Mar 25

Sprint 4G Modems May Come in New Shapes, Colors

Posted in: 4G, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

Sprint4Gcolors.JPGYou’ll have to wait a few months for the HTC Evo 4G phone, but Sprint is already selling their 4G WiMAX modems for laptops. At the CTIA Wireless trade show today, we saw the next generation of these modems – they may be coming in a smaller form, and a lot of jaunty colors.

sprint-u302.JPGSprint’s current line of modems are manufactured by C-Motech, and over at C-Motech’s booth we saw two new lines of modems with the Sprint logo proudly emblazoned upon them. The first (at top) was a row of Sprint U301 modems coming in seven colors. The U301 modem has a “halo” antenna around its top, and the halo was colored on these models.

In the C-Motech booth we also saw the Sprint U302 (at left), which appears to be Sprint’s next-generation modem. It looks a lot like the U301, but with the halo eliminated; it’s a smaller, slimmer device.

Sprint hasn’t announced the U302 or the colored U301 devices yet, so we’re not sure when they’re coming. But the U302 is pretty clearly coming to Sprint soon. I’m not so sure about the colored modems, though; they may just have been for display. (The C-Motech folks weren’t too clear on that.)

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Mar 25

Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers

Posted in: router, Sprint, Today's Chili, wifi, WiMAX

Franklin Wireless supplies modems (primarily of the CDMA variety) to a number of carriers across the Western Hemisphere, and they’ve introduced a handful of rather interesting new products in that vein here at CTIA this week. First up, the U600 is an EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAX hybrid USB modem with a 270-degree swiveling USB connector for those ridiculously hard-to-manage ports (ahem, Apple), integrated GPS, and zero-CD installation — all pretty standard features these days, and we saw a Sprint-branded unit at Franklin’s booth which leads us to believe we’ll be seeing it at retail shortly.

Much more interesting, though, was a pair of pocketable WiFi routers — the R526 and R536 — that support EV-DO and EV-DO / WiMAX, respectively. Most of the units were unbranded, but we did spy an R536 done up in snow white with a Clear logo slapped up top, so you can pretty much gather that this thing will be filling a glaring hole in Clear’s lineup (right now, the best you can do is a USB modem plus the Clear Spot, which is basically a branded Cradlepoint). What intrigued us about the R536 the most was the fact that it’s got the functionality of an Overdrive packed into a smaller, more MiFi-esque form factor without any of the Overdrive’s bells and whistles, so it’ll be a great alternative as long as it performs well and has enough juice to last a couple hours off the power grid; the 3G-only R526, meanwhile, had an Ethernet jack stuck on the side, which is kind of cool in the rare event that you need to connect a WiFi-less device and you don’t want to go through the hassle of installing a new driver. The R526 launches in April (with what carrier, we’re not sure) — as does the U600 — while the R536 should start to trickle out in May.

Gallery: Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers

Franklin Wireless intros U600 WiMAX modem, R526 and R536 mobile routers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 25

Lenovo adds Sprint 3G, 4G support across ThinkPad line

Posted in: 4G, ctia, lenovo, Sprint, thinkpad, Today's Chili, WiMAX
Lenovo’s ThinkPads are already all available with 3G support, but the company has just announced a deal with Sprint that will not only add another 3G option, but 4G (as in WiMAX) support as well. That will be available across Lenovo’s entire line of ThinkPads and, like other mobile broadband options, will come in the form a SIM card pre-installed in the device. You’ll also be able to use Lenovo’s Access Connection tool to manage both 3G and 4G connections, which Lenovo claims is the only such tool that can do so.

Lenovo adds Sprint 3G, 4G support across ThinkPad line originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 24

Clearwire CEO mentions that WiMAX could join LTE as one, Verizon Wireless CTO says no way

Posted in: 4G, ctia, lte, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, network, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw, WiMAX, wwan

It’s no huge secret that the differences between LTE and WiMAX aren’t exceedingly drastic, and with the right support, the two could theoretically form one big, happy family. During this morning’s CTIA keynote with Dan Hesse (Sprint’s CEO) and Bill Morrow (Clearwire‘s CEO), the latter noted that he wasn’t interested in waging a war with LTE, suggesting that his spectrum is “designed and built so we can add on LTE should we need to.” ‘Course, one would suggest that Clearwire’s in no position to get angry with the standard that boasts larger industry support, but we digress. A few hours later during Verizon’s LTE roundtable, the carrier’s CTO (Tony Melone) responded to an audience question related to LTE and WiMAX becoming one. His brutally honest opinion? It’ll never happen, and the “only big happy family” he can think of is the 3GPP to LTE crew, of which Verizon Wireless is obviously a member. He wouldn’t elaborate on the whys or whats, only noting that it was his frank opinion on the matter from his knowledge in the field, but we can’t candidly say that we’d love for the war to rage on — competition is stellar, but joined efforts to create a larger, more robust 4G network sounds a lot sweeter to our ears than the clanging of swords.

