Intel sends WiFi up to 60 miles

"Intel has developed technology to send WiFi up to 60 miles! I read the article in Technology Review and immediately thought it was too good to be true. I hope I'm wrong! According to the story the technology is node to node, directional, moves up to 6.5 mbps, and requires very little power (think solar). There are some limitations. In real world testing it's useful to about 30 miles with a direct line of sight. There are more details in the video. With an estimated cost of $1000.00 this development could help bring technology to more rural areas soon."

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20432/?a=f

http://blogs.intel.com/research/2008/03/rural_connectivity_platform_be.php

FON keeps changing prices

Don't know what made me visit the FON Shop, but when I did I discovered a few price adjustments.

1) Now you can add a Fontenna for only $9.95 with the purchase of La Fonera or La Fonera +
2) La Fonera is now $29.95
3) Fonero Gets Fonero price for La Fontenna raised too
4) Seems like they raised the price of shipping from $5 to $10 for non-FGF purchases.

Fon was offering La Fontenna for only $2 more, so for those who took advantage of the 90% discount, it was worth it. For those who missed out, think carefully before buying a Fontenna (it's better to spend the money on a high quality antenna, with a decent gain)

Unlimited access to GMAIL and other Google services at all Fonspots

First FON offered aliens 15 minutes of free internet access by "watching" an advertisement and now they can get unlimited access to gmail and all other google services, but once they step outside of google they will be out of luck. They will have to wait until tomorrow for another free 15 minute pass, purchase a $3 day pass, or purchase a Fonera.

As an experiment in Fon we have opened Gmail access in all foneras. We have done this for a while now but we are now promoting this feature. This means that regardless of whether you are a fonero or not (foneros are members of the Fon community who share WiFi) when you find a Fonspot you can check your Gmail. You can also check any Google service including search, maps, news, and so long as you stay inside Google you can surf for free. We are doing this for three reasons. One to thank Google as an investor in Fon. Secondly because at Fon we all use many Google services and so do millions of people around the world and we appreciate the quick access. Third and most important for Fon, because since we opened the 15 minute free access on all Fonspots we have seen that many more people use Fon and even if they are not WiFi donors (foneros) they pay for Fon (buy day passses as Aliens). There was a debate at Fon on whether if we gave free access we would sell more or less passes to Aliens but now the answer is clear. We sell more passes because Aliens now know the service works well before they pay.

We believe that Gmail users will love the fact that Fon lets them check their email without paying or donating. And we think that this will encourage people to become Foneros as most people who use gmail also do many other things, like go to Microsoft sites, or Yahoo, or big local portals like Terra, or Facebok and other social communities and all the other wonderful things that the net has to offer. To do that they will either have to become Foneros by buying a Fonera or buy an Alien day pass. In any way Fon will grow faster.

Fon is always free for those who share so those who share will not be affected. Fon also protects those who share in two ways, one is with a firewall and encrypted personal access so nobody from the outside can enter their network and secondly with a bandwidth throttle that limits those who use their fonera to a small portion of their bandwidth.

To become a Fonero all you need to do is buy a Fon router at our online shop, connect it and never pay again when you connect away from home. If you would like to know if there are any foneros in your city you can go to our maps.

http://english.martinvarsavsky.net

http://blog.fon.com/en/archive/general/gmail-and-fon.html

Panasonic’s Skype WiFi phone is now FON friendly

Finally a new wifi phone can be used on FON hotspots. First it was the SMC WSKP100 (see skype.com and fon.com for more details) and now the Panasonic KX-WP800 (I think, there is a lack in details about the phone, this post will be updated when more information is known about it) I'm interested in seeing how the phone performs because I have read about the SMC phone and it doesn't seem like a quality phone (search to internet and the FON boards for reviews), but for now we will just have to wait. From what I have read the phone will be about $290 and should be available sometime around the end of the month.

FON Japan has helped Panasonic to FON-enable its latest Skype WiFi phone set, making it possible for its users to easily connect to any FON Spot and call for free or very low rates using Skype.

The phone is on sale in Japan and comes with a WiFi router to use at home. But what is more interesting for Foneros is that it can be conveniently used as a Skype phone even outside your home as it automatically connects to any FON signal when one is detected. Users enter their FON login and password during the initial configuration and the phone will store them to easily connect to any FON Spot.

Foneros living in Tokyo, where we recently reached 80% coverage, should be particularly interested as the combination of this nice WiFi device and FON could help them save a lot when calling outside of their homes. Bring your Skype phone with you and make free calls connecting to any FON Spot in Tokyo, including 2.200 Livedoor access points in great locations.

http://blog.fon.com/en/archive/gadgets/panasonic-fonenabled-skype-wifi-phone.html

http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/fon/panasonics-skype-wifi-phone-is-now-fon-friendly.html