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.

Breaking News: Major Wi-Fi Security Vulnerability Revealed, Mobile Routers & Devices Impacted

This morning an embargo was lifted on a newly discovered major security vulnerability that impacts essentially EVERY Wi-Fi device currently in existence. In particular – recent Android and Linux devices are particularly vulnerable to having secure connections eavesdropped upon, though with more effort the same attack can be used against Windows, iOS, and MacOS. Even […]

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AT&T Mobile Hotspots “No Longer Eligible” for Unlimited Data Plans

UPDATE (10/20/2017) – Details & Deadline Confirmed AT&T has updated its internal customer service resource system with more details about the changes coming to hotspots on Unlimited Plus & Choice plans, clarifying some critical details. In a nutshell: Mobile hotspots and aircards will no longer be able to be added to an existing AT&T Unlimited […]

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weBoost Introduces Substantially Sleeker “Drive Sleek” Cellular Booster

When Wilson Electronics rebranded as weBoost in 2015, they took the existing Sleek 4G cradle-style signal booster, changed the plastic casing a bit, and re-released it as the weBoost Drive 4G-S – retiring the “Sleek” brand in the process. But now “Sleek” is back in the weBoost product line – with today’s newly announced weBoost […]

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Apple’s New iPhones – Cellular Performance Potential Analyzed

This past week Apple unveiled the new iPhone 8 line, and the stunning all-new iPhone X. In just about every way these new phones raise the bar for the entire mobile industry, with laptop-caliber CPU performance in your pocket, incredible augmented reality features, and cameras that promise to take absolutely stunning pictures. But… While the latest iPhones are […]

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Cell Carriers Respond to Hurricane Harvey With Free Data, Calls, COWs, and COLTs

It is heartbreaking to see the disaster unfolding across the Texas Gulf Coast as Harvey slowly rolls through, dumping absolutely unimaginable amounts of rain. In this sort of disaster – wired infrastructure is easily damaged, and people forced to evacuate are left with only mobile technology to rely on. Fortunately – all the major cellular […]

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Verizon’s New Plans Heap New Limits On “Unlimited”

Verizon is making some major changes. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday, August 23rd) Verizon is retiring its newly launched Unlimited plan from February, and is replacing it with a whole new set of Unlimited plans – with a whole lot of complicated fine print and limitations attached. Most significantly – video is now being throttled on every […]

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The Race to Gigabit LTE (And Why Things Seem To Actually Be Getting Slower)

Two of the top stories in the past week in the cellular industry seem to be in direct conflict with each other. On one hand – there are reports of carriers demonstrating real-world gigabit cellular speeds, with Verizon and T-Mobile both boasting that they will be rolling out gigabit capability in some areas and on […]

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Verizon Experimenting With Netflix / YouTube Video Throttling

UPDATE (July 23rd, 2017): Experiment Seemingly Over We can confirm that as of this morning, it seems as if Verizon has stopped experimentally throttling video streams. The line we had witnessed consistently capped at 10Mbps is now humming along at 30+ Mbps. Some have speculated that Verizon only backed down from the throttling because of […]

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Satellite Internet Update: Iridium, OneWeb, SpaceX, and HughesNet

It has been a busy month for space fans. June began with the launch of ViaSat-2, the “world’s most powerful” internet communications satellite. And yesterday afternoon there was another major launch destined to expand the potential for staying connected anywhere on the globe: The launch of the second set of ten satellites in the Iridium […]

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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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