Clearwire Introduces CLEAR Spot Personal Hotspot
At CTIA Wireless this week, Clearwire introduced the $139 CLEAR Spot Personal Hotspot, manufactured by CradlePoint. It's a portable, battery-operated Wi-Fi router that connects to the $49 CLEAR USB Modem to create an 802.11b/g hotspot that makes use of the CLEAR mobile WiMax service, promising download speeds of up to 4 Mbps.
"With CLEAR Spot, we've combined the speed and mobility of our 4G service with the ubiquity of Wi-Fi to create the best possible broadband experience for our customers," says Clearwire chief strategy officer Scott Richardson. "While many CE devices will eventually include embedded WiMax technology, our customers can now easily use their existing Wi-Fi-enabled phones, cameras, game systems, or laptops in compelling new ways."
"This is an extremely smart move on Clearwire's part because it signals two things: the company knows that it'll take a while to develop an ecosystem of WiMax-enabled devices; and it wants customers to use its network extensively instead of imposing lots of limits," writes Wi-Fi Net News' Glenn Fleishman.
"Clearwire currently offers WiMax service in Baltimore and Portland, Ore.," writes CNET's Marguerite Reardon. "The company has plans to add service in another eight cities in 2009, and it expects that by the end of 2010, it will be able to offer its WiMax service to 120 million users. The service is available for $10 a day, or consumers can sign up for a monthly service starting at $30."
More here from jkOnTheRun … more here from FierceWireless … more here from PhoneNews … more here from Engadget … more here from SlipperyBrick … more here from eWeek … and the press release is here.