Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Belkin Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit Promises 1000Mbps of Speed

If you think you have the fastest Internet connectivity around, just wait for Powerline Networking to take hold. Belkin is anticipating the successful future of this technology by introducing its new Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit which promises ultra-fast Gigabit speeds up to 1000Mbps through your home’s existing electrical wiring. That's more than fast enough for online gaming, HD entertainment, and high-quality transmission of multiple video streams. It works by plugging one end of the adapter into a wall outlet, and the other end to the Ethernet port (RJ45) of a gaming console, set-top box, or computer.

The Belkin Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit is now available in North America for $149.99, and it hits Europe in early August.

Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit

History of the Internet - The Video

This short video describes the history of the Internet, and communication networks of the past few decades. Posted by Gigaom, it's well worth the watch, and just 8 minutes long.

Clearwire WiMAX Mobile Broadband Company Formed

Sprint and Clearwire's Mobile WiMAX partnership and Sprint's XOHM WiMax 4G Mobile Broadband brand were announced last year, and we've been waiting for the results ever since. Well, we'll have to wait just a little longer folks, but it's not all bad news. Clearwire Corporation and Sprint Nextel Corporation have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine their WiMax wireless broadband businesses to form a new communications company which will be named Clearwire.  Just as we heard from the previous announcements, the new company will be focused on creating the first nationwide mobile WiMAX network in the United States, so it's only a matter of time before we see embedded Mobile WiMAX chipsets in laptops, mobile phones, PDAs, UMPC devices and consumer electronic equipment. Clearwire hopes to get the Wimax network deployed and ready to cover between 120 million and 140 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2010.

"WiMAX technology is expected to allow users to wirelessly access a range of multimedia applications, such as live videoconferencing, recorded video, games, large data files and more – anywhere in the network coverage area."

Sprint and Clearwire combining their WiMAX businesses is no surprise, but the new Clearwire mobile broadband company, a $14.5 billion venture, also has investments from Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.

Here's the breakdown:

Comcast will invest $1.05 billion, Intel Capital will invest $1.0 billion, Time Warner Cable will invest $550 million, Google will invest $500 million, and Bright House Networks will invest $100 million for an aggregate total of $3.2 billion. Add Sprint’s contribution, which includes all of its 2.5 GHz wireless spectrum and Xohm WiMAX related assets valued at $7.4 billion, and we can see that a nation-wide WiMax network is definitely on the way.

Motorola WiMAX CPEi 100 Modem Device Announced

As we finally enter the year that WiMAX service becomes available, Motorola has announced their new CPEi 100, single data port, 2.5 GHz "plug-and-play" WiMAX modem. Sprint's Xohm Wimax subscribers can expect to see this kind of wireless broadband Internet connectivity solution for the home or office as Wimax 802.16e networks and service rolls out this year.

"Performance and ease-of-use are essential to motivate consumers to upgrade to higher performance wireless broadband technologies,"said Fred Wright, Motorola senior vice president, Cellular Networks and Broadband. "The CPEi 100 provides that experience and enables WiMAX operators to offer a home device that consumers can install and setup in only a matter of minutes."    

The CPEi 100 modem is part of Motorola's wi4 WiMAX family of solutions, designed to support fixed, portable, nomadic and mobile applications. 

XOHM WiMax - Sprint's 4G Mobile Broadband Network and Service

If you remember reading about Sprint and Clearwire's Mobile WiMAX Partnership, and Sprint and Google prepping Mobile WiMAX services, you know that Sprint's Wimax efforts are in full swing. Now the company has decided to use its own brand name for Wimax, announcing today that its WiMAX service will be marketed under the XOHM brand (pronounced ZOAM). By the end of this year Chicago and Baltimore/Washington will be the first cities to soft launch the new WiMAX wireless network, with Sprint XOHM commercial services expected to be available during the first half of 2008.

