Wi-Fi (Home Networking)

Just when you thought it was safe to buy a non-Wi-Fi-enabled phone, Telular announces the Wi-Path.

Give your cell phone a rest and put your SIM card in Wi-Path. From there you can hook up a router, a USB device, a fax machine or even an old-fashioned telephone.

The Wi-Path capitalizes on your mobile phone’s Wi-Fi capability, making a DSL or cable modem connection obsolete. Combined with the new $99 all-you-can-eat cell phone plans, the Wi-Path is certainly an attractive device.

We take a first look at it below.

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The promised Slacker Portable begins shipping tomorrow (albeit months delayed). Lovers of Slacker on the PC will be able to take their personalized Slacker Radio stations everywhere they go.

The best part is that you don’t have to be connected to Wi-Fi to listen. The player will cache music from your stations when you are in a hotspot so you can listen to tracks in non-connected environments. The Slacker Portables range in price based on station capacity (the low end 15-station model is priced at $199). Stay tuned for our hands on and full review.

Slacker continues to impress us with its innovation, both on and off the PC. We spoke to Jonathan Sasse, Slacker’s VP of marketing, to find out where the company is headed.

What is on the horizon in 2008 for Slacker?
If 2007 was about getting out the door for us, 2008 is about expanding. Our first portable device is on its way. We are looking at enabling additional partner devices that are access points for Slacker radio. We are looking to get in more of the portable space; it could be the mobile space or it could be aftermarket type environments. We are looking to expand the availability for consumers so you don’t have to just go to the Web site or you don’t have to just go buy a Slacker Portable device.

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According to a research report that will be released shortly by Freesky Research, there will be 4,000 picocells that deliver 802.11 (Wi-Fi) or 3G connectivity in airplanes between 2008 and 2011. Picocells can be thought of as a router that covers a small area, or a wireless access point.

The report says that wide-body aircraft that have already made 10,000 flights and smaller CRJ aircraft probably won’t be among the aircraft offering these services, but it does believe that aircraft native to Asian, Middle Eastern, or European countries will.

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