Daily deal – Zyxel USB wireless adapter with built in hotspot finder

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the Zyxel AG-225HSP USB Wi-Fi adapter/hotspot finder.

This small USB dongle adds Wi-Fi to any laptop that does not have it built in, plus it doubles as a hotspot finder that can help discover wireless hotspots without gaving to turn your laptop on.

This adapter usually retails for $40, but Newegg.com currently has it on sale with a $20 mail-in rebate and free shipping, bringing the price down to a very reasonable $20.

Not all laptops out there have Wi-Fi built in, and with more and more public locations adding wireless access, this device is the perfect way to help get your laptop online if you regularly pass through a hotel, airport or the local Starbucks.

Included in the box is the adapter with a protective cap, a USB extension cable, a driver CD and a wrist strap. The rebate is only valid on purchases made until September 28th.

Daily Deal – Half price unlimited Wi-Fi access from Boingo

by Scott Carmichael on

My deal of the day today is a way to get more than half off unlimited nationwide access to the Boingo Wi-Fi service.

With Boingo, you can access wireless hotspots from iBahn, T-mobile, AT&T, Wayport and Sprint. With unlimited access to these services, you’ll be able to get online from virtually every paid hotspot location in the country, including McDonalds®, Starbucks®, Barnes & Noble® and most hotel chains and airports.

The Boingo unlimited service normally costs $21.95 a month, but with this deal, you’ll be able to signup for just $9.95 a month. This rate is not a promotional rate, so it stays this low as long as you are with Boingo.

Many airports charge for Wi-Fi access, so if you have been a regular user of these services, you’ll easily earn that $9.95 back. The deal is also quite attractive for people currently subscribing to other Wi-Fi providers. The T-Mobile hotspot service is $19.95 per month, but since it is included in the Boingo unlimited package, you can see why it would make sense to pick Boingo instead.

To learn more about Boingo, and the locations they offer their service follow this link. A more comprehensive hotspot search site can be found at JiWire where you will also find an iPhone version of their search engine.

To signup, follow this link or go through their normal sign up procedure and use code UNL01090USD0 in the promotional code field.

Source: Flyertalk.com

Wi-Fi and satellite TV coming soon-ish on Continental

by Jerry Guo on

Starting next January (sorry you’ll have to wait ten more months), Continental will have Wi-Fi Internet access and satellite TV on every US flight. The Wi-Fi will be free for all passengers and satellite TV will be free in first-class and $6 in coach.

They’re using the same Internet provider as JetBlue’s, which has already started offering Wi-Fi. Other airlines have also jumped on the bandwagon: WestJet, Frontier, Virgin Blue, and AirTran. As for TV, you’ll be getting CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, ESP, among others.

A part of me can’t wait until next January, but I’m also going to be a bit nostalgic about the chance to get away from it all. If there was Internet offered on the plane, I would definitely jump on it, but then I would miss reading that good book or magazine.

I’m on da E train. Where da Hell are You?

by Iva Skoch on

As if the New York subway system isn’t loud enough. Now, the city is planning to get all the 277 stations wired for cell phones and Wi-Fi in the next six years. I know other cities in Europe and Asia with subway cell phone coverage, but New York?

On one hand, this could be good. The NYC subway is not the most reliable piece of public transportation known to man. It is not uncommon for trains to just not show for 30+ minutes. Calling to say you are running late might be convenient.

At the same time, the subway is about the only place in NYC where one is not exposed to people’s private conversations. The subway is also about the only place people don’t work. The 6 train will be a trip — all the Blackberry-thumb-typists trying to catch up on email even before they get to their downtown office. What happens to the time they save by working on the subway, you ask? They go on vacation to places without cell phone coverage…

Wi-Fi Best and Worst Hotels

by Erik Olsen on

We can sometimes come across a bit, oh, what’s the
word…not liberal exactly, but something like that. Maybe socially-conscious is the term I’m looking for. Whatever the
label, we believe that certain things in life ought to be free, provided by the state, as it were. Not health care
necessarily. Personally, I don’t profess to know enough about throw the system works to demand free health care. That
is a decision best left for the wonks. But when it comes to Wi-Fi, well, now we’re talking about something I am
passionat3 about. And yes, I believe that everyone, every man, woman, child and dog on the Internet, should be provided
with free Wi-Fi. It should be our right at citizens, as much a good of common consumption as water.

So that
is the high-minded prate of someone who wishes for a better, wired world. But what about the practicality of all this?
For travelers, what can we say about Wi-Fi in, say, hotels? OK. HotelChatter has
put together a list of best and worst of
the Wi-Fi offering hotels. The best goes to Kimpton Hotels,
whose Wi-Fi is simple, free and fast. Emphasis on free. How fricken annoying is it to get to a hotel and have them
charge you $9 an hour? On the other side, Marriott Hotels gets slammed for
its lack of consistency and high cost. So consider this the next time you make your hotel reservations.