Now let's try to wrap our minds around this one ... Sprint is going to be announcing a Windows Phone that makes use of WiMax, which is the technology behind Sprint’s 4G network. The logic behind this theory is that Sprint has an event scheduled for January 6 with announcements by Dan Hesse (Sprint’s CEO) and Steve Ballmer (Microsoft’s CEO). Also, Sprint and LG have been sending out invitations to an event scheduled for the following evening; giving possible insight into the identity of the device manufacturer. InformationWeek points out that the January 7 event is being hosted by Brooke Shields, and states that a celebrity of that magnitude isn’t brought in for a small announcement.

To this point, we haven’t seen ANY WiMax-capable smartphones hit the market. We’ve seen rumors every now and again, but nothing solid. If Microsoft could be the first to market with this technology, even over Palm and its current exclusivity with Sprint, this could be a major coup for Microsoft.

[InformationWeek via Boy Genius Report]

Time for us to play "What really cool phone is being released overseas that we'll never get here!", one of our favorite games.

This time the lucky country is Korea, who is getting Samsung SPH-M8400 aka they need a better name for it.

To the point, here are the specs:

• WiMax (WiBro)
• 3.7" AMOLED WVGA
• WM6.5
• 5MP AF camera
• Digital Mobile TV
• WCDMA, WiFi, Bluetooth

Actually, though the fine folks at AkiHabaraNews liken it to a worthy competitor to the HD2, even we scoff at the notion.  No, this is a worthy competitor to the Omnia 2...in fact, it's very similar sans the 4G support.  Still, it does look pretty nice.

[AkiHabaraNews via Windows Phone Thoughts]

Dieter got his hands on the WiMAX-enabled Samsung Mondi back at CTIA in April and was less than impressed. Samsung decided to release the device anyway, and it comes alongside the launch of WiMAX service in Las Vegas.

Sammy says the 4G Mondi will be available in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. — three of the initial WiMAX launch cities — starting Aug. 1 for an undisclosed sum.

The Mondi's specs that we know of, if you're still interested:

• Windows Mobile 6.1.
• 4.3-inch, 800x480 touchscreen.
• Dimensions: 4.88 x 3.03 x 0.63 inches.
• WiMAX 4G speeds.
• WiFi b/g.
• 3MP autofocus camera with face recognition and panaramic shots.
• Slide-down keyboard.
• 4GB internal memory.
• 256MB RAM

More on the Mondi at Samsung's site, and the full presser's here. More on Clear's WiMAX launch in Vegas here.

Via Engadget Mobile

Sprint this morning announced a seven-year, $5 billion deal that hands responsibility for its network over to Ericsson, which certainly has been around the block once or twice. So as we're seeing the launch of new Windows phones on Sprint, the bullet points of what it means:

• Sprint retains full ownership and control of its network assets, and solely owns network strategy and investment decisions.
• Customers will continue to work directly with Sprint employees as their primary contact, as Sprint retains full control of the customer experience, customer technical support and services review.
• Sprint retains technology and vendor selections.
• Ericsson assumes responsibility for the day-to-day services, provisioning and maintenance for the Sprint-owned CDMA, iDEN and wireline networks.

That from the full press release, which you can also find after the break. Also of note is that some 6,000 employees will be transferred to Ericsson's control.

Dieter's done some additional analysis over at PreCentral.net (Sprint, of course, is the Palm Pre's only carrier at the moment), and that's where things get really interesting. The long and the short of it is that we may see a stronger network from Sprint in the future. And there may will have been something to the rumors of Sprint flirting with LTE technology and not just WIMAX for its 4G network.

And we're in full agreement with Dieter in that this makes Sprint even more of a middle man — remember that it spun off its WIMAX business to Clearwire and also sold a bunch of its towers and then leased them back. So Sprint's cutting a lot of its operating costs, while at the same time becoming less of a traditional carrier.

Stay tuned, folks. Things could get interesting in the coming months.

Read the rest of this entry »

We've already seen Clearwire roll out its WiMax service in Baltimore and Oregon, and now it's launched in its biggest market yet.

