A year after Sprint Nextel merged its WiMAX business with ClearWire, Computer Word reported Sprint Nextel will be the first to kick off a tri-mode handset- the first stand alone WiMAX Cell Phone. According to Scott Lane, director of marketing and sales for Sprint’s 4G unit, The phone would function in three wireless modes. Including WiMax and CDMA, the third mode will most likely be Wi-Fi, although that has not yet been confirmed. The WiMax handset also “could be based on Android “partly because Sprint has a “close relationship with Google,” the main proponent of Android, Lane noted. Still, he said he would not commit to the operating system being based on Android because there are other operating systems that have the processing power to work with high-speed WiMax.Sprint, the nation’s third largest wireless network spun off its WiMAX initiative named Xohm but has since been employing a 20 person team that focused on WiMAX product development and marketing strategy. Sprint is also preparing to sell WiMax-related products in future Clear markets, which Lane said should reach 40 million to 50 million customers by the end of 2009.
