Evan Kessler on October 11, 2010
Today is an historic day in the world of gadgetry; No it's not the day Christopher Columbus discovered GPS to help guide the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria to the New World or wherever he was going. It was on this day in 2010, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer launched his company's arsenal of Windows Phone 7 wireless devices. Much pomp and excitement was produced during the live stream conference which revealed 9 new phones from the likes of HTC, Dell, Samsung and LG Electronics that will run on the new Windows Phone 7 software. While there's no way of telling whether Windows phone 7 devices will be to Android what the Zune was to the iPod (not quite competition), we can surmise that at least one of the new phones will be wandering into WiMax territory fairly soon.
In the hours preceding the launch announcement, it was found that the network icon for 4G WiMax had already been included on Windows Phone 7 support pages. While the first round of phones is said to be a GSM launch, we can use our keen powers of deduction to guess that out of the 9 that were introduced today, the HTC 7 Pro– slated to be released to Sprint users early in 2011–could likely be WiMax-compatible. Five of the other Windows 7 phones will make their debut in the U.S. on the soonish side, with AT&T getting three and T-Mobile getting two. Since neither of those carriers have WiMax networks, it's probably safe to assume they're not yet cut out for 4G duty on such a network. So far it looks like HTC is continuing to lead the 4G WiMax phone market, as they're currently pushing the EVO to Sprint users. With this Windows Phone 7 device coming on down the line, Sprint's 4G users might be the first to decide if the new Microsoft operating system has any staying power.… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on October 5, 2010
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Before new technology appears on the North American horizon, it always seems to pass through the fertile testing ground that is Japan. It happened with your favorite Nintendo games as a kid and it's happening with mobile broadband technology now. As Clearwire and Sprint are hard at work trying to elicit "oohs" and "aahs" from U.S. customers with their burgeoning nationwide 4G WiMax networks, Samsung already has their sights set on the next generation.
In association with Japan's UQ Communications, the Korean electronics behemoth has taken the occasion of the CEATEC trade show in Tokyo to run public trials of their 330-Mbps WiMax 2 network. While still compatible with presently implemented WiMax networks, the new version provides a significantly faster, more efficient connection as evidenced by the concurrent display of full-HD 3D videos, and 16 full HD videos on four big screen TVs, carried out with Samsung's commercial mobile base station– a unit identical to many utilized by WiMax providers the world over.
Samsung fully expects standards for WiMax 2 to be ready to roll by next month and to have compatible devices and services on tap at the end of 2011. The goods news for those still making nice with earlier versions of WiMax is that they'll be able to intermingle with the upgrade, and vendors of the current WiMax system can easily move their customers to the new standard with the application of system software and upgraded channel cards. These apparent advancements in WiMax technology (phase 2) prior to the official phase one of the major LTE networks, may ultimately give the 4G standard a fighting chance when it comes to establishing technological superiority. So while many are labeling WiMax a "niche" technology, its champions are determined to show it has some room for growth just yet.… Read the rest
Michael Licata on January 18, 2010
Gemini Communications and PointRed announced that they’ve been granted a mobile WiMax contract worth Rs 435 crore from PSU, BSNL for a WiMax roll out in India. Others in the race included Alvarion, Harris Stratex, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE. The lowest four bidders will each bag a part of the contract. Gemini’s share in the contract is 40 percent.… Read the rest
Michael Licata on January 13, 2010
Gemtek Technology and Quanta Microsystems saw a major increase in WiMax CPE product shipments in 2009, surpassing 2008 shipments by a large margin. Sources say that 250,000 shipments of built-in WiMax modules by Gemtek in the fourth quarter 2009 accounted for 45% of its yearly shipments.
Quanta Microsystems began shipping WiMax network cards at a rate of 10,000-20,000 units per month in the first quarter of 2009, increasing to 70,000-80,000 units in the final quarter. Total shipments of network cards were roughly 500,000-600,000 units for the year.
Shipments of WiMAX CPE products by Taiwanese companies are expected to remain strong or possibly increase in the first quarter of 2010 due to continued roll-outs of WiMAX networks by carriers in India, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Global Mobile recently launched a WiMax network in Taiwan and we can expect other WiMax developments in the region.… Read the rest
