Carol Ellison

The short-term outlook for Nextels enterprise customers under new, combined Sprint-Nextel management could prove difficult. But in the long term, the merger signals a new level of data service for the enterprise as Nextel moves its enterprise customer base from its aging IDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) to Sprints CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) system. […]

If you have a soft spot in your heart for underdogs (and who doesnt), its tough not to cheer Wednesdays news from PalmSource that it is acquiring mobile Linux vendor China MobileSoft. That hopeful spinoff of Palm Inc.—which came to life only a year ago—has had a tough infancy. But heres a move that promises […]

Its no surprise that the issue that topped the Wi-Fi agenda in 2004 was the same one thats plagued it almost from its introduction. Security, or rather “lack thereof,” was an inherent problem in WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), the native security spec in the 802.11 IEEE standard. 2004 was the long-awaited year for good news […]

Whether you call it malware or a badly written application, the skulls that showed up on a Symbian-based Nokia 7610 phone prove the battle to secure wireless data is stretching to new frontiers. The jury is still out on whether the suspect app, which puts skulls where your screen icons should be and limit the […]

One of the smaller but more interesting items that came across the transom this week was an announcement of new Wi-Fi connectivity pricing from iPass Inc. Starting December 1, the company will offer its enterprise customers flat-rate, unlimited-use monthly pricing across its Wi-Fi roaming network. Jon Russo, vice president of marketing at iPass, describes it […]

Theres something about Wi-Fi hot-spots that brings out the best and worst in road warriors. Call it that love-hate relationship that I talked about in my previous column. Other denizens of hot spots e-mailed me with their own interesting tales and tips. Our friend D. Kent Pingle, the “Wi-Fi Guy” whose running blog of hot-spot […]

Once upon a time—a little over a week ago as a matter of fact—I found myself in a northern suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, with this Web site to update and no broadband connection to help me do it. This is the story of how yours truly, with her trusty Vaio-con-Wi-Fi adapter under her arm, remote […]

Product introductions, with all of their attendant pitches, promotions and rollout ceremonies, are a fact of life when you work for the high-tech press. Its not unusual for editors to receive dozens of announcements per day. Some announce things that are dramatically new. Some announce upgrades. Some announce products that arent new but fill holes […]

Canadian Wi-Fi network company Sesame Networks makes its U.S. debut Monday with a security product designed to enable secure guest access to the Internet over enterprise wireless connections. Guest access has been a sticking point for Wi-Fi networks in enterprises where managers fear the consequences of opening segments of their WLANs (wireless LANs) for general […]

This weeks news that the Wi-Fi Alliance, the group that certifies wireless products, is taking a strong stand against certifying prestandard 802.11n products comes as no surprise. The groups role in the industry is, after all, to be the watchdog on standards and interoperability. Its logo on a product means the goods have been certified […]