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TWC rebadges Sprint Overdrive, offers it as IntelliGo mobile 3G / 4G hotspot
by07.07.2010
And then, there were three. Three ways to snag an Overdrive, that is. Months after Sprint issued the original 3G / 4G mobile hotspot, Clear came along and introduced a rebadged version of the same thing. Now, Time Warner Cable (who is also in cahoots with Sprint and Clear) is following suit by tossing its logo on the all-too-familiar device and christening it the IntelliGo. Functionally, it's the same as ever -- there's a built-in battery that'll provide 3G / 4G mobile internet to a smattering (read: five) of nearby devices via WiFi, a microSD slot and USB connectivity. The difference here, though, is that it'll run you $49.99 on a two-year contract, and the fee will "vary by region." Speaking of regions, it'll be available wherever Road Runner Mobile is offered, which means Texas, North Carolina, Hawaii and Kansas City for now.
Sprint ships dual-model 3G / 4G 250U USB WWAN modem, invites Mac to the party
by06.22.2010Remember that cute-as-a-button 3G / 4G dual-mode WWAN stick that Clearwire outed a few days back? That little guy just made its way over to the Sprint side of things, giving folks yet another option when it comes time to pull the trigger on a device to get you onto the WiMAX superhighway. The Sierra Wireless-built 250U is available now through Business Direct and Business Solutions Partners followed by full channel availability by mid-July, with this bugger being the first in Sprint's arsenal to offer native dual-mode support in OS X as well as twin antenna ports. Naturally, Windows machines are also compatible, and the minuscule design sure makes it more attractive than those prone-to-snapping alternatives. It's available for precisely nothing so long as you sign a two-year data plan.
Intel drops Atom D525 CPU, adds its wireless display tech to a host of new devices
by06.21.2010Intel's launched a trio of new products for your gadget-loving enjoyment. Up first, the 1.8GHz dual core Atom D525 and the single core D425 which we first spotted at Computex 2010 are now available for low powered desktops, and both are paired with the Intel NM10 Express Chipset. Up next, Intel's made its wireless display technology available on about 25 systems and at 10 retailers. Finally, Clearwire's announced the nationwide availability of 4G-enabled laptops and netbooks based on Intel CPUs at Best Buy. Some of the systems grabbing up the 4G set-up include the Dell Inspiron 14, Dell Inspiron 15, Dell Mini 10, and Toshiba Satellite M645.
Clearwire intros new WiMAX mobile hotspots, Mac-friendly 3G / 4G USB WWAN modem
by06.17.2010Lookin' for yet another avenue to hop on the 4G superhighway? Fret not, as Clearwire has just doled out a trio of new products intended to help you do just that. Prior to today, you had only a smattering of options to actually tap into Clear's WiMAX network, but the Clear Spot 4G (WiMAX only), Clear Spot 4G+ (dual-mode with 3G / 4G support) and Clear 4G+ Mobile USB stick have all arrived to give choosy moms more choices. The prior two are simply mobile broadband hotspots (think MiFi, but for 4G), with the 4G+ offering support for Sprint's 3G network if you happen to leave one of those few WiMAX zones already lit. The USB stick is particularly interesting, as it's the first dual-mode device hawked by Clear that's fully compatible with Apple OS X. The Clear Spot 4G will be made by InfoMark and available to purchase for $99.99 next month; those who hate committing can also lease one for $4.99 per month. The Sierra Wireless-built Spot 4G+ (a rebadged Overdrive; shown left) demands a hefty premium for that 3G support, with an MSRP of $224.99 (or least for $5.99 per month) and a similar July ship date. The 4G+ Mobile USB stick (shown right) will support OS X 10.5.x and 10.6.x (along with Windows, of course), and can be snapped up today for $114.99 or leased monthly for $5.99. Head on past the break if you're thirsty for more. %Gallery-95571%
Sprint's WiMAX service teases EVO 4G-toting New Yorkers (update: LA and SF, too)
by06.16.2010We'd figured that Sprint and partner Clearwire were going to have a devil of a time rolling out WiMAX this year in New York City; urban canyons are always tricky, of course, but their oddball 2500MHz spectrum allocation isn't the best at penetrating buildings and other structures, either. On that note, we'd been tipped earlier this week that a reader was seeing some weak WiMAX reception for the first time on his EVO 4G near Coney Island (see a shot after the break), and now, we've been able to independently confirm it on one of our own units -- in saturated Midtown, no less -- though we weren't able to do much with it beyond get a notification that a "4G network is available." Clearly this isn't ready for primetime use, but it's a good sign that these guys have officially started lighting up a few cells here and there. 1080p streaming, anyone? [Thanks, r0ckstar_23] Update: We're getting tipped that folks are seeing some occasional 4G action in LA and San Francisco, so keep a close eye on those EVOs!
