Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Size definitely matters for MIDs, what with the whole Mobile moniker in there, but features matter too, and USI’s upcoming MID-160 offers most of the important ones. It’s got a 5-inch 800 x 480 touch-screen, connectivity over 802.11b/g as well as HSDPA and WiMAX, plus GPS and Bluetooth, served by an (unspecified) Atom processor and 512MB of RAM with 8GB of flash storage (expandable via microSD). All that’s delivered in a package just 15mm in thickness and 250 grams in heft, but sadly missing one thing we tend to use a lot when surfing the web: a keyboard. Nokia’s N810 WiMAX Edition has one, plus most of the other goods (lacking the Atom and 8GB of storage), yet manages to be just as thin and even lighter — not to mention available right now. By contrast we have no information on availability or price for MID’s sleek, but perhaps unnecessary, successor to the M-150.

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Filed under: Laptops

Penryn-based Monteniva just hit the streets a few months ago, but hardware geeks are fickle fellows, so Intel said today that Clarksfield, its Nehalem-based mobile CPU, will go into production in the second half of next year; sadly, there was no word on when the chips will actually be available to consumers in the Calpella platform, which (rumor has it) will have built-in WiMAX. Clarksfield will include an onboard memory controller and a bunch of other new techs like its desktop brethren, so the promise of performance gains comparable to what we’ve seen in the desktop benchmarks is there — we’ll just have to wait at least a year to enjoy them, so get comfy.

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Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs, Wireless

Go figure — Sprint goes live with its XOHM WiMAX service, and all of a sudden, the long-awaited Nokia N810 WiMAX edition pops in stock. Crazy, we know. After seeing this puppy announced (and in the flesh) way back in April of this year, it’s about time Nokia made it available to Americans with the cash to spare. As of right now, the 4.13-inch, QWERTY-packin’ Internet Tablet can be ordered for $493, and unless Nokia’s fibbing, it’s in stock for shipment. Hello 4G, we’re thrilled you’re here.

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Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

A new variant of Asus’ M50Vm-A1 laptop — the M50Vm-A1WM — just showed up on Newegg and Amazon. Soulcrushingly long (mostly) alphanumeric string aside, it’s a decent 15.4” machine for its $1,399 price point, with desktop replacement specs: Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 4GB of RAM, a GeForce 9600M with a satisfying 1GB of dedicated graphics memory, and even a numpad. What’s new here is onboard WiMAX, which puts Asus on the post-XOHM launch bandwagon with Toshiba, Acer and other laptop manufacturers. This is good news for some lucky early adopters, but if you’re not in one of the testing locales, you might as well continue twiddling your thumbs.

[Via ComputerMonger]

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Filed under: Wireless

While Sprint’s XOHM network is sticking to the bustling metropolises of the US, Redline is looking to bring the wonders of 4G to those sitting in rural America. Granted, this here deployment isn’t the first we’ve seen in a less-than-dense locale, but thanks to its RedMAX infrastructure products and Nex-Tech’s desire to spread the love, a number of cities in the Sunflower State are about to get blanketed with WiMAX. More specifically, we’re told that Hays (see above) and Great Bend will get covered by next month, but we’re left to assume, er, hope that neighboring towns will fall under the umbrella in due time.

[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of AirForceBase]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

With Sprint snagging the vast majority of the WiMAX limelight of late, we aren’t going to complain with a similar network halfway across the globe yanking it back. Out of absolutely nowhere comes HTC’s first WiMAX-enabled handset, the sure-to-be-delightful T8290. Reportedly, this bugger packs a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GSM and WiMAX radios and is expected to launch soon on Russia’s Yota. Granted, we can’t take this as hard truth or anything quite yet, but the images that reside in the read link are more than convincing. Oh, and HTC — given that you’re passing on the US with the Touch HD, do you think it’d be possible to get this over here for use with XOHM? We’d really, really appreciate it.

