Hasta La Gadget!

Lately, the notion of getting Apple’s ever-growing line of mobile devices connected to 3G and 4G networks is attracting a lot of attention from carriers that aren’t AT&T — take Sprint’s Overdrive case for the iPad, for instance — but not in a million years did we think Clear would go so far as to create a mobile hotspot designed exclusively for them. In some ways, that’s taking respect for the Apple ecosystem to a whole new level. Of course, even the most die-hard Apple fanatics probably own a WiFi-capable device or three that doesn’t hail from Cupertino, so the usefulness of Clear’s iSpot is definitely limited — by design, of course. In exchange for the gimping, you pay just $25 a month for unlimited, blazingly fast WiMAX data with no contract, which is insanely cheap by modern standards — especially in an era when many carriers are moving to data caps.

So just how useful is the iSpot? Does it work as advertised? And perhaps more importantly, can it be used to… ahem, do things it’s not intended to do, if you catch our drift? Read on.

Continue reading Clear iSpot review

Clear iSpot review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we think “craft,” we think of airplanes, boats, and perhaps the occasional needlepoint project — but all kidding aside, we’ve definitely heard worst names than “Craft” for a major phone launch, so we’ve got nothing to complain about here. Regional carrier MetroPCS has announced on its latest earnings call that its first LTE phone — the FCC-approved R900 from Samsung — will come to market as the Craft at a price in the same range as its current smartphone lineup which includes the Code for $250 and the BlackBerry Curve 8530 for $280. These guys are still on target to launch in Vegas this year, but it now looks like they’ll be adding Dallas-Ft. Worth into the mix as it moves to complete its 4G build-out early next year. It’s a seriously aggressive timeline for a carrier traditionally known for cheap voice and text, not blazing data — but hey, who are we to complain?

Samsung Craft to be MetroPCS’ first LTE handset, Dallas-Ft. Worth added as a launch market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In spite of its pretty healthy (and growing) WiMAX footprint, Clearwire’s been saying for at least a year now that it’s seriously technology-agnostic — undoubtedly a bid to assuage investors’ fears that WiMAX could end up losing the 4G race in light of LTE’s global momentum. Well, it’s finally more than mindless fluff for an earnings call, because the company’s getting real with both FDD and TD-LTE trials in Phoenix starting this Fall running through early 2011 that will allegedly push downlink speeds as high as 20Mbps and “showcase unique advantages” of Clearwire’s “vast” reserve of spectrum. They’ll also be testing LTE’s ability to coexist with WiMAX in the same band, presumably in a bid to show that it can migrate down the road without leaving its existing customers high and dry. These guys are still a long way off from committing to LTE for the long haul, but it’s a sign that they definitely mean business — and a sign that Sprint could end up falling in line with Verizon and AT&T after all. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading Clearwire puts its money where its mouth is, announces LTE trials for later this year

Clearwire puts its money where its mouth is, announces LTE trials for later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Once a novelty (a very handy and popular one, but a novelty nonetheless), MiFi-style personal hotspots are now popping as fast as new cellphones. But these 3G-data-sharing boxes are swiftly getting old. The new hotness is 4G, and the iSpot from Clear is one of the few around.

The iSpot uses Clear’s own WiMax network and allows up to eight devices to connect at a time. Weirdly, it is billed as working only with Apple devices (hence the white styling which matches all of Apple’s mobile products… Wait, no) but as it send the 4G signal out over WiFi, it should be fine with anything (it looks like USB-tethering to a laptop has been disabled, though).

As for specs, the iSpot will serve 4G at speeds of 3Mbps to 6Mbps down, and will do it for up to four hours. It costs $100 and you’ll need to be on Clear’s $30-per-month plan to get it. Perfect for adding 4G to your white iPhone. If it ever ships, that is.

iSpot [Clear via Slashgear]

See Also:

• New MiFi with OLED Display
• Blazing-Fast 4G MiFi Could Replace Your Home Connection
• Sprint Leapfrogs Verizon With Fast 4G Hot-Spot Device
• Sprint Launches New Personal WiMax Routers

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

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.

Continue reading Clearwire’s 4G iSpot brings wireless broadband to Apple mobile devices (updated)

Clearwire’s 4G iSpot brings wireless broadband to Apple mobile devices (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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