Sprint Nextel announced Wednesday that it will start selling dual-mode 3G/4G wireless broadband modems for laptops starting Sunday.
Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300
(Credit: Sprint Nextel)The new device allows users to access both Sprint's 3G cellular data network and the new 4G WiMax wireless network the company is building as part of the new Clearwire venture.
The modem known as the Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300 will use the new 4G Clearwire network with download speeds between 2 Mbps and 4Mbps where that network is available. And when users are out of range of the 4G wireless network, they will automatically be able to access Sprint's 3G network, which offers average downloads of between 600 Kbps and 1.4 Mbps, according to Sprint.
Sprint launched the 4G WiMax network called Xohm in Baltimore in October, just months before it officially merged its WiMax network with Clearwire's network. The service will be launched in other markets across the country throughout 2009.
At the Baltimore launch, Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse promised a wireless data device that would allow users to access both networks for better coverage.
"It will take a while for the new (4G) network to be built ubiquitously," Hesse said during the Baltimore press event. "And we will have new multimode devices that will use 4G where it's available, and when it's not, it will downshift to 3G to provide that ubiquitous data coverage."
The new wireless modem connects via a standard USB port and costs $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a two-year subscription to the wireless data service. The wireless modem will be available through Sprint's direct business sales force and at most Baltimore-area Sprint stores and select Baltimore-area retailers, the company said. Starting in January, the device will also be available in Baltimore-area Best Buy stores.
The new wireless modem from Sprint will likely be a better deal for most consumers because the service, which costs $79.99 per month, offers the best coverage at the best price.
... Read moreIf you live in Baltimore and want to experience fast, wireless Internet speeds, then congrats, you've chosen your place of residence wisely. On Monday, Sprint announced that Baltimore would be the first U.S. city to have access to its new WiMax mobile data network known as Xohm.
Xohm is a wireless data service which, thanks to its WiMax capability, will purportedly give you broadband-like speeds on your wireless PC.
Prices for the service start at $10 for 24 hours of unlimited usage, $25 for monthly home Internet service, and $30 for monthly on-the-go service. A special launch price includes a $50 "Pick 2 for Life" monthly service option covering two different WiMax devices. As for contracts, Sprint, in an "effort to free customers of restrictive long-term plans," is not requiring them to sign a contract to use the service.
They are requiring that you use the service in downtown Baltimore, however. Sprint claims that customers will be seeing speeds of 2 to 4 megabits per second for downloads.
Customers interested in the service can purchase either a Xohm-branded Samsung Express air card for $59.99 or a ZyXEL modem for $79.99. One of the two will be necessary to use the service.
Baltimore is just the beginning, however, as Sprint is planning to expand the service to Chicago and Washington D.C. soon and later to Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.
A confluence of what-ifs: Envisioning a WiMax version of the iPod Touch with Skype.
(Credit: CNET)If you want an iPhone in the U.S., you've got two choices: use AT&T's wireless service, or risk unlocking your phone to use T-Mobile (the only other American provider that's compatible with the iPhone's SIM-based GSM design). And with AT&T's exclusivity contract in effect until 2012, we'll be well into the next presidential election cycle before that changes. But maybe there's a loophole in the form of the iPod Touch--and its eventual successor.
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