Items tagged with clear
Wondering what's next for Clearwire? You probably aren't alone. The company that launched with WiMAX, and then sided with LTE, is still in a state of transition, and the Sprint tie-in makes things even more complicated / interesting. In the company's Q4 2011 earnings report, they notched greatly improved revenue and subscriber counts, but that's not the major news. Total revenue for full year 2011 increased 134% year over year to $1.25 billion, primarily driven by wholesale revenue which increased 876% to $493.7 million in 2011 from $50.6 million in 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 revenue was $361.9 million, a 107% increase over fourth quarter 2010 revenue of $175.2 million. Wholesale revenue in fourth...
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While Sprint has a major stake in the company that provides WiMAX services to all of its 4G devices, Clearwire is still its own beast. It may not remain that way for long, however: a new Bloomberg report suggests that Sprint is currently "talking with cable companies about a possible investment that may lead to an acquisition of partner Clearwire." Reportedly, Sprint is talking mostly to Comcast about the investment, though a few other unnamed outfits are in the mix as well. No deal is set in stone just yet, but Sprint and Comcast both own stakes in Clearwire already. Clearwire already announced intentions to go LTE sooner rather than later, and Sprint is losing valuable time with Verizon rolling...
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WiMAX seems to have hit a stumbling block in the U.S. Not a single new market has opened up during 2011, while Verizon's LTE network seems to be expanding by the week. But Clearwire and Sprint aren't giving up, and in fact, they're producing some fairly great hardware and plans. The newest is the Clear Spot 4G Apollo, a new personal mobile hotspot that connects to Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network, and the real kicker is the pricing layout. It can provide average mobile download speeds of 3 to 6 mbps with bursts up to 10 mbps, with unlimited plans starting at $35/month. It's a 3.4" square and will sell for $99 (or leased at $6/month), and should be available as we speak....
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Well, that was short lived. Consumer electronics have a pretty short life-cycle these days. Even the HTC-build Google Nexus One only remained on sale for a few months, and now one of Clear's mobile hotspot devices has bit the dust. The iSpot was an interesting product from the start. It was a small 4G pebble that provided access to WiMAX services only, but there was one other big restriction. It would only work with Apple devices. MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, those type of devices. Basically, it was a WiMAX device designed specifically for Apple users. Because of that limitation, it was offered for just $100, with no contract attached. And then, monthly rates to WiMAX were just $25 per...
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Did you know that Clearwire provides internet services for the home? They do. Aside from offering mobile 4G access, the WiMAX company also delivers Internet service to homes, and there's a new modem out for those who are considering the service. It's called the Clear Modem with Wi-Fi, and basically, it's a Clearwire 4G modem + WLAN router built into one single unit. Buying this prevents users from having to buy a 4G modem for their home as well as separate router to send signals out over Wi-Fi. This one box does it all. It's a pretty slim one too, so it shouldn't be too worrisome to install. The WLAN portion supports 802.11b/g/n and functions on Windows Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64 and Mac OS8...
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The 4G rollout continues! With T-Mobile now claiming that their HSPA+ network is "4G," and Verizon Wireless claiming the same for their incoming LTE network, it's getting hard to know what's what. WiMAX is the original 4G network, and both Clearwire and Sprint are working hard to bring that network to more and more people. Every few weeks now it seems like another major market is getting Spring 4G, and that's the case again this week. Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio are the latest cities to get Sprint/Clear's 4G services, and those are definitely heavy-hitters. These major markets have historically had issues handling all of the 3G capacity, so hopefully...
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Clearwire and Sprint have been offering 4G (WiMAX) services in various parts of the United States for quite some time now, but the latest introductions are probably the most significant yet. Actually, it's a pretty safe bet that these are in fact the most prominent yet. First off, Clearwire, Sprint and Time Warner Cable are partnering to offer 4G in New York City, which is a place that knows all too well how important mobile bandwidth can be. Clearwire, Sprint and Time Warner Cable will each launch commercial 4G service in New York City on November 1, with official launch events and retail store openings to follow in each market. The actual service will be the same, but it will be resold by these...
