The New York Times' Christopher Elliott today looks at Autonet Mobile's plans to provide a "rolling Wi-Fi hotspot" to customers of Avis Rent a Car by March. "For $10.95 a day, Avis will issue motorists a notebook-size portable device that plugs into a car's power supply and delivers a high-speed Internet connection," he writes.

The device uses 3G cellular to connect to the Internet, and is expected to work in all major metropolitan areas and about 95 percent of the country.

"This shows us a glimpse of where we will be in the future," says Ovum analyst Roger Entner.

Like many other in-vehicle technologies, Elliott points out, driver distraction is a concern. "Questions about the legality of operating a vehicle with a Wi-Fi hotspot onboard are also likely to be raised," he writes.

More here from Wi-Fi Networking News, here from Gizmodo, and here from Wi-Fi Planet.