Engadget has some hands on time with the new service. The concept is simple, if your at home and have wifi why not use it to make cell phone calls? First you’ll need a router, T-Mobile gives you a choice of either a Linksys WRT56G-TM or some D-Link piece of trash, take the Linksys. Next you need a cellphone with WiFi, the only two models being offered are the Nokia 6086 and Samsung’s T409. Last you need to pay an extra $10 a month for this convenience.
Does it work well? They were impressed, but I’m certainly not. You know how annoying a bright light bulb is at night when all the bugs tend to gravitate toward it and proceed to eat pounds of your flesh? Well imagine what your local Starbucks is going to look like with hundreds of teenagers squatting just to make free phone calls. Does your child spend the majority of their day at home or the mall? Get them HotSpot@Home and a few free Mocha Latte coupons.
One more thing, what about us WiFi toting T-Mobile customers using an unlocked, imported handset. Something tells me we’re shafted.