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Sprint debuts 2-in-1 AirCard 402 mobile broadband card
It's not exactly for everybody, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Sprint's new Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 mobile broadband card -- first spotted last month -- will make at least a few multiple laptop owners out there very, very happy. As you can see above, this one can function happily as an ExpressCard one moment and a PC Card the next, with each providing the same dual-band CDMA connectivity and support for EV-DO 1xRTT, Rev. 0, and Rev. A, along with all the other standard features and software you'd expect from a mobile broadband card. Perhaps the best news, however, is the price, which at $99.99 (after $180 instant savings and a $50 mail-in rebate), is pretty much in line with Sprint's other plan old ExpressCard options.
Mobile data card growth slows dramatically in Q4 2008
Who woulda thunk it? A global recession leads to belt tightening, and belt tightening leads to fewer mobile data card sales. According to a new report from ComScore, that's exactly what happened at the tail end of last year, where WWAN card growth slowed to just 5 percent compared to 28 percent in Q4 2007. Still, carriers can't grumble too loudly -- after all, at least it grew. In fact, PC data card adoption rose 63 percent overall in 2008, and if any of these 4G services can see rollouts of significance, we suspect 2009 will show equally positive numbers. The reality is that mobile data is still priced far too high for the average Joe or Jane to stomach; most mobile broadband plans run upwards of $50 per month and require a two-year contract to get a free or cheap card, and unless one is planning to be on the road an awful lot, buying in just doesn't make sense when times are tough. In other words, cut us a break on these mobile data rates, operators -- it's what Uncle Sam would want.[Via mocoNews]
CradlePoint bringing WiMAX to existing fleet of portable routers
While Clearwire's Clear Spot (which is really just a refashioned PHS-300) will handle WiMAX right out of the box, those who own one of CradlePoint's existing portable routers are flat out of luck... or are they? Said company has just announced that starting today, shipments of its business-class routers -- including the MBR800, MBR1000, and MBR1100 line of mobile broadband routers, CTR500 mobile broadband travel router, and CBA250 cellular broadband adapter -- will have WiMAX compatibility built in. Furthermore, a forthcoming (April 6th) firmware update will enable existing CradlePoint products to accept select WiMAX devices, and yes, it'll be made available for no charge at all. Talk about throwing a bone to your loyal customers.
21Mbps Next G mobile broadband comes to Hong Kong's CSL Limited
21Mbps down seems a bit sluggish compared to Ericsson's 56Mbps HSPA+ demonstration, but it's still pretty speedy compared to what's offered in most corners of the globe. As of this week, CSL Limited customers in Hong Kong have access to the same Next G network that Aussies have been enjoying for months on end through Telstra. The launch marks the world's first SDR-based HSPA+ All IP network in Hong Kong, and if you're looking for new devices to take advantage, the operator's currently offering the HP Mini 1110TU (Mobile Broadband Edition), as well as the Express 21 USB modem. Oh, and we totally can't close this post without quoting the new service's motto: "Next G: Time is the Enemy, Fight Back."
Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 plays PC Card and ExpressCard roles
We can't say there are an awful lot of folks out there looking for a single mobile broadband card that'll play nice in both PC Card and ExpressCard slots, but for that niche that's intently paying attention, have a look at this. The Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 is the company's first to offer such 2-in-1 functionality, and it's designed to operate on EV-DO Rev. A networks handling speeds of up to 3.1Mbps (downlink) / 1.8Mbps (uplink). Users can also bank on the company's TRU-Locate GPS service to "quickly and accurately establish location for local searches and navigation." There's no mention of a price or release date, but it should be on hand for us to peer at during CTIA this week. [Via ExpressCard-Info]
Mobile web traffic reports show Symbian, OS X on top
Ready for the latest dose of facts and figures to chat over at the nerd water cooler? Here goes! The latest AdMob report, which tracks mobile web traffic from a variety of handset models and operating systems, has found some rather interesting -- if not completely unsurprising -- results. For starters, we're told that the biggest web surfing phone on each US carrier is a touchscreen model, and breaking that down, we find that the iPhone, Nokia N70 and BlackBerry 8300 take the top three spots (in order of mention) globally. As for OS, Symbian is still leading the pack from a worldwide perspective with 43 percent of requests, though the iPhone ain't far behind at 33 percent; oh, and in case you were wondering, Apple's darling generated 50 percent of all US mobile web traffic in February. More numbers in the links below, should you be inclined to visit.[Via mocoNews]
Sprint unveils WiMAX expansion cities, devices for 2009 and 2010
The XOHM label may be gone, but the potency of Sprint's WiMAX network is still kickin' in and around Baltimore. For those itching for wicked fast mobile broadband outside of The Charm City, Sprint has just unveiled a slew of expansion areas that'll get gifted in 2009 and 2010. As for the rest of this year, folks in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle can expect Sprint 4G rollouts, while residents of Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. can be on the lookout in 2010. In related news, the carrier is also taking this opportunity to reveal that it has "several new 4G devices planned for 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops, a small-office-home-office broadband modem and a tri-mode phone." Lovely.
