Posts Tagged ‘wi-fi’

Review: Republic Wireless Beta Hybrid Calling

Posted in Reviews on December 28th, 2011 by Web Optimist – 1 Comment

By Richard V. Burckhardt

LG Optimus

The LG Optimus (photo from actual shipping box) is the phone available for the Republic Wireless beta program.

I’m an original iPhone user, grabbing one of the 2G iPhones when they first came out. And, I love my iPhone (currently on a 3GS) but what I don’t love is being forced into a data plan that costs more than my home broadband, especially when my data use is primarily over Wi-Fi. I have frequently wished I could get a good smartphone that didn’t require a data plan, but relied on Wi-Fi alone.

That’s where the idea of Republic Wireless comes in. Their plan, currently in beta, is basically opposite of what most mobile phone plans offer. Wi-Fi is the primary carrier with cellular the add-on. They expect their users (their “community”) to offload the majority of their phone use to Wi-Fi. When Wi-Fi isn’t available, cellular talk and data kick in. They call it “Hybrid Calling.”

For someone like me, who works from home and is covered by Wi-Fi something like 70% of the time, this is brilliant! I’m currently paying for two iPhones with rarely used data plans that cost more than my cable Internet (plus being slow and limited). With Republic Wireless, I pay $19 per month (plus tax) for each phone, covering talk and data. It’s so low because the majority of use is over Wi-Fi. If you go over your target offloading to Wi-Fi (expected to be 60% or more) you get notified of your overage and, if you continue, I’m guessing you are asked to leave the “community” nicely (this IS a beta, but I think that’s the idea). read more »

iPhone TV: or How to Watch News While Shaving Without a TV

Posted in Reviews on January 28th, 2009 by Web Optimist – 2 Comments

Yes, I’ll admit it. I like having a TV in the bathroom so I can watch (or listen) to the news while shaving and getting ready for the day. In a previous residence I had a large bathroom which I remodeled to include dual sinks and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall between them.

Unfortunately, I no longer have that luxury as I have moved to a place with a much smaller bathroom. Remodeling is not an option and with no cable or power outlet convenient, wireless is my only option.

The discontinued Sony Locationfree TVI’m a big fan of the discontinued Sony LocationFree LF-X1 12 inch portable television. That baby came with a portable flat screen TV (shown) and a wireless base that also functioned as a wireless-G Wi-Fi access point. I still have two of them, though I wish there was some way to upgrade the built in web browser, which is basically useless these days. I love these and really wish Sony would come out with an upgraded version (at an affordable price).

Problem is, although they are rechargeable, they don’t use standard TV wall mounts and the original wall mount that was made for these doesn’t seem to be available anymore. Also, taking the TVs down constantly to charge them (since I don’t have a power outlet in the right location) is a pain. And, the bathroom counter I use is tiny, so there’s no room for one of them to sit on the counter.

I’ve been a fan of Orb for quite a while, too. This is a free service that lets you watch TV streaming off of your TV tuner-enabled PC at home by way of the Internet. You just install the Orb client on your media PC, login to your Orb account at the Orb web site and you can watch TV, view videos or images on your PC or listen to your music from any Internet connected browser anywhere. No extra hardware needed.

My iPhone would be the perfect size for viewing TV on my bathroom counter, so the first thing I tried was logging into Orb using the Safari browser through my home Wi-Fi connection (I have the original iPhone, so no 3G). I could stream my videos, listen to music and look at my pictures over the iPhone, but darn it, no live TV option.

Watching TV on my iPhone via OrbOrb has come to my rescue with their Orb iPhone App. They offer a free version, but it’s basically useless so spring for the full version at $9.99. Just install it on your iPhone, provide your user name and password and you’re up and running.

One problem is that watching your iPhone in the sideways position gives the largest video image, so I found a simple metal mesh business card holder at Staples to set mine in. It’s a perfect fit.

Yes, you can plug your iPhone into a wall jack for power if you use an adapter with your USB cable. I don’t have room for that, so I just use battery power. It’s not as though I’m watching this standing at the sink for hours.

The Orb iPhone App provides settings for optimizing the video stream for Edge, 3G or Wi-Fi. I didn’t even try Edge and I don’t have 3G, but the Wi-Fi viewing was very good.

Naturally, this killer app opens me up to using the iPhone for TV wherever I have a Wi-Fi connection. Eventually, I’m sure I’ll upgrade to the 3G iPhone, making me even more of a TV addict.

Hey, who wouldn’t want to watch “Oprah” while sipping java at Starbucks?

;-)