4G iPhone sleeve offers 1GB of free data per month

[Video Link] The FreedomSleeve is an iPhone sleeve that connects a 3G iPhone to a "free" 4G network. It can be used as a wifi hotspot, and has a built-in battery to extend the iPhone's internal battery an additional 6 hours. It cost $99 and you get "up to 1GB of free data every month." According to GigaOM, each additional megabyte will cost a penny. Service is expected to start this summer. I hope the service is international. Freedom Pop iPhone Sleeve

• [Chrs]

  Just 30% more expensive for the hardware than established devices that just provide power (assuming Morphie is standard), plus a gig of free WiFi data and minimal overage fees…

  I’d love it if there is some explanation, but how is this a logical business model?

  • [Joshua Ochs]

    Exactly – “too good to be true” is involuntarily springing to mind.

• [thievedrelic231]

  Does this mean that those dastardly *hem* jailbreakers on T-mobile and other non-ATT-3G-frequency networks can finally utilize the full throttle of their phones’ data capabilities?

• [miasm]

  72 ping!
  Disgraceful.

• [Nathan]

  /rant

  So no actual description of the subscription terms (monthly fees, cellular data add-ons, taxes, etc. etc. etc. – and no, telling BB or some random tech blog about it does NOT count) on the site beyond a boilerplate weasel-clause TOS and privacy policy. And the pre-order service check asks me for not only my name, email address and zip code, but my home address as well?  If they need to be that specific, if only PART of a single zip code may be covered, I have doubts. Sometimes I even leave my house with my mobile phone. Strange but true.

  So, yeah. Not hardly fishy at all. What next? “Please provide a credit card number, so we can verify… Things. Yeah. Technical things.”  Pro-tip, guys. If you’re offering an apparently-too-good-to-be-true service, and you’re actually legit, try not doing everything possible to make yourself look like a phishing scheme.  And maybe, you know, describe your service beyond a few nebulous bullet points.  We shouldn’t have to go to a random tech news website to figure out how you work.

  /rant off

• [Dennis Chi]

  Engadget is reporting that the service is backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom. If it’s legit, that’s amazing. 
  http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/10/skype-co-founders-latest-company-signs-deal-with-lightsquared/

• [pajp]

  6 Mbps doesn’t really sound like 4G. Here in Finland people are complaining that the 3rd gen iPad didn’t get the “real” 4G but I still regularly get 17-20 Mbps. My 3G Nokia N9 gets 4-6 Mbps.

  • [Wisconsin Platt]

    Those of us in the states have to settle for 4G that is really just  a rebranded 3G + some enhancements.  In fact, a couple of IOS updates ago, my 3G connection on my iPhone 4S suddenly became a 4G connection even though the only change I can see is it says 4G instead of 3G up on the status bar.  :(

    • [Red Garner]

       Thats not true. Verizon offers 4g LTE service for a handful of android phones and portable wifi hotspots.  On my HTC thunderbolt i get between 20 and 30 mbps in Philly and NY. Even in some less popular 4g markets like Allentown and Scranton i get 10+ mbps.

• [just_a_user]

  Might be slower when its in wide use.

• [manicbassman]

  well, there’s nothing magic about this that stops it from being available for Android phones bar the connector issue and the fact that Android phones come in a myriad of form factors…

• [ludwigk]

  Are you missing a /s tag?  The FreedomPOP is a 4G cell receiver that acts as a wifi hotspot.  So the phone HAS to be on wifi to use the FreedomPOP.

  Of course, I have no idea what a “free” 4G network is.  If there is such a thing, why do wireless plans cost so much?

• [Nylund]

  From an article I saw, it says it “will tap into Clearwire’s WiMax network.”  It says that’s only available in 72 markets right now.  One can check one’s address here:

  http://www.freedompop.com/preorder.htm 

  The article also says it only guarantees 500 mb of free data, with some vague statement about ways to get it up to 1 gig.