Matt Hamblen — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:20:00 -0700

AT&T has added St. Louis, Mo., to its growing 4G LTE network, bringing the carrier's nationwide total to 32 cities.

AT&T starts unlocking iPhones, customers gripe over long delays

Ed Oswald — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:00:00 -0700

Want to unlock your off-contract AT&T iPhone to use with competing GSM carriers such as U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile? Now you can, but it may take up to a week for AT&T to process the request.

Survey: A quarter of the world's households now have Wi-Fi

Mikael Ricknäs — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 06:45:00 -0700

Market research company Strategy Analytics says that 439 million households around the world had installed a Wi-Fi-based home network at the end of 2011, equivalent to 25 percent of all households.

Asavie launches pay-as-you-go VPN for iPad users

Lucas Mearian — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:15:00 -0700

Asavie Technologies launched a cloud-based secure VPN service for iOS devices for corporate workers to access data from anywhere in the world.

Remains of the Day: Sleep is for the weak

Dan Moren — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:00:00 -0700

Looks like you can't teach a new iPad old Smart Covers. Elsewhere, HP shareholders want to know why everything it can do Apple can do better, BlackBerry lets the homefront slip through its fingers, and the iPhone might soon get all the G's.

DOJ sues AT&T over billing for text-based communications service

Grant Gross — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:45:00 -0700

The U.S. Department of Justice has accused AT&T of overcharging the government by millions of dollars by failing to crack down on scammers using a text-based Internet service for hearing-impaired people.

Remains of the Day: Tactical dispersal

Dan Moren — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:00:00 -0700

We've got Tim Cook calling in an air strike on AT&T, a stealth Siri feature of iOS 5.1, and Microsoft nuking Apple devices from orbit.

Apple battles Nokia, RIM, Motorola over nano-SIM standard

Mikael Ricknäs — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:30:00 -0700

Next week, two proposals for a new, smaller SIM card, dubbed nano-SIM--one backed by Apple and the other by Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola Mobility--will go head-to-head before a European standards board.

Analyst: Only one in ten tablets sold has a cellular connection

Nancy Gohring — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:25:00 -0700

It's clear that people are willing to pay for new tablets, but it's also clear that they aren't yet ready to take on the fee for cellular connectivity to their tablets.

Cloak secures your Internet traffic without the hassle

David Chartier — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0700

Connecting to public Wi-Fi networks can be risky. Cloak gives you the benefits of a virtual private network (VPN) without the usual setup, configuration, and activation hassles.

Cell-to-Wi-Fi roaming will come, at a cost

Stephen Lawson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:50:00 -0700

Getting your phone onto Wi-Fi networks may get a lot easier starting in about a year, but it won't necessarily get cheaper.

Microsoft, Apple free to flex Nortel patent muscles

Tim Greene — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:10:00 -0700

Apple, Microsoft and a handful of other tech companies are now free to license $4.5 billion in patents they bought at auction last year from bankrupt Nortel.

Verizon Wireless: 4G LTE or bust in 2012

Bob Brown — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:40:00 -0700

A Verizon Wireless executive says the carrier plans a huge expansion of its 4G LTE wireless network this year.

AT&T outlines spring LTE rollout plans

Brad Reed — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:45:00 -0700

AT&T isn't taking a spring break when it comes to LTE deployments, expanding to a dozen more cities over the next three months.

iPad hotspot feature will be available on Verizon, not AT&T

Dan Moren — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:00:00 -0800

Verizon will support the iPad's Personal Hotspot feature at launch, while AT&T is investigating adding support for it in the future.

New iPad could cause corporate network crunch

Matt Hamblen — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0800

The new Apple iPad, which sports a higher-resolution screen, a 1080p HD camera and LTE network capability, will likely entice millions of buyers—but it could bog down corporate networks and give IT managers headaches.

What LTE means for Apple's new iPad

Glenn Fleishman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:00:00 -0800

The cellular versions of the next iPad will arrive next week with support for Long Term Evolution, the latest and greatest networking technology. Glenn Fleishman explains what tablet users can expect from LTE. Spoiler alert: It's fast.

Remains of the Day: Think for yourself

Dan Moren — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:35:00 -0800

Foxconn is looking through you (or your next iPad), AT&T urges customers to run for their lives (from antiquated wireless networks), and Walter Isaacson says “you won’t see me” (revealing details of the next Apple TV).

FCC asks for comments on mobile network shutdowns for public safety

Grant Gross — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:55:00 -0800

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comments on whether it's ever appropriate for law enforcement agencies to shut down mobile networks in the name of public safety.

AT&T's app developer billing scheme: Will app makers buy in?

Brad Reed — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:15:00 -0800

AT&T's trial balloon of charging app developers for bandwidth their users consume might not stay in the air very long.

AT&T publishes data throttling policy

Dan Moren — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:30:00 -0800

AT&T has put up a Web page explaining its contentious data throttling policy for smartphone customers on unlimited plans.

Speedy 802.11ac Wi-Fi set for fast, wide rollout

John Cox — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:30:00 -0800

Mobile carriers embracing Wi-Fi is one of the sub-themes of Mobile World Congress. And the particular flavor of Wi-Fi that's generating buzz here is 802.11ac.

Intel lays out strategic mobile roadmap

John Cox — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:15:00 -0800

Intel wants to own the mobile processor space, and on Tuesday laid out its vision for how it will get there.

Groups ask FCC to block Verizon spectrum deals with cable providers

Grant Gross — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:20:00 -0800

A coalition of advocacy groups wants the Federal Communications Commission to block Verizon Wireless from buying wireless spectrum from cable providers because it believes that two proposed deals would concentrate too much spectrum in the hands of one company.

Wi-Fi Passpoint standard could end hotspot sign-on hassles

Stephen Lawson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:30:00 -0800

The Wi-Fi Alliance will launch a program to simplify the use of Wi-Fi hotspots in July, making it easier for both users and mobile operators to get off strained cellular networks.

Browser add-on stops Google (and others) from tracking you online

John P. Mello Jr. — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:37:00 -0800

Concerned about Google and others snooping on your online activity? Then you might want to install a free browser add-in called Do Not Track Plus.

IT takes wait-and-hope approach to Mountain Lion

John Cox — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:30:00 -0800

Apple OS X Mountain Lion for Macs promises both benefits and costs for IT groups. Mac experts are looking forward to delving into the preview release.