[Via Slashphone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals, Wireless

Yesterday was a pretty big day for Sprint (along with a number of laptop manufacturers), as America’s had its first major glimpse at widespread WiMAX. A few other tidbits lingering from the mayhem were the obligatory speed tests — which were decidedly average — and what’s believed to be a prototype Aspire One with inbuilt WiMAX capabilities. Said netbook was residing within an Intel-branded van, and while it wasn’t made clear if Acer had any plans of bringing such a beast to the commercial realm, the folks at Laptop found the WiMAX surfing to be respectable, but not mind-blowing, as the New York Times homepage took around 15 seconds to load completely. Mr. Dave Zatz was able to pull down around 4,600kbps (and 1,519kbps up) in an impromptu speed test, while Kevin over at jkOnTheRun only managed 3,435kbps down / 1,555kbps up. As always, YMMV.

Read - Hands-on with WiMAX-enabled Aspire One
Read - XOHM Speed Test I
Read - XOHM Speed Test II

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Filed under: Wireless

Hot on the heels of Lenovo comes Acer, which is somehow claiming “first!11one!” in the US market with WiMAX-enabled laptops. Introduced today in Baltimore in conjunction with the formal unveiling of Sprint’s XOHM network, the Aspire 4930-6862 and Aspire 6930-6771 both include the innate ability to hop on a WiMAX network and surf at 4G speeds. As for specs, the former packs a 14.1-inch WXGA panel, 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7350 CPU, 3GB of RAM, WiFi / WiMAX capability, integrated graphics, a dual-layer DVD writer, 320GB SATA HDD, 5-in-1 card reader, built-in webcam, Windows Vista Premium and an $899.99 sticker. The larger 6930 differs only in the 16-inch 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, as everything else (price included) remains the same. Charm City residents can snatch ‘em up right now at NewEgg and TigerDirect.

[Via DigitalTrends]

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Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

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Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

It’s a big day in Baltimore with the proper launch of Sprint’s XOHM WiMAX network, and Lenovo’s making sure it snags a bit of that limelight to announce this. Starting today, prospective customers can snatch up a ThinkPad SL300, SL500, X301 and T400 with integrated WiMAX capability, meaning that you can hop on the ultra-fast mobile internet highway in Baltimore and elsewhere if you’re really lucky. Later this year, the laptop maker will be adding the option on its business-focused ThinkPad W500, W700, SL400 and X200 models as well as the consumer-minded IdeaPad Y530. There’s no word on how much this capability adds to the cost of a machine, but WiMAX-enabled lappies can be had starting at $720 right now.

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Filed under: Wireless

Not too keen on snatching your WiMAX via ExpressCard? Fret not, as ZTE’s TU25 (which was leaked early last month) is fast approaching. Hailed as the only USB modem available (and certified, no less) for the launch of the XOHM network, the TU25 presumably allows users to plug it into a spare USB port, wave a magic wand and begin surfing the mobile broadband superhighway in Baltimore (and a few other places, we hear). There’s a frighteningly small amount of details on this thing right now, but hopefully we’ll have some of the more crucial aspects (price, release date, etc.) sooner rather than later.

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Filed under: Wireless

Flying out of BWI to Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. or Northern Virginia? Make sure you pack in that SWC-E100, because we’re hearing that Sprint’s XOHM WiMAX networks are already live in each of those locales. According to a XOHM representative at a booth in Baltimore, the networks in each of those cities are already up, though they aren’t officially supported as they’re still “being tested.” If any of you XOHM early adopters happen to head to any of the previously mentioned regions, bust out your ExpressCard and see if you get lucky (and then let us know how it goes).

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Filed under: Wireless

XOHM is live in Baltimore, and Laptop Magazine has sent a few (slightly dazed-looking) staffers on an impromptu tour of the “Charm City” to get a feel for Sprint’s new WiMAX service. Overall, they found performance to be quite good, clocking in at 3.05 Mbps down and 2.4 Mbps up. That compares very favorably to Verizon’s EV-DO network, which delivered 1.43 Mbps down and 0.54 Mbps up in the same locations. Sprint’s network also beats Clearwire’s WiMAX down in Reno both in speed and in connectivity; testers in the Biggest Little City in the World couldn’t get a signal while in a car, but those in Baltimore could, albeit at half the speed as when stationary. So, it certainly sounds like a good solution for those who need a high-speed connection on the go — so long as they’re only going to places within Baltimore, of course.