Autonet Mobile bringing WiFi to Cadillac CTS sports sedan
Autonet Mobile just notched another one in its belt by scoring a deal to hook GM's Cadillac CTS up with integrated WiFi. Starting this April, folks who splurge on one of these sports sedans will be treated to WiFi (a $499 dealer-installed option) in the car, and best of all, it uses a new, smaller router than can be easily transferred to another vehicle that's equipped with an identical dock. The agreement is a first for Caddy and also the first luxury brand that Autonet Mobile has managed to invade. 'Tis a shame that monthly subscription still starts at $29 -- we get the feeling that even the affluent won't much care for that.[Via Gadling]
UMID M1 mbook now less close to US release
Less close, further away -- take your pick. The bottom line is that the UMID M1 mbook that we've been secretly swooning over for weeks now may be further away from a US release than any of us Yanks would like. According to new intel gathered by Pocketables, a Stateside release of the MID is still planned, but it's apt to ship later than previously expected. Furthermore, the units already prancing about in other corners of the globe aren't likely at all to support US 3G bands, so importing one won't fill that hole in your soul the way a WWAN-enabled MID should. Better hurry up and deliver the goods UMID, else we'll be forced to buy a rivaling unit and hack it up to suit our needs. Don't say we won't.[Image courtesy of UMPCPortal]
ZTE completes EV-DO Rev. B VoIP call on CDMA2000 system
It seems like just yesterday that Big Red was firing up its EV-DO Rev. A network in America, and already we're seeing signs of life with Rev. B. In all honesty, though, we've known about the next iteration of EV-DO (and the next-next, for that matter) for years now, but said Chinese carrier has just completed what it calls the world's first EV-DO Rev. B VoIP call on its CDMA2000 system. In other words, this is the first time a CDMA carrier has achieved a 9.3Mbps download rate and 5.4Mbps upload rate. The lovely part of this is that ZTE can upgrade from Rev. A to Rev. B without any additional hardware, thus paving the way for a quick commercialization in Q3 2009. Huzzah!
Research says WiMAX and LTE will live different lives, coexist
Thinking that there's only room in this town world for either WiMAX or LTE? Research firm In-Stat would love to disagree, as a new report from it asserts that both will actually live on for at least the next little while. Unsurprisingly, it's expected that mobile WiMAX will "outpace LTE over the next few years due to its head start on deployments," and potentially more importantly, the company believes that WiMAX and LTE will take "very different paths." In fact, it's stated that most WiMAX support will come from fixed network carriers looking to spruce up their existing offerings, while LTE expansion will likely be pushed solely (or mostly, anyway) by mobile operators. To us, it all boils down to support, and it only takes a quick survey of the field to see that LTE has the most of that. For better or worse, it seems the next-gen data war is but beginning, even though we already thought we were nearing the end.
Microsoft gets big support for Mobile Broadband enhancements in Windows 7
Just in case Microsoft hadn't locked down enough support for Windows Mobile at MWC last week, the company also managed to shake hands with a slew of PC makers in order to extend support for Mobile Broadband enhancements within Windows 7. It's still quite unclear what all this means, but we're guessing that the likes of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Fujitsu will happily support WWAN modules from Huawei, Option, Qualcomm, Sierra Wireless and ZTE. The writeup also gives us reason to believe that WWAN connections will be more tightly integrated than before, possibly even showing up alongside potential WiFi hotspots when looking for a wireless connection. At any rate, we're all about getting a signal regardless of location, so we'll take this as a definite positive despite the glaring dearth of details.[Thanks, Jacob]
Nokia to shove Qualcomm MSM chipsets into future phones
Nokia sure is doing a lot of hand shaking over in Barcelona, as shortly after it signed a gentlemanly agreement with Adobe, the Finnish handset maker has decided to equip some of its future devices with Qualcomm chipsets. Right now, details are somewhat vague, though we do know the two are hoping to "develop advanced UMTS mobile devices initially for North America." It's intended for these devices to be based on Symbian S60, and the chipsets involved will be the NFC-equipped Mobile Station Modem (MSM) line. Unfortunately, we aren't apt to actually see a handset emerge from this collaboration until mid-2010, though these devices will be compatible with the forthcoming Symbian Foundation platform. Teamwork, shrouded in mystery -- you guys sure know how to get attention.[Via Slashgear]
ASUS announces WiMAX-equipped Eee PC 1000HG
Despite the fact that LTE looks to be the de facto standard for next-gen mobile data, ASUS has an unwavering love affair with WiMAX. In fact, we've already seen the company introduce a WiMAX-equipped laptop, and a WiMAX-enabled Eee PC was demoed way back at CES 2008. That said, the company is just now getting around to producing a new one for the adoring public, but for whatever reason, it's not even boasting about it. Tucked deep, deep within a release gloating about the Eee PC 1003HA and T91's ability to handle Windows 7 Beta is the promise of an Eee PC 1000HG. Said netbook will include both WiMAX and WiFi capabilities -- or, more specifically, IEEE 802.16e, WAVE2 and WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n support in the 2.4GHz~2.7GHz and 5.1GHz~5.8GHz bands. Of course, "future" could mean "we'll release this in late 2019," but we're banking on hearing more details sooner rather than later.
