Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

One of the conundrums facing device makers this day is how to add wireless connectivity to their products. E-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook use world wide web access primarily for selling you more content, so it can be absolutely subsidized. Laptops, on the other hand, can consume huge amounts of data, and so plans can run $60 per month and have capped bandwidth, even at that price. Apple and AT&T’s iPad pricing scheme attempts a compromise: a $15 prepaid for a minimal 250 MB per month that could serve the needs of many users (especially with a Flash-less browser and sideloaded video delivery), along with the option of a $30 unlimited plan.

For many users, though, there is another option: bring your own broadband. Last year, Novatel Wireless’s MiFi, launched in the U.S. by Sprint and Verizon Wireless, opened up the possibility for virtually any WiFi device to access the web over 3G connections. Laptops without 3G cards could access the internet from a vehicle and the iPod touch became a functional iPhone — and in some parts of AT&T’s alleged network coverage, more functional than an iPhone.

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Switched On: I, hotspot originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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