Wi-Fi

In what could be the final deathblow to dial-up connections, the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday will outline to Congress how it will spend $7.2 billion in stimulus funds to provide high-speed broadband Internet access to millions of Americans.

Apple is now taking pre-orders for its much-anticipated iPad tablet device. Apple started selling the various versions of the devices in the Apple Store at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Eastern time.

The devices will begin shipping in April, with Wi-Fi versions promised for April 3, or April 5 for customers who don't have Saturday delivery. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model will not ship until late April. Apple is offering free shipping to customers who pre-order the iPad.

You may not know it, but your gadgets have a hidden agenda. Think about the electronics you own. No doubt there's a digital music player such as an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune. Then there's a smartphone -- perhaps an iPhone or a Droid that sports the Google-inspired Android operating system. For games, your family may have an Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, or Nintendo Wii. For books, there's the Kindle from Amazon, among others. When the iPad hits stores on Apr. 3, you'll want that, too.

Makers of some applications that seek out Wi-Fi access are now seeking a new home after Apple purged a select group from its App Store. In a blog post this week, 3Jacks Software said it is the latest developer to get the boot from the increasingly choosy App Store.

As Apple gets ready to ship its Pads with AT&T as the exclusive U.S. 3G carrier, the wireless giant's CEO seems to be downplaying expectations by saying the tablet computer will be "largely a Wi-Fi-driven product."

The basic iPad with Wi-Fi will sell for $499, and consumers who want 3G connections will have to shell out an extra $130 and pay AT&T $30 per month for unlimited data, or $15 a month for a 250MB plan. They'll also have to wait an extra month for 3G-capable tablets.

No Strain on Network

Coming soon to an iPhone near you -- a selection of new movies? Netflix, the pioneer of home DVD delivery that recently stated streaming movies online and onto game consoles, appears to be testing the waters for an iPhone app.

A single-question e-mail survey began reaching Netflix users this week trying to gauge interest in such an app.

App May Not Have 3G

Nintendo on Thursday revealed its next wave of products. The video-game maker is also planning to release Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M in the first half of 2010, but Nintendo DSi XL is taking the spotlight -- and entering the e-reader market.

The new DSi XL handheld system launches March 28 and will retail for $189.99. There are plenty of improvements, beginning with screen size. The screens are 93 percent larger than the Nintendo DS Lite and feature a wider viewing angle so friends and family can share the experience.

Verizon Wireless will let customers use the Internet phone service Skype to make free calls on some phones, an application that wireless carriers have been slow to allow.

Google on Wednesday announced plans to experiment with ultrafast Internet access -- more than 100 times faster than most Americans have access to today with one-gigabit-per-second connections. Google expects to offer the fiber service at a competitive price to between 50,000 and 500,000 people in several cities.

Verizon Wireless said Wednesday that it will launch another Android-based smartphone from Motorola next month. The Motorola Devour will be the first phone on Verizon's national network to feature MOTOBLUR -- an application and service suite that provides users with dynamically pushed Internet content via a unique user interface.