The Cradlepoint Personal Hotspot works just like a home cable or DSL modem, only it hooks up to your mobile phone.
The idea is that you can share your mobile data connection via the Cradlepoint's WiFi network. The blurb talks about "mobile business solutions" and "emergency response networks", but this could be just the thing for people tired of futzing with their cellphone and laptop: the Li-ion powered box is apparently plug and play, and configures itself to grab a network connection via the phone's USB data connector.
Although it's not mentioned anywhere on spec page, we guess that the Cradlepoint will also work as a regular router, handy for setting up quick networks offline (for file-sharing and the like). In fact, the box is just a battery powered 802.11b/g box, with a NAT firewall, WEP, WPA and all the usual VPN, access control and Telnet options.
The only trouble seems to be battery life. You'll get a short one and a half hours if you plug a USB modem straight in, and three hours with a tethered phone. The unit also charges powers the phone itself, so this could be even shorter. Oh, and it costs $180. Check the site for compatibility, although if you're not on Sprint or Verizon, don't bother. The WiFi side will work with anything that can grab a wireless signal.
Product page [Cradlepoint via Boy Genius]