Clearwire CEO mentions that WiMAX could join LTE as one, Verizon Wireless CTO says no way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid face off on the charted field of battle

Posted in: 4G, Android, droid, HTC, nexus one, NexusOne, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX


HTC EVO 4G
Google Nexus One

Motorola Droid

Android OS2.1 with Sense UI2.12.01
CarrierSprintAll2Verizon Wireless
Network technology1x / EV-DO Rev. A / WiMAXVarious (including 3G)1x / EV-DO Rev. A
Processor1GHz Snapdragon1GHz Snapdragon550MHz TI OMAP 3430
RAM512MB512MB256MB
Screen size4.3-inch3.7-inch3.7-inch
Resolution800 x 480800 x 480854 x 480
TouchCapacitive multitouch Capacitive multitouch Capacitive multitouch
Physical keyboard——Slide-out landscape QWERTY
Internal storage1GB512MB512MB
Expandable storagemicroSDmicroSDmicroSD
Rear camera8MP w/ LED flash5MP w/ LED flash5MP w/ LED flash
Video recording1280 x 720720 x 480720 x 480
Front camera1.3MP——
Battery1500mAh1400mAh1400mAh
WiFi802.11b/g802.11b/g802.11b/g
HDMI outYes——
KickstandYes——

As you’ve probably noticed, we have something of a propensity for charts — hey, organization is key to a well-balanced life, right? Since we last tackled an Android device faceoff, the sheer number of competitors has branched out far and wide, but despite the propagation / fragmentation, including today’s unveiling of the HTC EVO 4G, three clear frontrunners have taken most of the spotlight for being the pinnacle of the Android experience: the aforementioned, HTC / Google’s Nexus One, and the Motorola Droid. Here, the latter device is looking a bit long in the tooth, but that physical QWERTY keyboard and its volcanic rise to prominence gives it some strong staying power. Cold, hard data isn’t going to tell the full story, but until you can get to try each of these yourself — all at the same time, if you’re lucky — it’s a great place to start.

Notes:
1 A purported 2.1 upgrade has been promised and delayed more times than we care to count anymore.
2 The Nexus One is currently available unlocked for T-Mobile, and on track to hit Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T’s 3G network.

HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid face off on the charted field of battle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 shipping April 1st with integrated Clear WiMAX

Posted in: 4G, ctia, mobile broadband, MobileBroadband, netbook, Today's Chili, WiMAX, wwan

Dell’s vanilla Atom N450-based Mini 10 just started shipping a couple of months ago, and if you’ll recall, we spotted one slip through the FCC’s oh-so-vulnerable database with WiMAX built-in. Today at CTIA, Clearwire spilled the news that it’ll be providing the service for a 4G-infused version of the netbook come April 1st. What’s interesting is that Clearwire only mentions it being for sale “through select Clear retail locations, telesales and Clear.com,” so it’s still unknown if it’ll be offered up through the Round Rock powerhouse itself (as the Studio 17, Studio XPS 1640 and Latitude E4300, etc. are). The machine will be sold for $249.99 after an instant rebate, though no specifics were mentioned concerning a per-month data plan price. If we were the betting type, we’d say it’ll probably run you 40 bones for every 30 days based on existing rates.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 shipping April 1st with integrated Clear WiMAX originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

HTC EVO 4G is Sprint’s Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on

Posted in: breaking news, BreakingNews, ctia, hands-on, HTC, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

