Hasta La Gadget!

Move over, MiFi — this Sprint Overdrive dual-mode WiMAX / EV-DO mobile hotspot that just hit our inbox has taken over as our new object of broadband desire. Our tipster says internal training on the Sierra-built device has already begun, and that the unit itself features a microSD slot, support for location services, and has a 100-foot Wi-Fi range — but sadly we don’t have pricing or availability deets to share yet. We’re hoping we find out more at CES — and we’d bet that new dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem that leaked a couple weeks ago makes an appearance as well. Fingers crossed.

Update: The same tipster that sent us the information to start with is back with a few tidbits on the U301. According to the anonymous individual, that USB modem will be launching in February for $49.99 on contract. Also on the horizon? A WiMAX home desktop modem with a special price plan of its own.

Sprint Overdrive dual-mode WiMAX / EV-DO mobile hotspot leaks into the wild (update: $50 U301 on contract?) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So Sprint just published an official fact sheet for a U301 USB modem with support for both WiMAX and EV-DO — it’s not accompanied by any press release or product page on Sprint’s online store, but we can only assume this means that a release is around the corner. Of course, the dual-mode capability alone doesn’t set it apart — the carrier’s existing U300 model already handles those duties with aplomb — but what seemingly sets the U301 apart is its support for Mac OS. We’d just as soon they’d release drivers for the U300, but failing that, alright, fine, we’ll take a new modem. If we’re sustaining over 3Mbps down, we’ll take a lot of carrier and manufacturer abuse, actually.

Sprint puts out fact sheet for dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem, release imminent? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Since it’ll be eons until we enjoy the kind of 4G coverage that we’ve grown used to on 2G (and to a lesser extent, 3G), manufacturers and carriers are hard at work making sure that we’ve got a reliable way to interoperate for the foreseeable future — TeliaSonera, for instance, wants to swap out its customers’ modems for LTE / HSPA dual-mode versions once they’re available next year. To that end, Ericsson and ST-Ericsson are trumpeting that they’ve become the first to establish “LTE and HSPA mobility” in accordance with 3GPP’s Release 8 specification, which dictates this sort of stuff in a way everyone can agree on (that’s a good thing). Verizon’s naturally more interested in the CDMA handoffs that have already gone down, but for AT&T and most of the rest of the world, this is exciting news indeed.

Ericsson trials HSPA-LTE interoperability, we count 7 Gs in total originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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4G network technology is coming to the capitals of Sweden and Norway, thanks to wireless carrier TeliaSonera. The company is rolling out coverage in Stockholm and Oslo, which will be up an running early next year.

The technology can deliver speeds of up to 100 megabits per second–ten times faster that its 3G predecessor. There’s one big caveat, however–there aren’t any handsets that take advantage of the news technology. Early adopters will have to opt into picking up a dongle for their laptop.

The company is also reportedly looking for pilot customers for early next year.

The folks at ABI Research have done up a nice summary of the status of mobile WiMAX globally, saying that they expect the total number of subscribers to be at around two million come January. Overall it’s not the most optimistic picture, with many service rollouts falling short of their projected aims both in availability and in subscribers, South Korea’s numbers “stagnant,” and LTE breathing down everybody’s necks — particularly in the US and Japan. Still, there are some notable bright spots, most particularly Russia’s Yota service, which broke 200,000 subscribers last month after five months of commercial operation, and which is also flirting with profitability at this early stage. Clearwire is the other main shining light, with “more-than-adequate funding” allowing for an increased pace of deployment. It’s hard to say just exactly what sort of market share we should expect from WiMAX in the long run, but after the painful eons of CDMA vs. GSM, we really are rooting for one of these 4G technologies win decisively over the other.

Nearly two million mobile WiMAX subscribers worldwide by year’s end, most eyeing LTE suspiciously originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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