Autonet Car Wi-Fi Now At Amazon

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 6/22/2009

San Francisco — Autonet Mobile’s car Wi-Fi hot spot became available Monday at Amazon.com for $299 after a $100 rebate.

The car Wi-Fi hot spot, already offered as an option on all Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles and on a Cadillac and Volkswagen model, is also available through about 450 car stereo specialists.

Under the arrangement with Amazon, users may elect to install the Autonet hot spot through the InstallerNet network of more than 1,600 car stereo installers for an extra fee, as the unit requires professional installation. The Autonet Mobile hot spot also carries monthly charges of $29.

The hot spot uses an EV-DO cellular connection that is converted to Wi-Fi so that many passengers in the car can access the Internet simultaneously. Autonet claimed it manages the EV-DO connection down the packet layer, so the system holds onto packets and redistributes them to prevent dropped service.