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3G is booming, and the expansion won't stop for years to come. But 4G is already on the minds of tech enthusiasts, and Sprint/Clearwire already have it commercially available to those who live in very specific areas and are willing to pay the premium. LTE, which is the primary WiMAX rival, is expected to launch next year, so Clear is doing as much as they can to expand WiMAX and take advantage of their first-mover status. Recently, the company announced that there will be WiMAX wireless deployment in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Texas and Florida, and it will be FiberLight helping them with the cause. FiberLight is known for providing high-performance fiber network infrastructure, and Clear will...
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With LTE coming soon from Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Clear are both going on a full-out assault to get WiMAX into as many hands as possible while they still have an edge on time. On nearly a weekly basis now, we're seeing many new 4G markets introduced and even more 4G hardware to choose from. Sprint has just this week issued a new 4G USB modem (works with 4G only), in the U1901. This dongle is a small, simplistic device that works with Windows 7, Vista, XP and OS X (10.5 and 10.6), and when you're in a 4G zone it can provide throughput of up to 10x faster than Sprint 3G. The company suggests that this modem is ideal for "companies wanting to deliver high-bandwidth solutions to workers on-the-go...
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Now this is how you expand your horizons. Clearwire, a company that has provided 4G WiMAX services to select areas in America for the past years and months, is considering a somewhat different approach in the future. Rather than just sticking with WiMAX, they may actually dip into another form of 4G: LTE. LTE is generally considered to be the 4G wireless protocol with the most industry support. In the long run, it's likely that more carriers will push LTE than WiMAX, and Verizon Wireless is already promising a huge rollout by next year. The company has just announced quite publicly that they will be conducting 4G LTE technology trials, which should showcase wireless speeds of 20-70 Mbps. That's...
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Slowly but surely, Clearwire is becoming more and more of a household name. It wasn't long ago that only the hardcore wireless followers knew what Clearwire was, but now that this particular device is on store shelves, we suspect a lot of Apple users will be peering over just to see what the buzz is all about. The new iSpot is an interested, if not limited, device. It's the first 4G HotSpot that is actually only suitable for use with iPad, iPod touch and iPhone. That's right. Just those 3 devices are allowed to be used on the iSpot. There's a MAC address check that can tell what kind of device is attempting to connect over Wi-Fi, and unless it's one of those, the device simply will share its...
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WiMAX is still a fledgling service in America. Even though Sprint and Clearwire have invested tons of money in the 4G service, it's still spotty at best and only available in a few locations. But as with anything, it grows in time, and there's no better way to really grow than to get your service in the faces of consumers. And there's hardly a better way to get in the faces of consumers than to get into Best Buy. Best Buy and Clearwire just unveiled a new relationship that will enable the big box retailer to sell 4G services to consumers, which could lead to a sharp increase in mind share and market share. The service will actually be branded by Best Buy as "Best Buy Connect," with the services...
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It's a broadband world, and the rest of us are just trying to catch up. LTE is all set to become a widely adopted 4G technology once Verizon Wireless begins to roll it out later this year and in 2011, but for now, it's WiMAX or nothing if you're in need of 4G. The HTC EVO 4G is the country's first 4G smartphone, but if you're in no need of a new phone, Clearwire has a bunch of new products that are all designed to your get your notebook (or any other Wi-Fi device) onto these 4G waves. The company already has a few WWAN modems and mobile routers on the market, but they have yet to reveal a 4G/3G dual-mode modem that's compatible with OS X, and of course, having more options for surfing at 4G is...
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Gadget lovers have a particular hate for airport security. Even if they're trained professionals who fly on a weekly basis, there's just no quick way to get through the rigors involved in passing onto the sterile side. Those grey buckets become your worst enemy: before you know it, you've claimed five or six of them and taken up the whole belt, and the passengers behind you are glaring and growing increasingly impatient. Anyone who travels with numerous notebooks, cameras, hard drives, battery packs and lenses knows the pains of passing through airport security. Each laptop has to go in its own bin, and if you have too many cables, drives and other gizmos in your carry-on, you'll have to set...
