At first the Audi audio unit above appears to be a typical CD/DVD drive.  That is, until you notice the SIM card slot placed between two SD card slots.  Yes, this head unit is really a 3G WiFi hotspot on wheels – taking your SIM card and filling your car with glorious WiFi.

Audi announced their Mobile Media Interface (MMI) system with WiFi earlier this month, and today the device showed up on the FCC.  As you can imagine, there are a ton of benefits to having a car constantly connected to the net.  You can download all sorts of real-time navigation and POI data, as well as traffic information and satellite imagery.

But lets be honest, what we’re all looking forward to is driving around while surfing the web.  At least for Audi passengers.  Imaging taking a road trip without losing Internet access.  That means Hulu on the road, not to mention mobile TV if you have a Slingbox.

We’re not exactly sure if you need to provide your own SIM, or if Audi will partner with local mobile phone carriers.  Hopefully, Audi will negotiate a low monthly rate for data access.

Audis with mobile WiFi are expected to hit showrooms in July 2010.  It’s unclear if Audi will offer MMI WiFi in all of their models, but we do know that at least the A8 will be available with this feature.

Motorola’s SURFboard SBG6580 Wi-Fi Cable Modem Gateway made an appearance on the FCC today.  The device combines a cable modem with a four port gigabit switch and 802.11 b/g/n wireless router.  Under the hood, the device appears to rely on a Broadcom switch and wifi transceiver.

External photos of the device show a bright orange version of the SBG6580 in addition to a more traditional black version.  No word on pricing or availability.

With over half a million WiFi access points, FON operates the world’s largest WiFi community.  The company built this network by providing customers with low cost routers, which are added to the FON network and can be accessed for free by all FON subscribers.  The company even gives you a cut of revenue generated when new users sign up through your hotspot.

To date, FON’s routers have been of the typical hard book-sized variety.  However today, the company passed a compact router called the FONERA Stone (FON2305B) through the FCC.

The Stone connects to your existing broadband modem, and provides 802.11 b/g/n connectivity.  All you need to do is plug in the router and register with FON, and you’re all set to join the FON community.

Although it may be a bit disconcerting to share your WiFi network with strangers, FON assures that your WiFi signal is secure so other FON users can’t access your network.  You can also choose how much bandwidth you want to share, so your Internet connection isn’t slowed by other users.

It’s an innovative business model, although at least in the Bay Area I don’t see too many FON networks.  Ideally, the FONERA Stone will come with a very low price point, encouraging users to set up their own FON networks and thereby expanding the FON community.

The novel WL150N-USBx 802.11 b/g/n adapter from AmbiCom ditches the traditional USB dongle for just one big antenna with a USB adapter at the end.  The antenna on the WL150N-USBx has a hinge near the end, so you can bend the antenna up or down or sideways, keeping it out of your way when you type.

That’s an improvement over typical USB dongles that protrude a few inches from your laptop and can be easily broken or bent.

No word on pricing or availability, but AmbiCom has a decent presence in the US, so it’s likely that the WL150N-USBx will appear in stores soon.

Cisco passed their versatile DDR2200 residential gateway through the FCC today.  This device makes the most out of your DSL connection – it provides wired or wireless G Internet connections for your PC, voice calling for a landline, or television services for a cable/IP set-top-box.  With support for HPNA, the device can also network multiple clients, including DVRs, TVs, or game consoles.

That’s a ton of functionality for a single box, and I’m sure it’ll attract a variety of ISPs, cable and telecon providers since it supports such a wide range of services and devices.  Most notably, it provides service providers with an upgrade path to IPTV, a big benefit as this service rolls out to more users.

No word on pricing or availability yet, but I’d expect to see more of this device from service providers soon.

This unassuming USB dongle from LG passed through the FCC today.  Known as the AN-WF100, this device is actually a WiFi adapter that brings the web to certain LG TVs.

I’ve noticed that many TVs now have USB ports, but to this point they’ve been used mostly for viewing pictures and video on a flash drive.  But LG’s AN-WF100 is a good effort by the company to provide modular upgradability to customers – definitely a much more practical solution than springing for a new TV.

The ETR9350 may not be ingenious, but it’s certainly a pretty good idea.  This pocketable device combines a wireless router with a 3G router, allowing you to share high speed wired Internet or mobile 3G Internet access through a USB stick.

Measuring only 3.5 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches in size, the ETR9350 is ideal for road warriors.  However, unlike the MiFi, the ETR9350 requires an AC adapter – it doesn’t have its own power supply.

No word on pricing or availability.

Last month Palm released the Palm Pixi, the company’s follow up to its first webOS device, the Pre.  Unlike the Pre, the Pixi has a candybar design and a price in the sub $100 range with a Sprint contract.

While the Pixi won praise for its low price and slick design, the device was missing WiFi, a strange omission for Palm.  This weekend, however, Palm passed a new version of the Pixi through the FCC that includes 802.11 b/g WiFi.

Palm has already confirmed that it will release the Pixi for Verizon, and it appears that this will be that device.  It’s odd though, that Palm would release the Pixi for Sprint without WiFi, and a couple months later release the same device with WiFi for a different carrier.  The cost of a WiFi chip isn’t significant.  With so many Bluetooth/WiFi chips available now, it’s sometimes actually cheaper to manufacturer WiFi, than without.  Either way, I’d be upset if I just moved to Sprint for the Pixi, and I’m sure Sprint’s sales of WiFi-less Pixis will drop once the Verizon version is announced.

Have a 3G USB stick and feeling generous?  With the DWR02 from Shenzhen DONICA Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., you can share your 3G connection with others wirelessly.

Weighing in at less than 5 oz, the DWR02 allows you to share your EVDO, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS or HSDPA connection over 802.11 b/g.  The device also will share the 3G connection of some mobile phones through its USB port.

We’ve seen a growing number of these 3G routers pass through the FCC recently, and the DWR02 seems like a decent competitor.  However, the DWR02 does need to be plugged in – it does not have its own power supply – so although the device is small, it’s not a truly portable option.

By now you’ve probably heard that Barnes and Noble’s Nook ebook reader is already sold out for the holidays.  Even buyers who got in early with a preorder won’t be receiving their Nook until January 4, 2010.

In the meantime, we decided to take a closer look at Barnes and Noble’s FCC filings for the Nook.  Although much of this info is already public, hopefully this post will give you a concise summary of the device’s features.

In terms of wireless goodness, the Nook supports 802.11 b/g WiFi, as well as GSM, EDGE, WCDMA and HSDPA.  The Nook sports an MC8777V wireless modem from Sierra Wireless.  FCC documents from Sierra Wireless confirm that the MC8777V is actually a rebranded MC8790.  The MC8790 rocks a Qualcomm MSM6290 chipset, according to the modem’s data sheet.

The table below from B&N shows expected upload and download speeds for the Nook’s various data services.  Actual data speeds will vary based on environmental conditions, of course.

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