T-Mobile USA is opening up its new cellular broadband network to laptops for the first time, with Wednesday’s launch of a USB “dongle” that lets portable computers get wireless Internet access.
The device costs $50 with a two-year contract, or $100 if the buyer is signing up for one year. From then, service costs $60 per month for up to 5 gigabytes of traffic.
The prices are similar to those at the three larger cellular carriers. T-Mobile is playing catch-up to Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. when it comes to building out a nationwide third-generation, or “3G” data network.
T-Mobile inaugurated the network last year for the use of a few phones, most notably the G1 “Google phone.” The network reached about 100 million people by the end of 2008, and T-Mobile plans for it to cover 200 million by the end of this year, said Jeremy Korst, T-Mobile’s director of broadband products and services. T-Mobile subscribers using the dongle will get access to the company’s network of 10,000 Wi-Fi hot spots at hotels, airports, and Borders book stores.
More data in Google search results
Google Inc. prides itself on setting trends, but it appears to be copying some of its smaller rivals with the latest refinements to the way it displays Internet search results.
After months of testing, Google tweaked its technology Tuesday to occasionally display longer descriptions of Web sites in response to search requests consisting of several words. The expanded snippets will contain three or four lines from Web sites instead of the usual one or two lines.
The switch is designed to give Google’s audience a better sense of what information a Web site has even before users click on the link.
Apple co-founder advising startup
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — strutting his stuff as a competitor on the ABC show “Dancing With the Stars” — is joining the advisory board of search startup DeepDyve.
DeepDyve Chief Executive William Park said he got to know Wozniak through mutual acquaintances and wanted him on the board because of the personal computing pioneer’s passion for the convergence of technology and education. Park said he also was drawn to Wozniak’s efforts to make technology more powerful and yet easier to use.
Park said the advisory board is intended to help shape the company’s strategy and the direction of its products.
The Associated Press
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