Clearwire's 4G iSpot brings wireless broadband to Apple mobile devices (updated)

Check it out, Clearwire has decided to do up an Apple-centric version of its Spot 4G hotspot, so it's quite naturally fashioned it in the shape of a Magic Mouse and stuck an i prefix to the front of the device. Really, there's nothing new or Apple-exclusive that we can see here -- up to eight devices can hook up to this portable 4G emitter via WiFi and the only (see update) authentication required is a password. So yes, like a lot of products before it, the iSpot has done the ignoble thing of associating itself with iPhones, iPads and iPod touches just because those devices are considered the cool kids of the digital playground today. Then again, Clearwire might decide to be difficult and refuse to sell you one of those excellent-sounding $25 (pre-tax) a month 4G broadband packages that go with the iSpot if you don't have an i-something else in tow. If you're fancying this curvy little accessory for your mobile gear, it costs $99, but can be had for $29 on sale from Clear today, ahead of an August 10 launch at major retailers.

Update: We followed up with Clearwire regarding authenticating with the iSpot. We're told that "the device is configured to filter based on MAC address which allows it to ID the Apple mobile devices," which explicitly means iPhones, iPads and iPod touches only.

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Clearwire Introduces iSpot™

Nation's First Dedicated 4G Support for Apple® Mobile Devices

New CLEAR iSpot Personal Hotspot Brings Unlimited Rich Mobile Broadband Experience to Apple Mobile Product Lines
Monthly Service Plans Offer High-Speed, Cost-Effective, Unlimited 4G Mobile Broadband Options for iPad™, iPod touch®, and iPhone® Data Service

KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), a leading provider of wireless broadband services and operator of the largest 4G network in the country, today announced the introduction of the CLEAR iSpot™, a personal hotspot with dedicated support for Apple's line of mobile devices*, including the iPad™, iPod touch® and iPhone®. The iSpot brings the speed and mobility of true mobile broadband to a user base primed for the rich online experience of 4G.

"With the iSpot, Apple customers don't have to sort through confusing service plans with overage fees, nor do they have to worry about how much data they're using," said Thomas Enraght-Moony, senior vice president of marketing at Clearwire. "Instead, with CLEAR, customers can run all of their Apple mobile devices at true broadband speeds for a single, simple monthly fee."

The iSpot is CLEAR's first 4G personal mobile hotspot made exclusively for Apple mobile products, including iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices. iSpot users can share 4G speed with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled Apple mobile devices simultaneously. The CLEAR iSpot's ergonomic design and white casing were specifically designed to complement the iconic image of Apple products.

Using CLEAR super fast mobile internet® service, Apple's iPad, iPod touch or iPhone can access a rich mobile broadband experience with average mobile download speeds of 3 to 6 mbps with bursts over 10 mbps**. For example, using the CLEAR iSpot an iPad user can stream unlimited movies or television shows via the Netflix app from home, work or on the go, while an iPod user can stream Pandora® music or live sports play-by-play on the commute home.

The iSpot expands the CLEAR line of personal mobile hotspots, which includes the CLEAR Spot 4G and CLEAR Spot 4G+. With personal mobile hotspots, CLEAR provides thousands of Wi-Fi enabled devices, from laptops to netbooks to personal gaming devices the ability to access super fast mobile internet service anywhere in CLEAR coverage.

iSpot Pricing and Availability

The iSpot is available nationwide from www.clear.com today and available in CLEAR retail stores and authorized dealers beginning August 10. The iSpot has an MSRP of $99.99*** and users can enjoy unlimited 4G data usage for an initial low monthly service offering of $25*** without a required term contract. In conjunction with today's launch, new CLEAR customers can take advantage of a one-day introductory sale offering significant savings on the iSpot (and other CLEAR Spot devices) when activating qualified CLEAR mobile service. Special one-day pricing is available through August 5, online only at www.clear.com.

For more information about CLEAR, visit www.clear.com. You can also follow the CLEAR Blog at www.theclearblog.com or on twitter @Clear. Detailed company information about Clearwire is available at http://www.clearwire.com.

For press and broadcast: Product images, video footage and company logos can be downloaded from the Clearwire website at: http://www.clearwire.com/newsroom. To subscribe to Clearwire's RSS news feed, click here.

About Clearwire

Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), through its operating subsidiaries, is a leading provider of wireless broadband services. Clearwire's 4G network is currently available in areas of the U.S. where approximately 51 million people live, and the company plans to continue to expand its 4G coverage. Clearwire's open all-IP network, combined with significant spectrum holdings, provides an unprecedented combination of speed and mobility to deliver next generation broadband access. The company markets its 4G service through its own brand called CLEAR as well as through its wholesale relationships with Sprint, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Strategic investors include Intel Capital, Comcast, Sprint, Google, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. Clearwire is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash. Additional information is available at www.clearwire.com.

*Apple does not endorse Clearwire products or services and is not affiliated with Clearwire.

** CLEAR performance claim is based on average download user speeds achieved during tests performed by CLEAR on the CLEAR commercial network, vs. other national wireless carriers' recently published, download speed information. Actual CLEAR network performance may vary and is not guaranteed.

Unlimited plans subject to CLEAR's Acceptable Use Policy, posted at www.clear.com/legal/aup.

***Plus taxes.

Clearwire, CLEAR, the CLEAR logo and super fast mobile internet are trademarks or registered trademarks of Clearwire Communications LLC. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners; use of these names does not indicate official support or endorsement of Clearwire products or services. © 2010 Clear Wireless LLC. All Rights Reserved.

