Wired's Terrence Russell reports that, as of yesterday, all of Avis' rental cars in San Francisco now come with Wi-Fi as an available option via AutoNet Mobile.

"The big bonus here is the lack of equipment required -- no aircard or software is needed to connect and the AutoNet Mobile router is capable of always-on broadcasting," Russell writes

Russell notes that the fee, at $10.95 a day, is comparable to what you'd pay for Wi-Fi at your average hotel -- and this service is fully portable, so it can go with you from your car to your hotel room to anywhere else you go.

"Avis will be rolling out the service in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Newark, N.J. in the coming weeks, with Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, San Diego and Seattle following in the third quarter of this year," writes Digital-Lifestyles' Mike Slocombe. "The company say that the service will also be made directly available to consumers soon, at a cost of $399 for the router and $49.95 for monthly service."

That last option, unfortunately, might have trouble competing with offerings like Verizon BroadbandAccess and Sprint's upcoming WiMax network -- but the resulting price wars can only be good for consumers.

More here from Top Tech News ... more here from the Associated Press ... more here from iTWire ... and the press release is here.