Clearwire sticking with WiMAX until at least 2012
by05.10.2010Clearwire always seems to have commitment issue. Despite going steady with WiMAX, the company keeps saying that they might eventually part ways for different pastures -- namely LTE, should WiMAX turn out to be a dead end (talk about relationship pressure). That's still ongoing, as CEO Bill Morrow recently explained to CNET that its contract with Intel has been amended so that "either party can terminate the technology agreement within 30 days" but later adding that it definitely wouldn't hop on the LTE bandwagon before 2012. He strikes down some false hope a question later: "we won't be upgrading to LTE, if we do that, for a long time." Granted, time is a relative construct, and two years may be a "long time" to Bill. Oh, why do you keep stringing 'em both along?
Clearwire WiMAX to cover 120 million prospective HTC EVO 4G owners by end of year
by05.06.2010With the HTC EVO dual-mode 3G/4G handset launching this summer (and nearly ready for pre-order) with built-in hotspot capability, we've got a pretty good idea what all you US Americans are wondering: is WiMAX available in my city? Well, buried inside the Clearwire financials is mention of the 19 additional cities scheduled for WiMAXing this summer, joining the 32 markets (pictured above) and 41 million people already served by its 4G network offering 3Mbps to 6Mbps average downloads with an occasional 10Mbps peak: Clearwire also today announced plans to launch 4G mobile broadband service in 19 additional cities this summer, including previously announced markets Kansas City, KS; St. Louis, MO; Salt Lake City, UT, and the core area of Washington, D.C. and newly announced markets Nashville, TN; Daytona, Orlando and Tampa, FL; Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Merced, Modesto, Stockton, and Visalia, CA; Wilmington, DE; Grand Rapids, MI; Eugene, OR; and Yakima and Tri-Cities, WA. Things will get really interesting later in 2010 when Clearwire and Sprint take their 4G mobile broadband network to New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, the San Francisco Bay Area, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh for a 120 million person strong data footprint. LTE who?
Clearwire promises Clear-branded HTC and Samsung WiMAX phones this year
by05.05.2010Without going into much detail, Clearwire mentioned on its first quarter earnings call today that WiMAX-capable phones bearing the Clear name from both Samsung and HTC are "expected" to be available before 2010's out, which is a pretty optimistic affirmation of comments the company made earlier this year. It describes the Sammy as "an Android-based 3G/4G/WiFi device optimized for heavy video and video communications use," while the HTC's language leaves out the platform -- it's just called "a 3G/4G/WiFi enabled phone," leading us to believe that this puppy could very well be running Windows Phone 7. If that's the case, we can understand why HTC wouldn't want Clearwire spilling the beans since they've yet to officially announce any plans for jumping into the WinPho 7 game. In fact, Clearwire went so far as to say on the call that the HTC device would not be the EVO 4G, so yeah, we can totally buy that there's some Microsoft action going on behind the scenes here. As for Clearwire's health, it has seen a 94 percent year-over-year boost in total WiMAX subscribers for a total just shy of a million -- and interestingly, the overwhelming majority of those are retail, not wholesale, meaning that folks are running Clear-branded equipment. We expect that to change dramatically once Sprint's Overdrive gets a little more penetration and the EVO comes into play, but for now, some 814,000 customers are familiar with the Clear logo. They lost a hair over $94 million in the quarter, but hey, in the scheme of things, that's peanuts -- building out networks isn't a cheap endeavor, after all.
4G shocker! T-Mobile USA boss talked to LTE wholesaler earlier this year
by05.05.2010Clearwire isn't the only American company building a carrier-independent (if you can call majority ownership by Sprint "carrier-independent") 4G network, you see -- and it would certainly behoove T-Mobile to investigate options that let it stay on a more GSM-aligned path for its next-gen network than WiMAX would, right? That might be where Harbinger Capital Partners comes into play, a group that recently bought up a bunch of satellite and terrestrial spectrum with the intention of creating a wholesale LTE network into which companies -- companies like T-Mobile, for instance -- could buy. Indeed, Financial Times is saying that T-Mobile USA chief Robert Dotson chatted with Harbinger recently about partnership opportunities, seemingly right around the same time that he talked to Clearwire. Clearly, it'd seem that T-Mobile's US division needs to decide very, very quickly how it's going to handle the 4G transition, lest it get caught behind the very same 8-ball it found itself battling in the 3G race; then again, pushing 21Mbps HSPA+ as aggressively as it has been the last few months might just keep it going for another few years. Fast data is fast data, after all.
