T-Mobile phones: Wi-Fi to cellularWouldn’t it be great to have your own cell tower at home?
It’s the gist of what T-Mobile USA rolled out recently: the option to use your Wi-Fi router instead of the cellular network on two new phones.
For those who have poor reception in their homes and would like to drop their landlines, T-Mobile HotSpot AtHome appears to be a good choice.
The new phones will hand over calls already in progress from Wi-Fi to the cellular network if you leave the hotspot, so you can start a call at home and keep talking as you walk out.
T-Mobile’s phones also automatically connect to the company’s 8,500 commercial hotspots in the U.S., including many Starbucks locations.
I tested the cellular-to-Wi-Fi handover a dozen times, and noticed an occasional audio drop-off.
The new phones, the Nokia 6086 and Samsung t409, cost $50 with a two-year contract and a calling plan of at least $40 month.
