Walt Mossberg reviews Autonet: spotty, but still distracting enough to be dangerous

Chrysler's in-car WiFi, Autonet Mobile, has been around for a little while now, and Walt Mossberg has helpfully reviewed it for us. He found the service (which is basically an in-car 3G WiFi router) to be great for email and basic web surfing, but it was too slow to handle anything much more demanding, like streaming videos. Speed test results ranged from 100 kbps to 500 kbps, with an average of 400-450 kbps... pretty average for 3G speeds, and Walt says the connection never dropped. On the plus side, it appears that Chrysler is willing to mount the ruggedized router in the trunk of any car -- not just their models -- which is great news if, like most people, you have no intention of driving a Chrysler around. The Autonet box runs $499 ($399 for the holidays) with a one-year contract and monthly fees of about $29. That may seem expensive, but can you put a price on your kids checking Facebook rather than asking "Are we there yet" every twelve seconds? Hit the read link for the full review.

engadget.com

HTC Touch HD Reviews Pour In (Verdict: Best Win-Mo Phone Yet, But Still Win-Mo)

HTC is not releasing the Touch HD in the United States. Which still seems a little crazy to me, because few other phones have received such a favorable and envious reaction online recently. Despite the fact that you probably won't ever want to import one (no US 3G pretty much seals the deal), the Touch HD is still a useful indicator of where HTC, one of the biggest mobile players there is, is going. Now that the phone is available in the UK and Europe, the reviews are starting to hit, and while pretty much everyone continues to be wowed by the hardware, there's that pesky little Windows Mobile thing that keeps coming up.

Hardware wise, there is of course the 480 x 800 screen which is the centerpiece—everyone says what the pictures and videos have been telling us since the beginning: it's beautiful. Less fantastic, though, is the resistive touch screen (which is cheaper and less-responsive than a capacitative touchscreen like the iPhone 3G's). HTC goes with resistive on almost all of its phones to ensure they'll be accepted by the Asian market, in which recognition of complex characters written with a stylus is key (styli are the only thing that doesn't work quite as well on a capacitive screen).

TouchFLO, HTC's custom Win-Mo GUI has a ton of room to be awesome on this screen, and makes Windows Mobile look as good as any other phone out there now. But there's one huge problem: unless you stick with making calls, taking photos and using a few of the built-in widgets like weather and stocks, you'll often find yourself dropping back into Win-Mo 6.1's default interface, which looks MUCH less pretty on the HD's beautiful screen. That means getting your media on the phone and accessing it is still just as painful as on any other Win-Mo piece. Ahem, HTC? Android? Think it's about time.

So yeah, given that this phone is useless on all of the US 3G networks, the import market will be next to 'nil. But here's hoping the Touch HD is merely a prelude to a similar device running Android, complete with luscious US 3G bands, sometime soon.

[Mobile Tech Addicts, CNET UK, Slash Gear, Phone Arena]

www.gizmodo.com

Confirmed: 3G Tethering Coming to iPhone

AT&T has confirmed what was once rumor. Laptop tethering is coming to the iPhone. At the Web 2.0 Summit today, AT&T Mobility President/CEO Ralph De La Vega has said that wireless modem tethering will be available "soon." That's all we know for now, but more details as they come in, of course. [Technologizer]

www.gizmodo.com

Switched On: The Peek of popularity

Last week's Switched On delved into Celio's REDFLY, an austere smartphone accessory designed for enterprise users who manage their digital lives on their smartphones. REDFLY has faced scrutiny from the geek elite who have noted that, for about the same price as a REDFLY, one can get an independently functioning netbook that does so much more. A similar argument has also been levied at Peek, a wireless e-mail appliance that delivers only a part of what most smartphones can do.

But the two products could hardly be more different. Whereas REDFLY is a smartphone companion, Peek is a smartphone alternative featuring a slim design and a commitment to simplicity that borders on obsession. For example, Peek, like many modern smartphones, will attempt to guess your mail server information by your e-mail address. But if your e-mail address stumps it, there is no way to enter a server name or IP address manually. This omission is intentional, according to Peek, which didn't want consumers to have to find out technical settings. Instead, customers are directed to contact the company's support line where a customer service representative will set up the account for them.

The approach is in lockstep with the device's target market -- busy and less technical consumers, particularly young mothers, who find themselves increasingly dependent on e-mail and don't want the complexity of a smartphone or the high cost of running one on a 3G network. Peek provides an alternative to a growing movement within the cellular industry to force minimal data plans on advanced phones. And for consumers who find carrier stores less than inviting, Peek is sold at Target, and it works.
Those skeptical that any e-mail-only device could find market acceptance should recall that early Blackberry devices -- from which Peek has borrowed the scroll wheel-driven popup menu interface -- ran on paging networks with no voice support. Blackberry didn't hit its stride until it became available from major U.S. carriers. However, for years after that even many devoted Blackberry handset users maintained a separate cell phone for voice.

Peek enjoys a large target market and says it can be wildly successful if it captures even a small fraction of it. But while Peek likely won't have to do as much proselytizing on the value of wireless e-mail access as RIM did for many years, it will need to get out its message like any new brand and idea. That is more challenging without the power of carrier distribution. However, the product received a literal vote of confidence this week when it was voted by readers as Time magazine's Gadget of the Year (an honor nearly as prestigious as the Switchie). It received nearly three times the number of votes as the second-ranking Apple's MacBook, a product that could be expected to attract a far greater number of online activist platform zealots.

The company likens its product's positioning to Pure Digital Corp's popular, compact, simple and affordable Flip video camera, which has succeeded in the face of digital cameras that can capture video of comparable quality. But there's at least one important difference. Peek requires a $19.95 per month subscription, which is more expensive than the one that which limited the appeal of the pricier Dash Express connected portable navigation device. Dash has announced that it is exiting the consumer hardware business and focusing on providing its network services to other manufacturers. Time and again, new device categories that require recurring charges have faced a tough time at retail.

But Peek, which is one of those products that is as much about where it is sold as what it does, may be able to capitalize on somewhat of an exception to the rule. Pre-paid cell phones sell very well at mass merchant retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart and few pre-paid phones among the museum pieces offered by Tracfone or even those from the hip Virgin Mobile and major carriers offer anything close to the Peek experience today. As cheap QWERTY feature phones continue to enter the market, though, Peek will have to take a long look ahead as it bucks convention and convergence.

engadget.com

AT&T Quickfire Release Date Leaked

The AT&T Quickfire will be heating up the competition with the T-Mobile Sidekick when it is released on November 10 this year. This tri-band cell phone will only cost $99 with a 2-year contract—$299 without—and doesn't seem like a Windows Mobile phone, or any other OS we've ever seen. The Quickfire includes a touch screen, full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 3G, a music player, and GPS, and will come in orange, lime and silver. [Engadget Mobile via cnet]

www.gizmodo.com