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This year's CTIA show in Las Vegas is all about what's next: 4G. What's interesting is that most carriers don't even have 3G figured out; AT&T's 3G network still isn't robust enough to handle bursts of traffic in major cities, and yet the mobile world seems set on moving on to WiMAX, LTE, neither, or both. Clearwire is the major provider of WiMAX in the U.S. today, and there's no surprise to see the company making a number of major announcements at America's largest wireless show. Throughout 2010, Clearwire plans on expanding their footprint in a big way. New markets that will see 4G service include Los Angeles, Miami, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City, and those...
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We all know Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) as the company that has historically made high-end workstations for creating and rendering 3D animations for games and movies. But there is a whole other side to the company that many are probably less aware of. This very lucrative part of SGI feeds high-performance computing (HPC) solutions to the government and military. (Interesting tidbit: Silicon Graphics once owned the supercomputing company Cray.) And now it looks like some of SGI's recent implementations are helping to keep the U.S.'s nuclear weapon stockpile in check. SGI announced that has installed a storage environment made up of 17 InfiniteStorage 4600 systems at the Department of Energy's...
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Microsoft has made a hostile takeover offer for Yahoo!. It would be difficult and time-consuming for Microsoft to try to catch up with Google in Internet searches and online advertising, but buying the moribund but prominent Yahoo! would likely vault them into a competitive second place. Google doesn't like the idea, and is working tooth and nail to stop it.Publicly, Google came out against the deal, contending in a statement that the pairing, proposed by Microsoft on Friday in the form of a hostile offer, would pose threats to competition that need to be examined by policy makers around the world.Privately, Google, seeing the potential deal as a direct attack, went much further. Its chief...
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Well, Jack Bauer would like us to believe that nuclear terror is just around the corner, and with this system, we could just possibly prove it.Researchers at Purdue University are working with the state of Indiana to develop a system that would use a network of cell phones to detect and track radiation to help prevent terrorist attacks with radiological "dirty bombs" and nuclear weapons.Such a system could blanket the nation with millions of cell phones equipped with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material. Because cell phones already contain global positioning locators, the network of phones would serve as a tracking system, said physics professor Ephraim...
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Some users of online community Facebook are complaining that Facebook's latest marketing widget, called Beacon, allows other users to see what you're buying online from vendors participating in the program. They feel it's an invasion of their privacy. You're allowed to opt out of the process, and given two opportunities to do so for each automatic listing, but there doesn't seem to be any way to opt out of the program entirely. The idea is that if users see a friend buy or do something, they'd take that action as an endorsement for a movie, a band or a soft drink.But it also raises privacy concerns.Mike Mayer, for instance, saw a feed item saying his boyfriend, Adam Sofen, just...
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AT&T Recently revised their Terms of Service (TOS) for their DSL broadband service to include a clause which more or less seems put there to let AT&T disconnect a user who they believe is using their broadband access to "damage the name or reputation of AT&T, or its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries."Obviously this has been interpreted by many to mean 'if I go on a forum and badmouth AT&T for poor service, they'll disconnect me', and that'd certainly seem to be a potential civil rights violation in the making. So what does AT&T have to say about this?"AT&T respects its subscribers' rights to voice their opinions and concerns over any matter they wish. However,...
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Representatives of Clearwire and Sprint Nextel, the third largest mobile carrier in the U.S., have announced a cooperative effort to convene a national WiMax wireless broadband network, which is the upcoming 4G technology standard. WiMax mobile technology has been developed to work over 5 times faster than contemporary 3rd generation wireless networks, and at a lower cost. Moreover, Intel and other big-name IT and telecommunications companies seem to see a bright future for WiMax, for they believe that WiMax chips will eventually be incorporated into various devices including laptops. “The partnership will enable the two companies to accelerate their existing WiMax network plans and make more...
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EMI Music announced DRM-free music downloads through Apple's iTunes earlier this week. They mentioned "premium" music files, with a bitrate of 256 kbps, instead of the standard 128 kbps, for thirty cents more. Slate answers the question: So what? Listeners don't need all the data on a CD, since much of it is imperceptible to the human ear. Sound compression takes advantage of this fact by removing all that extra information. For starters, codecs throw out frequencies outside the range of human hearing - roughly 20Hz to 20,000 Hz. But that only accounts for a small amount of savings. To save even more space, the codecs...
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