Gadizmo.com » Wi-Fi

nook Now Available at Barnes & Noble

Rachel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:36:04 +0000

If that iPad thing isn’t working out for you, there’s still the nook. Remember that little guy? He’s the Barnes & Noble e-reader, which the company says is now available in stores.

The retailer had been teasing patrons last fall with a sneak peek, but finally made the nook available in stores starting Wednesday, February 10. It’s also available at nook.com.

B&N seems to think that the eReader will be a hot item for Valentine’s Day. In fact, they plan to offer exclusive holiday-themed online content, such as Kevin Zraly’s column “Read Between the Wines” (get it?) and a tasty red velvet cupcake recipe from Anne Byrn, the Cake Mix Doctor.

However, they haven’t said anything about how many they plan to ship out, just stating that “the majority of its stores” would get the product to sell. This could be a dealbreaker for your sweetie, since the company quickly burned through its online stash over Christmas.

Aside from downloading eBooks, magazines and newspapers, the nook offers free in-store Wi-Fi and other content. It also has 2GB of storage for 1,500 eBooks, a nifty 3.5-inch color touchscreen, an the Android OS. What could be more romantic?

Before you head out into the cold, use Barnes & Noble’s nook In-Store Locator to make sure your store has stock.

http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/2010_february_8_nook_valentines.html

Wi-Fire Review

Charles — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:10:38 +0000

Thanks to the guys over at hField Tecnology we had an engaging new gadget to play with over our holiday vacation. The Wi-Fire is a USB device that extends wireless access connections from up to 1,000 feet away which is three times further than a traditional internal wireless adapter.

The Wi-Fire uses a powerful directional antenna, highly sensitive receiver and proprietary software (which is included) to find and enhance normal Wi-Fi signals. Now we are not saying that just because you will be able to find and connect to a range of wireless connections that you should do so willy nilly but, with this product and an open network or with the help of the guys over at Whisher you will be equipped to do so.

Right out of the box the Wi-Fire delivered. We installed the simple to use software, plugged in the directional antenna, and instantly we were able to see 6 new connections that were previously undetectable with our regular Linksys USB adapters. In addition to our new found networks our own network signal went from 85% to a full 100% once we properly aligned the antenna.

If you live in an area with a lot of open Wi-Fi networks or have a large area to cover with your own network the guys over at hField are definitely on to something with the Wi-Fire. With an MSRP of just $79 you should seriously consider the Wi-Fire the next time you are in the market for a new wireless adapter.