Hasta La Gadget!

It might sound too good to be true, but
mobile rovers can now get unlimited WiMAX data service without
signing up for any pesky contracts. Introducing Rover, a pay-as-you-go 4G mobile broadband service and WiMAX modems.

The Rover Stick, a USB model, and Rover Puck, a 4G mobile hotspot. The Rover Stick is a 4GB USB modem that provides broadband to a laptop, netbook, or computer.

As a portable access point, the Rover Puck can share a single WiMAX connection with up to eight simultaneous Wi-Fi connected users, whether they are on laptops, netbooks, iPad, smartphones, or game consoles.

Both the Puck and Stick are compatible with Windows and Macs.

The Rover Puck also offers Wi-Fi b/g/n with built-in WPA/WEP encryption and can operate two SSIDs simultaneously. The Puck has a range of 100 feet and four hours of battery life.

3G is not available on either the Puck or the Stick. If you are not in a CLEAR service area, these modems will be useless.

There is a a 14-day no-hassle return policy on the Rover modems. New owners receive two days of free service to decide whether or not to keep the phones.

The pay-as-you-go plans are available at $5 a day, $20 a week, or $50 per month. Refills in $20 and $50 denominations will be sold in select stores and online.

The Rover Stick is available for $99.99
and the Rover Puck is priced at $149.99. The Rover modems are
available online and at CLEAR stores.

Infineon, the company behind the baseband chips inside your super-duper new phone, is about to cash out from the wireless industry courtesy of Intel’s insatiable appetite. The Wireless Solutions Business (WLS), which accounted for nearly a third of Infineon’s €3 billion ($3.83b) revenue last year, is being sold to the American chipmaker for a cool $1.4 billion. For its part, Intel is quick to reassure the world (and its antitrust authorities) that WLS will continue to operate as a standalone business and continue to support ARM-based devices. Chipzilla’s perfectly innocent ploy is to harness Infineon’s knowhow in future smartphone, tablet and laptop products, providing both the processing and wireless capabilities. Specifically mentioned in the news release is Intel’s ambition to “accelerate 4G LTE” through this deal, while also not neglecting its ongoing efforts with WiMAX, with the overarching strategy being described as “a combined path.” We should know more about where this path will take us when the acquisition is completed in the first quarter of next year.

Continue reading Intel gobbles up Infineon’s mobile unit in $1.4 billion deal, looks to ‘accelerate 4G LTE’

Intel gobbles up Infineon’s mobile unit in $1.4 billion deal, looks to ‘accelerate 4G LTE’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

These shots actually surfaced a few days ago buried in the depths of HowardForums, but given what we know of Samsung’s R900 Craft thus far — particularly the fact that it’ll be a non-smartphone — we have no reason to doubt that we’re looking at a prototype of it here. What makes the Craft most notable is that it’s slated to be MetroPCS’ first LTE-capable handset (and one of the first LTE handsets anywhere in the world) for its shiny new 4G network, and it looks like we can expect full sliding QWERTY along with the typical TouchWiz UI elements. We’d like to hate on this thing for not running Android or Windows Phone 7, but hey — it’s almost certainly going to be the first LTE phone to hit these shores, so we’re willing to cut it just an ounce of slack this once. The carrier’s first LTE markets are lighting up later this year, so we expect to see this with a whole lot less Blurrycam before too long.

Samsung Craft LTE phone spied enroute to MetroPCS? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  HowardForums  | Email this | Comments

The second ever 4G phone has added pressure to be better than the first. Aldrin was better than Armstrong at punching skeptics in the face, for example. So is the Epic 4G better than the EVO? In almost every way. More »

Look out, Sprint — if you aren’t careful, you might just end up pulling a Palm. Shortly after Dan Schulman, Sprint’s prepaid business honcho, announced that he’d be leaving The Now Network for a position at American Express, product development guru Kevin Packingham has announced that he’ll be packing out on Monday. The 39-year old is responsible for spearheading some of Sprint’s most highly sought after products, namely the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Epic 4G. He’ll be leaving his Senior VP office in order to “run another company in Kansas City,” but Sprint’s remaining mum on what exactly that company will be. For what it’s worth, a spokeswoman for the carrier confessed to the Wall Street Journal that the departures aren’t a concern, and that “Steve Elfman, president of Sprint’s network operations and wholesale business, and Fared Adib, vice president of product development and Mr. Packingham’s lieutenant, will share oversight of product development.”

Sprint’s product development guru bolts from yellow pastures, heads to greener ones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mobile Burn  |  The Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments