* By Charlie Sorrel Email Author
* February 12, 2010 |
* 6:46 am |
* Categories: Wireless Tech
*
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This news nugget will have you smacking your forehead and crying �Why didn�t I think of that!?� Sagem and Telef�nica have taken a regular old cellphone SIM card, and stuffed a Wi-Fi radio inside. Even the name is obvious: SIMFi.
It works like this: You pop the card into a cellphone, and �SIM toolkit applets�, essentially control software on the card itself, take care of settings and broadcast. The radio inside creates a hotspot to share your 3G HSPA connection via Wi-Fi. It is ingenious.
With the huge Telef�nica as part of the partnership, you can expect a big push. And because this will work on almost any phone, and replaces something you have to have anyway - a SIM - there�s no reason that this shouldn�t be in every cellphone in the next couple of years. The SIMFi will be launched at next week�s MWC trade-show in Barcelona, Spain, where we should find out dates and pricing.
Sagem Orga and Telefonica turn the SIM card into a Wi-Fi hotspot [Sagem]
If it gave non-wifi BBs access to wifi, then this would a nice option. It could mean not needing to upgrade my Tour to a Tour2 just to get wifi. I wonder how well such an item would work with BlackBerrys or other smartphones.
So how would something like this work in an unlocked Storm 1 on the Verizon network? Or will it even work at all? I was hoping maybe it could allow wifi access for an ipod touch??!!
Any ideas as to when they will be available and how much? Should be interesting!
y'all do realise this is going to annihilate your battery life ?
On top of that I can't see a huge number of uses for this... I get being able to use it for an ipod touch... but in all honesty i think thats the only hardware combo that would actually be useful. If you are doing it to your own laptop, then it seems a bit redundant to use a wifi signal instead of a cable, since the two are likely to be within a foot of each other.
Anyway you cut it, tethering by cable is better for battery life and security, especially when almost everywhere you could use your laptop has free wifi. Trains, coffee shops, public buildings... So why bother ?
Hmmm, so it creates a wifi signal from your cell connection? I can see the carriers charging huge overages for this-kinda like with tethering.
It's the same concept as the MiFi, just amazingly smaller. The MiFi has a 5 GB cap like other data devices. If these will be carrier-controlled, I would think they would apply a similar limit.
IMO, this is another step towards burying the business model of xxx Minutes + Unlimited data. I think they'll eventually get rid of voice minutes altogether, we will have data only connections with VOIP and tiered pricing by usage. And the "Unlimited" plan is going to be lots more than what we're currently paying...
almost everywhere you could use your laptop has free wifi. Trains, coffee shops, public buildings... So why bother ?
How about the side of the road, a parking lot, camping? There's lots of places I've used the MiFi when there was cell signal, but no wifi. My ISP disconnected my DSL loop a few months back and I was able to use it at home and have three laptops connected simultaneously. It also is probably more secure than whatever free wifi you might be connecting to.
It's another option and options are always nice...
The next step would be to pair this SIMfi with the Airnergy Harvesting Battery Charger from RCA and your smartphone would stay perpetually charged!!!