Intel, Motorola, Samsung and more join forces to support WiMAX 2
by04.12.2010You probably have yet to experience its original incarnation, but with mere months left before the IEEE finally decides on the standard for the improved 802.16m version of WiMAX, a group of companies has finally stepped forward to support the new protocol, and solidify that nice, marketable "WiMAX 2" name while they're at it. Dubbed the WiMAX 2 Collaboration Initiative (or WCI for short), Alvarion, Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, Sequans, XRONet, ZTE and ITRI intend to, well, collaborate to make sure the new protocol can compete with LTE, while our old friends Sprint and Clearwire -- who are keeping their options open in the 4G wars -- simply cheer them on. Hit the source link for invigorating quotes from each company involved.
Sprint, Clearwire among companies asking for TD-LTE standard in WiMAX spectrum
by03.30.2010Clearwire has made it crystal clear that it isn't taking a "WiMAX or die" approach to 4G -- and frankly, it couldn't afford to, considering that the infrastructure suppliers and hardware manufacturers could easily continue their trend toward shunning the next-gen underdog. What's interesting, though, is that the company now appears to be taking a very active role in developing an LTE-based standard that could supplant WiMAX in its 2.6GHz spectrum should the need arise. Along with Motorola, Huawei, ZTE, Cisco, Nokia Siemens, Alcatel-Lucent, and -- surprise, surprise -- Clearwire partner Sprint, the company is asking the 3GPP to define a standard for running TD-LTE in the 2.6GHz slot. Unlike the more commonly-used FD-LTE -- the standard Verizon is using, among others -- TD-LTE operates unpaired, meaning it can operate in slimmer chunks of spectrum than its counterpart. Asking for a standard is clearly a far cry from actually building out a network, but it's interesting to note that Clearwire and Sprint alike both have their eyes firmly fixed on an LTE-based technology if the WiMAX industry packs it in.
Live from CTIA 2010's day two keynote with Dan Hesse
by03.24.2010Hot off the killer HTC EVO 4G announcement yesterday, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is helping to lead up CTIA's day two keynote session today alongside Clearwire boss William Morrow, Deutsche Telekom chief René Obermann, and more. So sit down, pour yourself a hot cup of something, and enjoy -- this should be a good one!
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 shipping April 1st with integrated Clear WiMAX
by03.23.2010Dell's vanilla Atom N450-based Mini 10 just started shipping a couple of months ago, and if you'll recall, we spotted one slip through the FCC's oh-so-vulnerable database with WiMAX built-in. Today at CTIA, Clearwire spilled the news that it'll be providing the service for a 4G-infused version of the netbook come April 1st. What's interesting is that Clearwire only mentions it being for sale "through select Clear retail locations, telesales and Clear.com," so it's still unknown if it'll be offered up through the Round Rock powerhouse itself (as the Studio 17, Studio XPS 1640 and Latitude E4300, etc. are). The machine will be sold for $249.99 after an instant rebate, though no specifics were mentioned concerning a per-month data plan price. If we were the betting type, we'd say it'll probably run you 40 bones for every 30 days based on existing rates.
New Sprint ad shows iPhone using WiMAX... via Overdrive
by03.21.2010Your existing iPhone (yeah, even the original) can surf the information superhighway at 4G speeds. Today. Who knew, right? Sprint's Overdrive -- which creates a WiFi hotspot that enables nearby devices to cruise on Clear's 4G (or 3G, if you're not in a 4G locale) network -- can theoretically enable any WiFi-capable phone to surf on WiMAX, but Sprint's taking a pretty bold approach by actually touting the feature in a new spot. Befuddled? Hop on past the break and mash play. Too bad this is about as close the iPhone will ever get to Sprint's shelves...
T-Mobile and Clearwire mulling 4G partnership
by03.19.2010Looks like the kids at T-Mobile USA are well aware that their company's future will depend on offering both compelling handsets and a competitive network for them to ride on. Reuters reports that the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary has been exploring all its options with regard to the provision of 4G services, including potential joint ventures with cable companies and even spectrum sharing with AT&T, though the likeliest candidate for the moment remains Clearwire's WiMAX infrastructure. Asked about a potential merger with Sprint, who controls more than 50 percent of Clearwire, T-Mobile's CEO Robert Dotson declined the idea, explaining that "what you never want to do is take one company that is going through challenges and take another company going through challenges." Reports of ongoing discussions between Clearwire and T-Mo have been around since last September, and the latest from Dotson suggests that his company is keen to get a resolution either way as soon as possible.
