Wireless

Accessing the Internet while away from the home or office has never been easier. When there’s no Wi-Fi available users can jump on 3G broadband to get their online fix. And that’s the way it has generally been, with the two main mobile communications technologies acting as complementary services. But with the advent of Wi-Fi based municipal wireless networks some experts say there is a strong possibility that Wi-Fi will compete with the 3G cell phone network in city areas and perhaps even become a substitute. Read More

If you were shipping, say... a cargo container of pineapples from Hawaii to Poland, you would probably want to know what was happening to those pineapples along the way. For instance, were they allowed to get too hot or too cold? Did they clear customs? Did they follow the planned route? Using wireless radio frequency identification sensors recently developed at Spain’s Public University of Navarre (UPNA ), you could know all these things and more, in real time. Read More

The much-talked-about Dell Streak is finally scheduled for release, albeit exclusively to the UK's O2 network for the time being. The 5-inch touchscreen device is billed as slotting in "between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets" and features a 1GHz processor, 2GB of internal memory and runs on Google's Android operating system. Read More

If you belong to an avid Nintendo Wii gamer family chances are someone will keep forgetting to charge their Wiimote and ruin the fun for the others (or start WWIII). Thankfully, Konnet has come to the rescue. The company’s new charger lets you store and charge up to four controllers wirelessly, using advanced induction technology. Read More

Epson says its new Stylus NX420 printer/scanner/copier is the first all-in-one device with built-in wireless-n (IEEE 802.11n) that costs less than US$100. The company says this product has been designed as an affordable and easy-to-use option for busy families and students who want to share a multi-function printer. Read More

Cambridge Consultants has unveiled the next phase in the development of its Suma sensor technology, which transforms user touch on its surface into an individual action on a computer or gaming device. The wireless Suma mouse prototype opens up a multitude of three dimensional navigation possibilities by taking every squeeze, stroke or swipe of a user's touch and translating it into an onscreen reaction such as a pan, tilt or zoom. Read More

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has unveiled more information about its forthcoming Bluetooth Core Specification 4.0 that is expected to start appearing in devices late this year or early in 2011. Central to the new spec, which will replace the Bluetooth v3.0 + HS standard that was officially adopted on April 21, 2009, is a low energy mode designed to enable the expansion of Bluetooth technology into a range of low power devices, such as watches, remote controls, and a variety of medical and in-home sensors. Read More

Hands-free calling using Bluetooth earpieces has become - shall we say - controversial over the years, as we've all seen that annoying guy at Starbucks trying to close the deal as he orders his cappuccino. But the latest receiver from Tokyo Flash, the Kisai Escape C, might just have enough features to offset the Bluetooth douche-factor. Read More

German-based company Elgato is well known for its range of digital television tuners that turn a Mac (and more recently a Windows PC) into a fully-fledged PVR/TV as well as its easy-to-use EyeTV software that has become the standard for Mac-based PVR functionality. Released in February, the EyeTV Netstream DTT is the latest bit of hardware to join Elgato’s venerable line of hardware that lets users go mobile by streaming digital television or recorded programs over a wireless home network. We took a unit through its paces to see if it lives up to Elgato’s previous offerings. Read More