Turning Smartphones into Wi-Fi Hotspots
March 27 2008 / by Venessa Posavec
Category: Communication Year: 2008 Rating: 7
National Wi-Fi is a hot topic lately. We’ve recently reported on
Google’s plan to
make it happen and Intel’s new wi-fi platform.
Now, a new product has launched that may satisfy our need for
around the clock connectivity. 
TapRoot Systems announced it’s WalkingHotSpot software yesterday, which offers a new way to get connected using your handheld device. If you own a Wi-Fi and mobile broadband-enabled cellphone, the software turns it into a Wi-Fi router, effectively transforming your phone into a hotspot.
There are a few kinks to be worked out before this can be widely adopted. The service will be sold to carriers, not directly to consumers, so we’ll have to wait and see who picks it up. Also, only phones based on AT&T Wireless’ service would allow internet access and phone calls to be made simultaneously. To narrow it further, only phones using Symbian S60 or Windows Mobile operating systems are currently supported.
Regardless, mobile phones are already the most prevalent communication device worldwide. Imagine what this could do for people in rural areas where laying cable internet may not be practical or affordable. Or for the student or businessperson who’d like to get work done from the park, train, or even the beach. No matter where you go, you’re your own wireless hookup.
As TapRoot CEO Bob Bicksler put it, “We see this as a truly disruptive technology.” While we wait for the promise of national wi-fi coverage, this may be the solution to the public demand for “consolidated anywhere, anytime, any-device connectivity.”
(via Yahoo News)
Comment Thread (1 Response)
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Sweet, and as Bicksler points out, potentially very disruptive. Seems like we were due for something like this in telecom. Now we can kick back and watch everyone scramble.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis March 27, 2008
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