MiFi Gets an API: A Wifi Hotspot In Your Pocket, With Apps

27
Jul

MiFi Gets an API: A Wifi Hotspot In Your Pocket, With Apps

author: editor category: ReadWriteWeb

The product that used to be a personal wifi hotspot in your pocket will now become an API-enabled connectivity hub with apps.

The MiFi portable multi-person wireless router that we first wrote about in December and joined a chorus of positive reviews for in June now allows outside developers to write network-leveraging applications for the battery powered device.

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Device manufacturer Novatel Wireless announced the availability of the Application Programming Interface today for both US and European models. (Press release at SlashGear.)

The company hopes that both business and consumer users, developers both novice and advanced, will build MiFi applications as part of the new developer program.

The device may not see an iPhone store’s worth of apps, but software that’s location, network and socially aware could enable some interesting small-group computing activities on the go. More traditional mobile internet solutions like one-person EVDO could quickly feel shockingly unsophisticated.

On the other hand, the MiFi’s small group limitations and web-centric nature may make it a challenge for developers to really come up with a substantial number of exciting applications. None were showcased in the announcement of the API’s availability.

A secure, collaborative, shared workspace with local access only by MiFi? That seems like the low hanging fruit. What else would you like to see running on a hotspot in your pocket?

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