Sonos Wireless Dock now Shipping for $119.99

Sonos shipped its first wireless iPod/iPhone dock WD100, which turns the portable devices into a music source for the company's wireless multiroom-audio systems.

The wireless dock is available through authorized Sonos dealers and the company's web site at a suggested $119.

Sonos systems use amplified and unamplified tabletop clients, called ZonePlayers, to stream music wirelessly from a PC and from the Internet.

With the dock, consumers will be able to their music libraries without booting up a PC or even connecting a PC at all to a Sonos network. The dock will also enable friends to bring their iPod or iPhone to a Sonos household for playback through a Sonos system.

The dock will also stream music from Internet radio applications stored on a WiFi-equipped iPod Touch and iPhone.

The dock, which charges the docked Apple devices, captures audio from the docked devices' PCM audio output, bypassing the devices' tiny digital-to-analog converters to deliver higher quality sound to Sonos clients.

The Sonos Wireless Dock is compatible with iPod touch (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation), iPod classic, iPod nano (3rd, 4th, and 5th generation), iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPhone.

Atheros Wireless provides Hybrid Home Networking Solutions

When it comes to home networking we typically have 2 choices – WiFi or Powerline. Most of us don’t have Ethernet cabling in the walls and adding that cabling after the fact is impossible in some instances. Atheros has unveiled a new line of hybrid home networking solutions that combine both WiFi and Powerline networking into one package.

The new solutions are a combination of powerline and WiFi gear that allow the user to get wireless access in the home and get web access to parts of the home where WiFi is spotty and connections are slow or just don’t work. The hybrid systems have software that works behind the scenes to manage the network over the different connectivity methods the system offers.

The hybrid solutions also support networking and smart power solutions. The hub in the hybrid systems is capable of speeds up to 500Mbps to support streaming video and other bandwidth heavy uses. The Powerline/Ethernet adapters are offered in single of four port designs for connecting devices and can operate at up to 200Mbps over the Powerlines in the home. The systems also have a WiFi/Powerline range extender reference design to extend their network to reach WiFi devices in parts of the home where the normal signal just can’t reach. All of the products in the series will land in Q4 2010.

RIM Unveils New BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-300

RIM has rolled out a new headset to compliment the BlackBerry Wireless Headset HS-700. This headset has the following features:

• Smart and clean design – The sleek and stylish HS-300 is small, streamlined and simple to use.
• Rapid charging – With just 15 minutes of charging, the HS-300 can give up to two hours of talk time.
• Simple pairing – The HS-300 and BlackBerry smartphones work together seamlessly. The headset also supports other smartphones featuring Bluetooth HFP profiles.
• Voice prompts – The HS-300 talks to you, chiming in when the battery is getting low, when it’s on mute and more.
• Automatic volume control – When the noise level around you changes, the headset is designed to automatically increase or decrease the volume to maintain a comfortable listening level.

The BlackBerry Wireless Headset is available in North America today for $49.99. It's available in RIM's BlackBerry store.

Verizon Goes International With Wireless Fivespot Global HotSpot

Verizon Wireless has expanded its international connectivity options with the announcement of its Fivespot mobile hot spot device.

The Fivespot, made by ZTE, can function as an Internet access point for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Even better, it has a truly global footprint with support for the following wireless bands: dual-band CDMA (800/1900); quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900); EV-DO Rev. 0 and Rev. A; and tri-band WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA (850/1900/2100). That means you'll be able to use it in more than 200 countries.

The Fivespot measures 3.92 inches long by 2.11 wide and 0.55 inch deep and weighs 2.82 ounces, so portability shouldn't be a problem. The red and black color scheme reminds us that it's a Verizon device, but that's about as remarkable as the Fivespot's design gets.

The Fivespot will be available beginning October 7 for $99.99 with a new two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. Customers can choose from the following pricing plans.

Domestic monthly plans

• $39.99 monthly access for 250MB monthly allowance and $0.10/MB overage
• $59.99 monthly access for 5GB monthly allowance and $0.05/MB overage

Domestic prepaid plans

• $15 for 100MB (one day of use)
• $30 for 300MB (one week of use)
• $50 for 1GB (30 days of use)
• $80 for 5GB (30 days of use)

International plans

• $129.99 monthly access (5GB allowance for the United States and Canada, $0.05/MB overage), 100MB allowance in select countries ($0.005/KB after allowance)
• $219.99 monthly access (5GB allowance for the United States and Canada, $0.05/MB overage), 200MB allowance in select countries ($0.005/KB after allowance)
• Global Access Pay per Use for occasional use must be purchased with a $59.99 Mobile Broadband service plan in the United States. The Pay per Use rate is $0.002/KB in Canada, $0.005/KB in Mexico, and $0.02/KB in more than 200 other destinations.