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Filed under: Wireless

Sprint may have just launched the XOHM WiMAX network in Baltimore, but would-be merger partner Clearwire has been running its version of the mobile broadband service in Reno for a while, and InfoWorld went down to test it out and give us a taste of what to expect. Performance was good while not in motion, with downloads speeds around 1.5 to 2.0 Mbps and uploads hitting 275 to 325Kbps, but actually getting mobile broadband seems to be out of the question — the system simply couldn’t connect to a laptop moving in a car or on a train. That seems like a dealbreaker to us, but we’ll give it a pass for now since it’s so early in the game — we’ll see if Sprint can do better.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

In an apparent effort to make good on its claim of having WiMAX rolling in Baltimore this month, Sprint is reportedly going live with the service in the downtown area today. There’s no indication of when it’ll spread XOHM throughout Charm City, but we’re hearing that prices will start at $10 for a 24-hour unlimited pass and $35 for monthly service. Best of all, there won’t be any contracts necessarily attached, and WiMAX-friendly laptop cards will supposedly start at around $45. For any locals able to actually find one of these so-called aircards and hop on this elusive XOHM network today, be sure and let us know how it goes.

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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Never one to settle, Art Lebedev’s design shop is trying its hand at handset design, and we like the looks of it. Art is teaming up with Scartel, a Russian carrier which just launched a WiMax network in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for a flagship handset of sorts, and has left no spec unturned — at least in the wishful-thinking conceptual stage. In addition to a WiMax radio, the device has WiFi, tri-band GSM, microSD, dual cameras, 3.5mm audio, an A/V plug and a gargantuan 850 x 480 screen. There are minimal buttons at the base: a five-way joystick and call / end, and no keypad, so we’re going to assume that we’re looking at a touchscreen device. Now all that’s left is to pick an OS — would Android be too much to ask? Another shot is after the fold.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Art Lebedev’s Scartel WiMax handset concept: we’re moving to Russia

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Filed under: Wireless

Back in June, we heard that Sprint would be going live with its XOHM WiMAX service in Baltimore, um, this month. As of today, it’s pretty clear that the service won’t be rolled out fully before October dawns, but at least some progress is being made. Based on a survey sent out to select (read: lucky) Baltimore-area residents, it seems that Intel and Sprint are willing to give away free laptops in order to trial the XOHM service in the city. Unfortunately, the lappies won’t even be given out until late October, and the trial itself is set to last 30 days, so frankly, we’ll be lucky to see XOHM hit the general populace before Santa takes to the friendly skies. Though, why are we not surprised?

[Thanks, Anonymous]

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Filed under: Wireless

Hold onto your hats, Motorola fans! As the launch of the nation’s first mobile WiMAX network (hopefully) draws near, the company’s announcing its first ever USB WiMAX device, the USBw 100. This thumb-drive-sized slice of heaven will be available in three flavors, providing high-speed mobile broadband on your 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz or 3.5 GHz network. No pics, pricing or definite release date yet, just the vague promise that we’ll be seeing her in the fourth quarter of this year. We’re all giddy in anticipation.

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Filed under: Wireless, Networking

If you thought Verizon was taking its sweet time rolling out FiOS to your neighborhood, imagine how long it would take to connect the entire continent of Africa. Verizon wouldn’t bother trying, but satellite company O3b, in partnership with Google, is doing just that. The pair plan to bathe that continent (and others) with soothing Internet waves via 16 medium-earth orbit (MEO) units. Latency is said to be only 120 milliseconds, with maximum download speeds at 1.25Gbps. That’s seriously fast, about the same as Japan’s Kizuna (set to cover disconnected Asian regions), but before you cancel your 1.5Mbps WildBlue account and go on a bandwidth safari know that these new orbital hotspots are destined to act as backbones for use by smaller ISPs. They’ll in turn provide wireless access direct to customers over 3G or WiMax, throttling things appropriately.

[Via ZDNet Government]

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