Sprint Takes Wi-Fi on the Road with Ride-Fi

Plug Sprint’s Ride-Fi dongle into your car’s 12-volt power socket (formerly known as the cigarette lighter) and you create a Wi-Fi hotspot that’ll connect up to eight devices at a time while you’re cruising down the highway.

The device has a USB 2.0 port for device charging and can be controlled by an app that lets you set up pass words, manage connected devices, monitor data usage and connection speeds, set usage limits, and control roaming data selection.

Sprint is offering Ride-Fi for free with a two-year contract or you can pay $168, up front or spread over 24 months.

“The connected car experience has been an evolving conversation as consumers are needing more ways to stay connected on the go, and in-car Wi-Fi is an important step to get to that full experience,” said Jon Maron, vice president for Alcatel OneTouch, maker of the device. “By offering an affordable option like Ride-Fi, we’re able to help more consumers experience the freedom of on the go 4G LTE Wi-Fi regardless of the age or model car they drive.”

AT&T and Verizon offer similar devices but they are powered through the car’s OBD-II data bus port, which means the devices aren’t compatible with older vehicles.

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