Atlanta woke today to 4G speeds, though you'll need WiMax-enabled device or data card to take advantage, natch. We're still waiting for WiMax-enabled phones to hit the mainstream, too (though here's a hands-on we got with one).

In addition to Atlanta, we're still expecting Clearwire to flip on WiMax in more cities in the coming months. Namely:

• 2009: Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte (N.C), Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Seattle.
• 2010: New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston, San Francisco.

Via jkontherun

Here's a possibly scenario for you to ponder:

• Sprint's Touch Diamond did not sell as well as the Touch Pro (3,000 units vs 15,000 per month)
• Sprint's Touch Diamond is EOL'd (gone by July)
• No Touch Diamond 2 is on Sprint's roadmap
• ROM file is leaked called "RUU_Quartz_Clearwire_US_1.09.1000.5_Radio_Quartz_1.13.25"
• Quartz = Touch HD / Clearwire = Sprint's Wimax partner

So we're just throwing it out there that somewhere out there on the internets is a "signed ship" ROM floating around (we've seen it ourselves) labeled for Clearwire using the Touch HD's moniker.  And that Sprint shows no signs of getting a Touch Diamond 2 even though it is EOL and running on its final shipment.

We could also throw out this gem from criticalaudioinc, who works with HTC and said 7 months ago:

HTC is currently in discussion again on bringing the HTC Touch HD to the US, I currently have a GSM model that we were asked to convert to CDMA, All that was needed was to pull a board from the diamond and re-solder and flash the the rom. From what we can see it is working pretty well the solder isn't pretty but again its a test. But its looking good so far.

So there you go. What say you? We be crazy or is Sprint getting ready to launch a Touch HD with Wimax?

After being pleasantly surprised by the rate of WiMAX growth in the states as evidenced in yesterday's keynote, I decided to go and give the Samsung Mondi the once-over.  It's a big ol' tablet with a recessed screen, a somewhat interesting custom interface, middle-of-the-road specs, and a slide down keyboard that's a pretty poor affair.  Oh, yes, and of course, it has WiMAX. Naturally, as is the universal law of all WiMAX demos at conventions, things weren't quite working yet.

Maybe it's that the Mondi was pretty beat up by day 2, but even so, the Mondi is not the device that will spearhead  WiMAX adoption.

More pics after the break

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Our man Dieter's made it to Las Vegas for CTIA and has wasted no time, forgoing the buffet line at the Sizzler for some face time with Samsung.

The Mondi Mobile Internet Device that got a brief mention last week has made a brief appearance, Dieter says, sporting a 4.3-inch touchscreen with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. There's also the Touchwiz interface that we've seen on the Omnia, along with Wimax (!) and WiFi, Opera 9.5 and 4 gigabytes of user memory and a microSD card.

There's no 3G radio on board here, but presumably if you're cool enough to be rocking a WiMax MID, you're cool enough for VOIP and can make do. Price is TBA, but Samsung says to expect the Mondi sometime in the second quarter.

Another word on Touchwiz: Samsung says it will beome prevalent and familiar across its family of devices, and that its not necessarily trying to put Windows Mobile out in the shed, nary to be seen.

Update: Get your official pics after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Samsung apparently has dished a little bit on an upcoming (and as yet unannounced) WiMax device and - lookie, lookie - is that a Windows flag there down at the bottom left?

Not much else is known about the SWD-M100 Mondi, though Phonescoop says that it's destined for Australia's Clear network. And unless the keyboard is minuscule, this appears to be more of a tablet-type phone than a slider.

Stay tuned, folks. The 4G race is racing er, crawling forward.

Baltimore and Portland, Ore., have been enjoying some of the first fruits of Clearwire's WiMax labor, and more cities are on tap for the next couple of years.

In an earnings report this week, Clearwire announced that it expects to be live in 80 markets in 2010. Here's what we'll be looking for:

• 2009: Atlanta, Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte (N.C), Dallas/Fort Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia, Seattle.
• 2010: New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston, San Francisco.

The report says Clearwire also expects "nearly 100 mobile WiMAX devices – such as laptops, netbooks, handhelds, USBs and modems – by the end of the year." This is still mainly data cards at this point, but you have to start somewhere.

MocoNews via Engadget