Sony bringing Gobi WWAN module to VAIO Z, TT and P
Hey, you! VAIO P modder! Hold up on that HSDPA hack just a minute -- er, on second thought, you should probably proceed, 'cause Sony isn't about to take back your current machine when this Gobi-equipped model ships. Quite curiously, Sony has announced here in Barcelona that its VAIO Z, VAIO TT and VAIO P laptops will soon be embedded with Qualcomm's Gobi, which provides both EV-DO Rev. A and HSDPA support on a single module. As it stands, Sony's US model VAIO P only supports Verizon Wireless' mobile broadband network, which should leave a pretty bitter taste in the mouths of early adopters. There's no mention at all of when Sony plans to start shipping these oh-so-connected machines (nor if they'll be coming to US shores), but we're hoping it's sooner rather than later.Update: In order to address some understandable confusion with this release, Sony has provided the following response: "All of the P Series shipped to date come equipped with Gobi mobile broadband technology and the instant-mode option, but certain feature deployment varies region by region. As such, the mobile broadband feature is exclusively supported by the Verizon Wireless network for all US customers." In other words, all existing VAIO P units (even US models) have the Gobi chip -- it's up to you to hack away that Verizon lock and get down to business, though.
Cisco sees 4G boosting global mobile traffic
Think you use your mobile data plan a lot with 3G? Just wait 'til 4G is the pervasive protocol -- you'll be pulling down more bits and bytes than you can ever imagine. Or, at least that's the good word from Cisco. Said company has ran some sort of fancy analysis in order to forecast that global mobile traffic will increase 66-fold between 2008 and 2013, with a compound annual growth rate of 131 percent over the same period. It's stated that these projections reflect the impending transition to 4G, and if you can believe it, we'll supposedly be exceeding two exabytes per month of global mobile traffic by 2013. Curiously, it's stated that 64 percent of the world's mobile traffic will be video by 2013, but given just how slow adoption on that front has been, we're more than skeptical. For the rest of the numbers, give the read link a look.
Ericsson promises 42Mbps HSPA demo using multi-carrier technology
Leave Ericsson alone for five seconds, and it goes and makes the technology it was just bragging about seem archaic. Just in case Telstra's 21Mbps Next G network seemed a bit -- how do you say, sluggish? -- Ericsson will be showcasing a new approach that enables peak downlink data rates of 42Mbps at Mobile World Congress. In order to achieve such tremendous speeds, it will rely on its so-called multi-carrier technology, which is the next (or is that next-next?) generation of HSPA. The secret? It allows users to "receive data simultaneously on two frequency channels," which doubles the data rate in the coverage area of an HSPA network and on the cell edge. The best part of all this isn't that you can one day look forward to crushing your cable modem with a wireless USB stick, it's that "one day" will be ready to happen before the dawn of 2010. Huzzah![Via phonescoop, image courtesy of TornadoChaser]
UQ Communications kicking off WiMAX trials in Japan
On a global scale, WiMAX may be folding under the pressure of LTE, but that's not stopping the next-gen technology from catching the attention of mobile web surfers in Japan. UQ Communications is gearing up to start a WiMAX trial for citizens located in one of the 23 wards of Tokyo, Yokohama or Kawasaki, and at first, speeds will be capped at around 16Mbps down / 4Mbps up. If all goes well, those figures will creep up to a mighty impressive 40Mbps / 10Mbps when the full-on launch occurs in July. The best part? Folks can apply now to get a free data card in order to be a guinea pig, and even after the test period ends, those who want to join in can get service for just ¥4,480 ($50) per month without any sticky contracts attached. Hit up the read links for all the nitty-gritty.[Via PortableMonkey]Read - WiMAX trialRead - Data card details
Clearwire to produce portable WiMAX / WiFi router
We can't say a device such as this was inevitable or anything, but given how limited the adoption of WiMAX has been thus far in America, it's definitely a win for everyone involved. According to Sidecut Reports, Clearwire will soon unveil a portable WiMAX / WiFi router built by Cradlepoint (prototype pictured), which will utilize a Motorola WiMAX USB stick to enable WiFi-capable devices to gather 'round and surf on the delightfully speedy WiMAX superhighway. In other words, non-WiMAX handsets that have WiFi modules can tap into the WiMAX network (if they're in a lit locale, that is) via this device, which -- if we may say so ourselves -- is a brilliant design move. There's no word yet on when the box will ship nor how pricey it'll be, but this could be just the thing you've been looking for to replace that painfully expensive cable modem at home.[Thanks, Jeremy]
Acer Aspire One goes official on AT&T's 3G network
Hey, remember that Acer Aspire One equipped with on-board 3G we spied in a Radio Shack ad the other day? Well guess what? It's real -- and we've got the PR to prove it. Just as expected, the netbook is being offered for the teensy price of $99.99 (coupled with a lengthy and expensive contract with AT&T). The diminutive laptop comes equipped with a single mind-blowing gigabyte of memory and a decently sizeable 160GB hard drive. Besides doing its mobile broadband thing, it also sports 802.11b/g, weighs in at 2.44 lbs., and will never, ever seem worth it in the long run.
