New Software Turns Phones Into Wireless Hubs

Here’s an interesting development which is likely to be welcomed consumers but not by the mobile service providers. A new software allows WiFi-enabled devices to connect to the Internet via a smartphone’s data plan.
Smartphones today make calls, browse the Web and provide directions; now, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. wants to make them a gateway to the Web for other gadgets as well.
The chip maker has developed software that can provide laptops, iPods and other devices with Wi-Fi access to the Internet through a smartphone’s data plan, turning the smartphone into an Internet hub much like the wireless routers in living rooms and coffee shops – except, in this case, the hotspot would travel with you.
The Smart Mobile Hotspot technology converts 3G radio waves into a Wi-Fi signal and is the latest example of adding a feature to the smartphone at the expense of another device. Some analysts, however, say it could prove difficult to convince service providers to adopt this particular technology until industry players find a way to generate revenue from it.
Even though nearly every electronic gadget can connect to the Internet, there’s still a disconnect between phones that use cellular networks and the laptops, handheld videogames and other devices that generally connect to the Web via Wi-Fi. And while Wi-Fi hotspots abound at airports, college campuses and other public places, there remain areas where the best way to connect to the Web is through a cellular network.
Novatel Wireless Inc. recently deployed Marvell’s technology in a separate device called MiFi. The small credit-card shaped gadget creates a local Wi-Fi hub from a 3G network that can be accessed by up to five users. Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. have begun offering the device to consumers and businesses, along with a separate data plan.
But when the technology is deployed in phones, it could mean a wider market for the service and trouble for these MiFi devices. Like GPS devices, which thrived before smartphones began integrating that technology, personal devices like MiFi might have a short ride before smartphones take the reins.