WiMAX-enabled HTC Supersonic rumored to debut on Sprint at CTIA
by03.17.2010There's hardly anything here that we didn't already know, but an unveiling date of "next week" sure catches our eye. A new report over at The Wall Street Journal confirms earlier details that were fed to us over Sprint's first-ever WiMAX smartphone, and now we're learning that the HTC Supersonic will be officially revealed to the world at CTIA next week. We've heard before that the carrier anticipates selling a 4G phone "this summer," but you can bet we'll be digging for a hard ship date and price tag when we hit the scene in Las Vegas in just five short days. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sprint promises 'many' new 4G markets in 2010; New York, SF included
by02.25.2010With LTE onslaughts from Verizon and AT&T (not to mention countless carriers around the world) drawing near, Sprint's wasting no time beefing up its WiMAX network ahead of its competitors' 4G launches in an effort to give WiMAX the best chance it can. Without giving a hard figure, the company says that it expects to launch WiMAX service in "many" markets this year, with several notables among the lot: Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC are all called out by name. SF and the Big Apple in particular will be huge wins -- assuming the deployments go smoothly -- thanks to abnormally high concentrations of geeks (including yours truly, of course) that will immediately appreciate faster wide-area broadband. They're not listing dates just yet, so it's unclear just how soon we can expect these to light up.
Sprint promises its first WiMAX handset by this summer, could be the Supersonic
by02.19.2010The life of a gadget lover tends to involve a lot of waiting, so it's always nice to be surprised by a roadmap getting shorter rather than longer. Sprint has told Forbes that its very first WiMAX phone will be arriving in the first half of this year, which will be somewhat earlier than many had expected. We're likely talking about that A9292 "bar handset" from HTC that was spotted in January, as Forbes goes on to note that it's likely to be a HTC-built Android device. The aptly-titled Supersonic seems like the obvious, albeit unconfirmed, prime candidate here. Further word from Paget Alves, Sprint's president of Business Markets, indicates that businesses and government agencies might be the first adopters, which must mean whatever handset's being discussed will be at least somewhat business-friendly. Finally, CEO Dan Hesse himself is cited as saying Sprint will be bringing out "dozens of devices" with embedded WiMAX this year, so even if you don't like the first one, there should be plenty of options come the holidays. [Thanks, Douglas]
Clear WiMAX USB modem impressions
by01.28.2010Clearwire (along with Sprint and Comcast, just to name a couple) has been fiercely expanding its WiMAX network across America for months on end now, and while select citizens in select cities have had access to the 4G superhighway for just over a year, we haven't actually had the opportunity to find ourselves in one of those locations for any amount of time. Until recently, that is. The Clear 4G service was lit up in Las Vegas late last year, which gave the Engadget squad just enough time to scrounge up a gaggle of Motorola 4G USB sticks and really test out the network while at CES. Meanwhile, the North Carolinians among us were also able to test the boundaries of the 4G patches that have been setup here, and we're finally ready to dish out a few opinions on the fourth generation of cellular data. Eager to know if it's the best thing since sliced bread the invention of the MP3? Read on to find out. %Gallery-84164%
Clearwire in no rush to move to next-gen WiMAX Release 2
by01.20.2010If consistently pulling down a fistful of megabits per second isn't causing the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end... well, first, we strongly recommend you get that looked at by a professional. Secondly, though, you might have a bit of a wait before you get another hair-raising boost in throughput, because Clearwire -- you know, the company that runs the WiMAX network shared by Clear and Sprint -- is looking to take a laid-back approach on the migration to WiMAX Release 2. The underlying standard, 802.16m, looks destined for IEEE approval some time this year with the promise of 120Mbps down and 60Mbps up in an effort to wage 4G war with LTE Advanced, but Clearwire's CTO is saying that he's not looking to trial the tech this year -- even though Russian carrier Yota is on track to make it happen using Samsung hardware. Instead, 2011 is a "much more likely" target for these guys, apparently, with commercial deployment plausible by '12. With the updated standard capable of speeds that put even high-end cable and fiber broadband connections to shame, you've got to wonder if backhaul isn't the real concern here -- or, even juicier, if they're not just trying to keep all the options on the table for a little while longer.