wifi

You've been waiting for it for a long time. We told you it was coming. It's been available on the iPhone forever. Well, it's finally here. The second of three PopCap exclusives to be released on Amazon's Appstore for Android is none other than Plants vs. Zombies, and it's the free app of the day.

Frankly, there's really no need to tell you how the game works (I think we've all played it at least once), but I will tell you a few things before downloading. First, as with all three PopCap exclusives, Plants vs. Zombies is a Wi-Fi-only download. Second, the file size is approximately 75MB.

Lastly, despite the small number of Android phones in the compatibility list on Amazon's site, we can verify that it also works on the HTC Thunderbolt, HTC Droid Incredible, and the HTC EVO (which are not listed).

Suffice it to say that it will work on the majority of Android phones to date. The app is supposedly not optimized for tablets--pixelation may occur--but if you have one, screw it; try anyway. … Read more

When Amazon first launched its latest-generation Kindle e-reader last year, it touted the fact that it could get up to a month's worth of battery life. That same figure is mentioned in a variety of print and television ads.

But after Barnes & Noble launched the new Nook yesterday and played up the Simple Touch Reader's 2 months of battery life (B&N called it the "longest battery life of any eReader"), Amazon countered by magically upping the battery life of the Kindle to two months as the company released a $164 Special Offers version … Read more

We don't often see innovations in mouse design, but that's exactly what HP has announced this morning with its WiFi Mobile Mouse.

According to the press release (and accompanying promo video), the mouse is the first on the market to connect to your PC's wireless receiver rather than with a RF signal from a wireless USB dongle. HP says the battery in the WiFi Mobile Mouse will last twice as long as the charge from Bluetooth devices, running for up to 9 months before running dry. HP also claims the mouse will match Bluetooth's 30-foot receiving … Read more

Your smartphone or tablet's Wi-Fi radio lives in the moment. When it's time to connect to a hot spot, all other things being equal, it will attach to the radio that's the best for it at that instant: the one with the most attractive combination of signal strength and throughput. But once your device is on the move, that strategy is far from optimal.

A group at MIT is developing technology that takes actual and predicted device movement into account when connecting to hotspots, to increase overall wireless performance on mobile devices. See PDF: Improving Wireless Network Performance Using Sensor Hints.

MIT professor Hari Balakrishnan explains that his team's software uses sensors on a device that are otherwise unused when a Wi-Fi radio is looking for a connection: the GPS sensor and logs, acceleration sensors, even the compass. From this information, the device can tell not just where it is, but where it's going, and it can then attach to a hotspot that it should be able to stick with for a bit longer than if it's just picking one that's good at the moment. Devices can also proactively select and modify radio data rates based on predicted movements.

Reducing the number of handoffs between hotspots increases connection quality, since each handoff takes time and can interrupt the quality of online activities like audio calls or video streaming. … Read more

Samsung has carved itself a respectable niche market with the Galaxy Tab. Although full sales figures aren't available, most information I've found put sales between 1 million and 2 million.

It's not the 16+ million of the iPad, but this is about as close to that figure as any tablet has gotten.

Although Samsung will be releasing at least two new Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Galaxy Tabs in the next few months, the company isn't prepared to abandon the original Tab just yet.

On Wednesday, Samsung Announced that a Wi-Fi version of the original Tab would be available from several retail stores and Web sites by April 10.

The Tab comes loaded with Android 2.2, with no known plans to upgrade it to Android 3.0. The tablet includes 16GB of internal memory with the capability of supporting additional expandable external memory of up to a 32 GB microSD card.

Also, Samsung hasn't mentioned any hardware or design changes with the Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab, so we expect it to look and function the same as the original, aside from the whole Wi-Fi-only thing.

Look for more coverage after we get our hands on it.… Read more

Connecting to public Wi-Fi hot spots can be a challenge, but the Wi-Fi Alliance is hoping to ease some of the pain.

Responsible for certifying Wi-Fi products and technology, the Wi-Fi Alliance said yesterday that it's working on a new certification program that should make it easier to access and use public hot spots. Various members of the alliance, including service providers and device makers, have already formalized the requirements needed to test such a certification program.

Once in place, the new hot spot program would offer several benefits to Wi-Fi users.

Computers, phones, and other connected gadgets would … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Huawei Mobile World Congress press conference is still a day away, but the company jumped the gun and announced four new devices on Monday.

Details are slim at the moment, but we can offer what we know.

The trim Huawei Ideos X3 smartphone runs Gingerbread on a 3.2 inch-screen.

The Huawei Ideos S7 Slim tablet has a 7-inch (480x800 pixels) capacitive touch-screen and measures about half an inch thick. Features on the Froyo device include Bluetooth, HD video, a Web browser, messaging and e-mail, a music player, a camera, and Wi-Fi. The S7 Slim can make cellular and … Read more

People in the technology world just now adjusting to the arrival of 802.11n should begin bracing themselves for 802.11ac.

For those who can't keep up with the alphanumeric jumbles that are technology standards, 802.11n is at the moment the fastest version of Wi-Fi. The arrival of 802.11n was delayed by interminable standards wrangling--thus the profusion of "Draft N" wireless routers--and research firm In-Stat already predicts its faster successor, 802.11ac, soon will surge into the market.

From zero 802.11ac devices this year and the first ones next year--the standard isn't done yet… Read more

The Wi-Fi Alliance is launching a campaign to urge consumers to configure routers and devices to use WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) on all their wireless Wi-Fi equipment.

"Wi-Fi security has gone through some evolutions over the years and WP2, which has been around now for a few years, is the latest and greatest in Wi-Fi security," Kelly Davis-Kelner of the Wi-Fi Alliance said in this podcast interview.

WPA2, which offers government- and enterprise-grade security, is available in all products that the alliance has anointed as "WiFi Certified." The security standard replaces the original WPA and … Read more