question about the new t-mobile wifi arrangement

Is the phone usable at an 802.11 (wifi/hotspot)
that requires a password to connect?

The concept looks pretty useful for me, but...

but.. I'm not going to leave an "open" access
point hanging around.

Thanks


--
__________________________________________________ ___
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

At 24 Aug 2007 14:11:54 +0000 danny burstein wrote:
> Is the phone usable at an 802.11 (wifi/hotspot)
> that requires a password to connect?

Yes- as long as it's a WEP/WPK password.

However...

> The concept looks pretty useful for me, but...
>
> but.. I'm not going to leave an "open" access
> point hanging around.

Ageeed. Where the service suffers, IMHO, is that browser
authentication can't be used (at least on the current crop of phones
T-Mo offers) so free Wi-Fi at a hotel, for example, that requires you
to log-in as "guest" or even just accept a T&C page to connect won't
work. (This is the same problem that makes most of the wi-fi Skype
phones next to useless. Home is the LAST place I need the service to
work! I have plenty of communication alternatives at home!) It will
sign-on to T-Mobile' own Wi-Fi "Hotspot" APs (like at a Starbucks,)
however.


I'm hoping the new HP UMA phone (the iPaq 510 series) supports
browser authentication, and that T-Mo offers it. (I'm certainly not
above buying my phones subsidzed!) The service is a neat idea, But
they need to work out a few kinks to get it really useful.



--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:11:54 +0000 (UTC), danny burstein
<dannyb@panix.com> wrote:

>Is the phone usable at an 802.11 (wifi/hotspot)
>that requires a password to connect?
>
>The concept looks pretty useful for me, but...
>
>but.. I'm not going to leave an "open" access
>point hanging around.
>
>Thanks

T-Mobile isn't doing this through a phone; it's through a special
gateway that allows a compatible phone to use a special wireless
router that then connects with TM's network. I haven't seen the
router, but couldn't believe that it doesn't support WPA or some other
form of encryption.

Once you have the gateway set up, then any device that has wi-fi
capability will work with it.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

At 24 Aug 2007 11:30:19 -0400 Cyrus Afzali wrote:

> T-Mobile isn't doing this through a phone; it's through a special
> gateway that allows a compatible phone to use a special wireless
> router that then connects with TM's network.


Nope- it's through the phone- the phone can connect with T-Mo's UMA
servers via any wi-fi AP (you have access rights to) with or without
the "special" T-Mo router (which is only a little "special.")

UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) phones have the ability to send GSM
packets over the internet as well via a cellular tower. Obviously
the carrier (in this case, T-Mobile) has to be connected to the net
at their end to be "listening" for these packets.

This allows you to use your T-Mo phone/service wherever there is
internet access but no T-Mo cellular service-even overseas (provided
the wi-fi acess is open or you have the key).

> I haven't seen the
> router, but couldn't believe that it doesn't support WPA or some
other
> form of encryption.

They're rebranded D-Links ad Linksys Wireless-G routers, so yes, they
support encryption.. The only thing "special" about them is that
they have a special low-power mode that extends the battery life in
the UMA phones. Regular routers work fine, but the batteries in the
phones will drain faster under the demands of a constant wi-fi
connection.

> Once you have the gateway set up, then any device that has wi-fi
> capability will work with it.

Huh?

Only a UMA phone can work with UMA service- not any Wi-Fi-capable
phone.



--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003

On 2007-08-25, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:

> Huh?
>
> Only a UMA phone can work with UMA service- not any Wi-Fi-capable
> phone.

Are you sure Cyrus wasn't refering to the fact that you can use things like
computers, PDA's, etc. with the special routers like you can with a Wi-Fi/UMA
router?



--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
"Drench yourself in words unspoken / Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten"
- Natasha Beddingfield

At 25 Aug 2007 17:17:34 +0000 Steve Sobol wrote:
> On 2007-08-25, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:
>
> > Huh?
> >
> > Only a UMA phone can work with UMA service- not any Wi-Fi-capable
> > phone.
>
> Are you sure Cyrus wasn't refering to the fact that you can use
things like
> computers, PDA's, etc. with the special routers like you can with a
Wi-Fi/UMA
> router?


Actually I was having a very hard time parsing that sentence at all
(probably my fault- lack of sleep after a late-night drive back from
the airport!) That makes much more sense than my interpretation that
an wi-fi device could place a phone call! ;-)



--

"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003