Chris Dunphy

About Chris Dunphy

Chris has been a full-time technomad since 2006, starting out solo in a ridiculously small travel trailer - and now partnered with Cherie in a teched-out and restored vintage bus. A lifelong geek, he was one of the founding editors of 'boot Magazine' (still going strong as 'Maximum PC'), and before hitting the road full time he was the Director of Competitive Analysis for mobile technology pioneers Palm & PalmSource. Keeping up on mobile technology is a passion for him. Chris is one part of the Technomadia.com duo, and is co-host here at RVMobileInternet.com.

Verizon Pulls The Plug: FMCA’s Insanely Good Verizon Unlimited Hotspot Deal WAS Too Good To Be True

Last week’s huge news story was the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) launching an amazing deal on Verizon unlimited data hotspots – just $43.99/mo for an unlimited hotspot data plan that was well more than an order of magnitude cheaper than anything you could get from Verizon directly. With a deal that good – the FMCA’s […]

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FMCA Rolls Out Unlimited Verizon Hotspot Plan

Update (6/19/2017): The FMCA has posted in several public locations a message saying that Verizon has “pulled the offering” – canceling all orders before any of the hotspots had shipped. We’ve published a new story with all the details: Verizon Pulls The Plug: FMCA’s Insanely Good Verizon Unlimited Hotspot Deal WAS Too Good To Be […]

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ViaSat-2 Launched – World’s Most Powerful Internet Communications Satellite

We’ve been closely tracking satellite internet provider ViaSat since 2014 when it’s Exede division launched “virtually unlimited” 12Mbps satellite internet service for just $70/month, momentarily generating a lot of excitement. But… Exede’s spot-beam technology did not at all support mobile users who left their assigned regional spots behind, and Exede’s ViaSat-1 satellite powering the Exede service was […]

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Verizon Introduces “SmartHub” Home Internet Replacement – With A Huge Catch!

Verizon today announced the SmartHub – a box designed to use a cellular connection to provide residential home internet, a “landline” phone jack, and smart home control of lights, thermostats, and locks. Verizon explains it this way: “SmartHub is a wireless, smart home solution that manages your connected home devices, provides reliable, high-speed internet powered by America’s […]

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A New Type of Cell Booster: Introducing the Cel-Fi Go M

We’ve been tracking Nextivity’s unique Cel-Fi cellular boosters for years now – but their technology in the Unites States has only ever been used in residential boosters that were a very poor match for mobile and RV installations. But last summer a Nextivity product manager called us up to confidentially share tentative plans for an upcoming mobile […]

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Sprint’s “Magic Box” Promises Improved Coverage – If You Qualify

Sprint this week announced “The Sprint Magic Box” – the “World’s First All-Wireless Small Cell” designed to act as a relay to help overcome Sprint’s notorious problem with indoor slow speeds and dead zones. Sprint describes the box this way: “The Sprint Magic Box is an indoor, self-configuring small cell, about the size of a […]

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Winegard Announces ConnecT 4G1: Rooftop Wi-Fi & Cellular Combined

Last October when we wrote about the new Winegard ConnecT roof-mounted long-range Wi-Fi receiver, there was something that we were asked not to share. Our test unit, which we had been previewing since May, was also equipped with cellular capabilities. From the very beginning Winegard had been designing this new product line to combine Wi-Fi and […]

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ALERT: Verizon Now Enforcing 10GB Hotspot Limit with New “Unlimited” Plan!

When Verizon launched the new Verizon Unlimited Plan in February, the fine print clearly stated that hotspot / tethering usage would be limited to 10GB per billing period – with tethering speeds supposed to be throttled to a glacial 600kbps once that limit was crossed. But Verizon’s own sales reps for the most part never understood […]

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Major Update to ‘Coverage?’ Released – Featuring HD Maps & Android Support

We’re thrilled to announce that the newly re-written ‘Coverage?’ app is now available – featuring fully updated maps, and the option to subscribe to get higher resolution coverage map overlays and a satellite view basemap. And at long last…. ‘Coverage?’ for Android is live in the Google Play store too! For those who may not be familiar […]

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weBoost Launches Drive 4G-X RV Cellular Booster / Antenna Kit

When weBoost first announced the Drive 4G-X cellular booster in February 2015, they also announced a special weBoost Drive 4G-XR bundle “coming soon” that was intended specifically for RVers. For the longest time – this upcoming kit was even featured prominently on the weBoost website. But then in April 2015, weBoost removed the Drive 4G-XR […]

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WiFiRanger Introduces Cellular-Integrated SkyPro LTE (and Millenicom Partnership)

WiFiRanger this week has announced the SkyPro LTE that combines the current SkyPro roof-mounted Wi-Fi receiver with an integrated LTE modem and antennas. Roof-mounted placement improves signal and performance by getting the cellular radio clear of obstructions and low-level clutter, while also eliminating any signal loss from long antenna cables running down into your RV. WiFiRanger […]

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Peplink Embraces LTE-A at Last, but Basic MAX BR1 Update Seemingly Delayed

We’ve been eagerly waiting for mobile router manufacturer Peplink to embrace LTE-Advanced technology in their cellular-integrated Pepwave routers – and at last Peplink has announced this long delayed and often teased update across the bulk of their product line! Peplink describes the advantages of the upgraded models this way: LTE-A also supports newer region and carrier […]

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Mobile Pricing Revealed for HughesNet “Gen5” Satellite Internet Service

We’ve been tracking the rollout of the fifth generation service from satellite internet provider HughesNet for a long time now. HughesNet “Gen5” is set to offer peak speeds of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up, a substantial improvement over older satellite internet services that will make HughesNet a lot more competitive with LTE cellular technology. And unlike HughesNet’s […]

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AT&T Unleashes Affordable Unlimited Data for “Connected Cars” – Chevy OnStar or ZTE Mobley

Since 2015 most new Chevy, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles have come with “OnStar with 4G LTE” built in – adding an AT&T-powered Wi-Fi hotspot capability to the classic car-integrated OnStar security and navigation features. The basic idea is to keep your passengers entertained and online while underway. But the rather limited and expensive data plans […]

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