[Exo2045 Posted Aug 5th 2010 12:52AM]

just ordered mine caint wit to get it .. just concerned that i may not have a constant 4g coverage but we will see. I will be in hawaii at the end of the month 4g on the beach nice...

[boofay Posted Aug 5th 2010 3:38AM]

@Exo2045 on the island of 'O'ahu, you'll be spoiled, it's almost everywhere but there are some drop spots out in the boonies so check out the 4G map. I haven't been to the island of Maui which is way bigger than 'O'ahu so you're on your own there. Be careful of the elements especially at the beach w/your electronitries. So far the weather has been drop dead heavenly....

[ruby77 Posted Aug 5th 2010 2:15PM]

i got up and ordered this around 4:30 am on 8/4 and I received it about an a hour ago thru fedex. i read the comments after ordering and i thought i'd be sending it back. i primarily need this for my mac and i thought that it would support only iOS. this will be my home isp and i'll be taking it to go for my ipad. i'm glad to report that i'm writing this using my imac OSX.6.4 and had NO problem connecting. my iphone 4 connected right up with no issues. after entering the wep password on my mac, i got a clear trap screen requesting that i complete the registration process. one i pressed finish i was able to browse. speedtest.net says i'm getting 3.54 down. good enough for me. i'm wi fi'ing on 3.5 for the same price people recently still paid to AOL for dial. i'm beyond pleased!!

[Exo2045 Posted Aug 5th 2010 2:26PM]

@ruby77
so you had no issue connecting with your macbook. or imac.. did you have to alter anything like your mac address.

[ruby77 Posted Aug 5th 2010 3:33PM]

@Exo2045 i was very excited and typing as quickly as possible so that i could go back to enjoying my new toy! so just to correct, i don't have a macbook. i have the imac, wifi ipad and iphone 4. and they all three connected smoothly, totally error-free. at this point, feeling like i couldn't have asked for more or better for $25/mo + $29 for hardware!!! it has a super simple standard gui. only tip is to hold the power button down for more than a couple seconds. i mistakenly thought it had to charge a while before it would turn on. id-10t error joke is appropriate here.

[ruby77 Posted Aug 5th 2010 3:35PM]

@Exo2045 sorry i still didn't answer your question earlier! no. i did not have to alter my mac address or anything else. plugged in the h/w, plugged in the wireless key and was on my way.

[ruby77 Posted Aug 5th 2010 5:14PM]

slight hitch...safari on iphone is now redirecting to clear.com with a message stating that this is not a supported device. however, still browsing (with fingers crossed) on imac.

[roger306 Posted Aug 5th 2010 8:29PM]

@ruby77 Is ur iPhone or iPad jailbroken?

[ruby77 Posted Aug 6th 2010 12:40AM]

@roger306 my devices are not jailbroken. i saw your post below. i hesitate to contact them about my iphone b/c i can connect through my imac.

[roger306 Posted Aug 5th 2010 8:18PM]

I ordered mine yesterday and got it in today. But while trying to connect a few times it didn't work and said the device i was using was not supported, which btw I was using my iPad, so I called the tech support and come to find out it does NOT work with jailbroken devices which I thought was pretty lame. I just hope someone comes up with a solution to this before I send it back

[Exo2045 Posted Aug 5th 2010 10:23PM]

@roger306
How the hell did they know it was jailbroken. And why not that will eff me up all my i devices are jailbroken.

[roger306 Posted Aug 5th 2010 11:20PM]

@Exo2045 Well the guy asked me if it was jailbroken and i told him yes and he said they were having similar problems with people who had jailbroken idevices, which sucks 'cause all mine are jailbroken and I'm not about to restore them. Like I said I hope a solution is brought up soon. He said the only way it would work is if I restored it back to it's normal firmware

[Exo2045 Posted Aug 5th 2010 11:46PM]

@roger306 THAT BLOWES!!!! WOW THAT SUCKS..

[Exo2045 Posted Aug 5th 2010 11:58PM]

@roger306
i just looked at clears web page good news.
iSpot Connection Problems Firmware Upgrade

[roger306 Posted Aug 6th 2010 7:21AM]

@Exo2045 Oh sweet thanks I'm gonna go try it now and see if that works

[tuan2 Posted Aug 6th 2010 4:45PM]

@roger306

They're lying to you. My 3gs is jailbreak and I can use the iSpot just fine.

[TechGeek77 Posted Aug 6th 2010 1:00AM]

I can also confirm that the iSpot works perfectly fine to a MacBook Pro and an iMac. I have the 27" iMac and 15" Macbook pro. No MAC address altering at all. I think that the iSpot is capable of ANY Apple device. It doesn't know the difference between the Mac line-up and the iOS lineup from a MAC address point of view. I talked to Clear tech support and he said that using it on my Mac doesn't violate anything since I had done nothing to make it happen... It just does... :)

I am rather pleased.

[macdoc10 Posted Aug 6th 2010 12:19PM]

I received my iSpot from clear. I'm connected with a MacBook Pro and typing this response. Amazing speeds! Inside a building I'm getting between 3.87 - 7.11mbps down and 0.99mbps up and 88ms ping times. Their website says 6mbps, but first run on speakeasy's speed test resulted in 7.11mbps.

I would have guessed lower ping times as the web surfing is amazing! Very quick and very responsive. I have connected a iPad 3g version, iphone 4 and MBPro with NO problems!

I'm very pleased with the service as I have coverage at 3 of my offices, but no coverage at home. The coverage indicator seems accurate as the 3.x speeds were orange poor coverage and the 6-7 mbps were green good coverage.