We’ve been rumoring a WiMAX “HTC Supersonic” for a while now, and Sprint just dropped the hard news: the phone will be dubbed the HTC EVO 4G, will be released this Summer and it’s easily the best specced phone we’ve ever witnessed. The hardware is of quite obvious HD2 descent, but with Android onboard and some nice aesthetic tweaks, the EVO 4G takes on a life of its own. The handset is centered around a 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD, with a Snapdragon QSD8650 1GHz processor under the hood (the CDMA version of the QSD8250 in the HD2 and Nexus One), and even a helpful 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM — hello app storage! Even the battery is bigger than the HD2, and the camera is an 8 megapixel monstrosity with flash, that’s capable of 720p video, and is augmented by a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for good measure. The phone features HDMI out (though you’ll need an adapter for turning it into a TV-familiar HDMI plug), 802.11b/g WiFi, and an 8GB microSD card. There’s that still-rare Android 2.1 underneath an updated version of HTC’s Sense UI. But… despite all these wild features, what actually sets the EVO 4G apart is the fact that it’s Sprint’s first 4G phone. The handset runs a combo of EV-DO Rev. A and WiMAX, with calls still being made over CDMA and the EV-DO / WiMAX options for data. Interestingly, it sounds like concurrent data and voice use might be possible for the first time on CDMA carrier in this way (killing AT&T’s well-advertised differentiator), though Sprint says that’s still in the testing phase. One other new feature is the Sprint hotspot app, another MiFi-style connection sharing number, which is obviously aided greatly by the WiMAX on board and can support up to eight concurrent users. Follow after the break for our hands-on impressions and videos of the phone in action, including an up-close-and-personal test of the touchscreen keyboard. Below you’ll find galleries of the phone by its lonesome and up against the Nexus One and iPhone 3G.

Update: We’ve got a graph comparing the Nexus One and Droid with the EVO spec for spec, and there’s also a pictorial shootout with the Desire and HD2. Pick your comparo poison!

Gallery: HTC EVO 4G press shots

Gallery: HTC EVO 4G hands-on

Gallery: HTC EVO 4G vs. iPhone vs. Nexus One

Continue reading HTC EVO 4G is Sprint’s Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on

HTC EVO 4G is Sprint’s Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 23

Sprint’s HTC Evo, the First Ever 4G Phone: Meet the New Terrific [Sprint]

Posted in: 4G, Android, flash, Google, HTC, Sprint, Today's Chili, top, WiMAX

It’s official: Sprint’s first WiMax/4G phone is everything we hoped it would be. The HTC Evo combines the “perfect specimen” hardware of the Touch HD2, the Sense-on-Android smoothness of the Legend, and unprecedented download speeds. It’s a beast. UPDATED: Hands on! More »

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Mar 23

Sprint Announces More WiMAX Markets for 2010

Posted in: Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

Sprint today announced more WiMAX target cities for 2010, adding Cincinnati, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and St. Louis to their list of 4G-enabled locales.

Sprint’s WiMAX service is currently available in 27 cities, including Baltimore, Seattle, Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Earlier this year, Sprint said they were bringing WiMax to Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in 2010. They aim to hit a goal of 120 million people covered by WiMAX this year, according to a press release.

Yesterday I drove around with Sprint’s WiMAX execs to see their network’s up-to-12 megabit/second download speeds, and heard them reiterate their commitment to keeping their WiMAX plans unlimited. Sprint WiMAX service is currently available on two modems and a WiMax-to-Wi-Fi router, but Sprint is widely expected to release a WiMAX smartphone later today here at the CTIA Wireless trade show.

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Mar 23

Sprint announces seven new WiMAX markets, says ‘Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage’

Posted in: 4G, Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

Sprint‘s just announced some more markets for its planned 4G expansion, among them Los Angeles and Miami, plus Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City and St. Louis. That’s right: WiMAX is coming to penetrate the Steel Curtain. In addition to the markets previously announced at the end of February (New York, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, and Washington, DC), the list is starting to look a lot like that “many markets” we’ve been promised. While we’re still not getting launch dates, it’s clear that Sprint’s on an aggressive path here — and an apparently leaked internal email we just got from a tipster confirms that pretty blatantly. Supposedly penned by Joe Whited, the Manager of Corporate Communications at Sprint, the email appears to have been aimed at pumping up Sprint employees based on this morning’s announcement: “Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage, we’re moving forward with what customers really want — lightening [sic.] fast internet and uncapped 4G service.” Fighting words, friends — and the addition of major markets like Los Angeles and Miami are surely an upping of the game. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Sprint announces seven new WiMAX markets, says ‘Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage’

Sprint announces seven new WiMAX markets, says ‘Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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