Sprint's XOHM Wimax vision is explained in the video below:

Barry West, President of 4G Mobile Broadband and Sprint's Chief Technology Officer, noted that XOHM is expected to mobilize the Internet by driving the convergence of telecommunications, consumer electronics and the computer industries. WiMAX service is being designed to create synergies among disparate industries through an ecosystem of chipsets, devices, networks, services/content and distribution to deliver broadband with speeds up to five times faster than current third-generation wireless devices. West said that ecosystem partners have committed to embed 50 million WiMAX chipsets in devices.

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Helio Hybrid 3g + wi-fi card

Earthlink CEO Skye Dayton's Helio MVNO plans go beyond those cool Helio cellphones, adding the new Helio Hybrid 3g + wi-fi card to the mix. Helio Hybrid connects to the Helio nationwide 3G network for DSL-like speed, or the Boingo Wi-Fi network, which includes over 45,000 hot spots worldwide. The Helio Hybrid card is free (?) with a 2 year membership, and 3g + wi-fi access will cost you $85 per month.

Take this opportunity to catch-up on some recent Helio news. If you don't know about Helio yet, you will soon enough as their marketing campaign is ramping up in the U.S.

Read:

SK-EarthLink Promise Wireless Broadband

Helio Launch news

MySpace Mobile - Helio KickFlip, Helio Hero Cellphones Announced

Slingbox PRO, Slingbox AV, Slingbox TUNER Announced by Sling Media

Sling Media, Inc. has announced the availability of three new Slingbox models that include the Slingbox PRO, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox TUNER that transform PCs, laptops and Windows-based mobile phones and handheld computers into personal portable TVs.  For those who have not been following past Sling Media news, the company has gotten a lot of attention this year with various product announcements.  With these new products, Slingbox owners can watch and control their home cable, satellite or digital video recorder anywhere they can access the Internet. Otherwise known as "Place-Shifting."

Sling Media has enhanced performance (up to 400% over the original slingbox), increased the feature set and segmented the new Slingbox models for specific customer needs.

Sony Vaio VGN-TXN10 Notebook with Sprint Mobile Broadband Capability

The new Sony VAIO VGN-TXN10 Series notebook connects to the Sprint Power VisionSM Network for wireless, broadband-speed for downloading e-mail and accessing the Internet and large data files. You'll have to wait for later this year though for Sprint's upgrade to EV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) technology for even faster mobile broadband connections. These laptops have a carbon fiber chassis, and weigh just 2.8-pounds, and with average download speeds of 450 to 800 kbps and upload speeds of 300 to 400 kbps, the one-inch thin VAIO TX notebooks should be great for mobile computing.

There's a state-of-the-art, ultra-low voltage Intel Core Solo processor for increased computing power and standard battery life of between five to 11 hours. The notebooks are Windows Vista capable and Windows Vista Premium ready. Additional features include a fingerprint sensor, a vibrant XBRITE  11.1-inch widescreen display (measured diagonally), DVD+R double layer/DVD+RW drive and Sony’s Instant Mode, so you can watch movies or listen to music without having to boot up the machine.

CBS Television Streaming more Prime-time TV Shows

CBS Television will begin streaming episodes of prime-time TV shows next month on their own CBS Innertube broadband channel.  The CBS TV shows include, "Jericho,"  "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "NCIS," "Numbers" and "Survivor."  These popular shows will be available the day after they appear on TV, for free on the Internet.  You'll have to put up with 15-30 second ads that cannot be skipped, but hey, that's less than regular TV ads.

Watch Innertube

via | MSNBC

MOTORAZR maxx Broadband Phone Announced

You might think you've got the top RAZR phone, but I've got news for you. Motorola's new high-speed MOTORAZR maxx broadband phone is a whole new ball game. This RAZR features a futuristic blend of metal and glass and touch-sensitive music keys that illuminate. The MOTORAZR maxx is one of the smallest broadband phones, using 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) wireless technology for broadband-like speed and data capabilities.