At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sprint representative David Owens announced that the company would no longer be releasing WiMAX phones and instead will be focusing its attention on LTE.

Sprint was previously the only US carrier to place its full support behind WiMAX, with its main competitors supporting LTE from an early date. With the increasing likelihood of LTE becoming the 4G standard instead of WiMAX, the company sees little point in continuing to be the lone voice supporting the wireless technology.

The decision to support LTE instead of WiMAX means that Sprint is now able to release LTE enabled phones such as the Galaxy Nexus to place the company in a better position to compete against Verizon and others.

So does Sprint’s decision mark the end of WiMAX on smartphones? The United States is one of the few countries where 4G is already operational, and the majority of 4G networks in the country are LTE. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are currently conducting LTE trials with plans to implement the technology in the next couple of years.

Likewise, the world’s most popular phone, the iPhone, has yet to adopt 4G due to its experimental status. If 4G is going to make an appearance on the iPhone 5, which will be launched later in 2012, it is likely that Apple will choose the more established LTE technology and will not opt for a WiMAX version.

Even though LTE now has the upper hand, Sprint was the first company to launch a 4G smartphone with the HTC EVO 4G back in 2010. Since then, a number of higher profile LTE devices have scuppered Sprint’s ambitions of nationwide WiMAX adoption.

When the world was first introduced to the blistering speeds of 4G data connections there was a lot of debate about which technology would establish itself as the industry standard. It now seems clear that with all US carriers placing their support behind LTE, and 4G development projects in other countries favoring LTE, WiMAX is destined to be swept to the side in the smartphone industry.

This guest post was written by Simon Drew of Best Mobile Contracts, the UK’s number one mobile phone comparison website.

There has been quite a bit of news in the last week concerning the 4G revolution. I reported in a past article to expect some news from Sprint. Then just last week, Sprint says it will not be embedding or supporting WiMax in their devices in 2012, or Clear for that matter.

Now I wouldn’t read into that too much. What I got from that press was this: They are not supporting WiMax any longer–LTE is another entity. I also reported that Clear would be making some big news. So, right after Sprint came out in favor of LTE, Clear shares some of the same spotlight with their new LTE path.

I also read some press about Sprint devices being embedded with both TD-LTE and FD LTE. To me, that says Sprint and Clear are moving away from WiMax. They are certainly not washing their hands of Clear. If Sprint has learned anything, they know the value of that spectrum and the future of true 4G speed is in that massive 2.5 GHZ pipe. They also know the value of being able to utilize that network to offload data and keep their network flowing. In fact, Sprint learned that from watching what happened to AT&T, and how their network was not ready for prime time. As a result AT&T took a nose dive from the introduction of the iPhone and all that data flow crashing, or crushing their legacy voice gear.

Sprint is ready to go forward, and they’re saying get on the LTE train, or get left behind. I also wrote an article last year about how Clear should have made this decision back then. But because of the Sprint ties, and an in-place echo space that needed no disruption, they waited, and that cost them an LTE run-away that’s put them in a last place position. There are many reasons for this, and they’re all corporate. There are also many other investors and let’s just say, they did not want to upset the apple cart.

If Sprint really wants to make some 4G news, try offering a 4G-only plan on WiMax-embedded devices for $45 a month. Here’s my recommendation for Sprint: You’re paying Clear $10.00. At $45 a month, that makes $35 profit, and you didn’t even have to build the network. You might just get the attention of investors, and you and Clear will be off and running with the fastest LTE available.

Then, after the news of Sprint treating Clear like a red headed step child with no more WiMax, Clear is in talks with PCS, which is Sprint, and Verizon. This brings us back to all that spectrum. There are so many ways Clear can contribute in this space, by providing an off-load port for all the telecoms, or being the backhaul to devices. And it’s not even dependent on Clear being built all the way out.

This is how I see the situation morphing into an awesome path. If Sprint starts to build out their LTE, while Clear continues to get their truck roll on, they would be building at twice the speed. Now, if these devices are on either a TD or FD LTE network, this is some common ground. At some point their paths will meet, and bam, they have not only caught up but have passed the competition, as this is the realm of true 4G. And if the goal was to build out advanced LTE, the fat lady will have sung.

It looks to me like all the carriers are going to find a way to access the Clear spectrum. Clear may well become an integral part of all things 4G, on all devices before this is over.

In a bid to remain cutting edge and on par with the world’s most industrialized cities, Nigerian officials have tapped Indian broadband and internet services provider Spectranet to implement their own 4G network. The commercial service was rolled out over the weekend and aims to provide small and medium businesses, corporations, and individuals with reliable and cost-effective broadband service.

“We see tremendous potential in delivering high quality reliable broadband services increasingly as consumers in Nigeria increasingly demand  high quality internet connectivity but at an affordable price,” said Spectranet Executive Director Ezekiel Fatoye. Fatoye also maintained that, if the government only got its act together and marshaled every IT and broadband resource at their disposal, Nigeria could well be a wholly wireless country.

As reported by Nigerian newspaper The Sun News, Spectranet has opted to run its 4G network on Clearwire’s WiMAX due to its ability to easily swell its coverage to encompass other locations. This is good news for WiMAX providers, who can at least rest assured that they are still expanding abroad even if the network is struggling domestically (WiMAX was recently jettisoned by Sprint, its largest client).

Initially, the launch will be confined the former Nigerian capital Lagos, but will eventually broaden in range to include other major cities. But an broadband launch in Lagos, which has a population similar to that of New York City and is rapidly growing, is not to be viewed as any mean feat.

The launch is slated to include provisions for internet access for hospitals and schools as part of its corporate social responsibility.

Sprint Nextel Co. announced Friday that it will cease selling devices compatible with Clearwire’s network at the end of next year. Clearwire is a wholesale provider of WiMAX 4G wireless service and is majority owned by Sprint, who is also currently their biggest customer. This revelation came on the heels of Sprint’s decision to move into LTE territory, WiMAX’s biggest 4G competitor.

Sprint was the earliest of the major wireless carriers to offer 4G service. Back in September of 2008. their decision to opt for WiMAX technology gave them a competitive edge over their rivals. Recently, however, LTE, the next generation standard of choice for big guns Verizon, AT&T, and T Mobile, has been enjoying rapid gains and is set to overtake WiMAX in the near future. Sprint has thus elected to cut its losses and throw in with the Long Term Evolution Club.

This seems like the kind of thing that would leave Clearwire in the lurch, a hypothesis supported by the company’s dipping stock value. The Clearwire brass don’t seem unduly perturbed, however. “I don’t think anything fundamentally changed for us after today,” Clearwire CEO Erik Prusch said. “Sprint is still dependent on us for their network.”

Clearwire’s relative nonchalance may have something to do with LTE plans of their own. The spectrum operator is looking for funding to convert their vast holdings to support LTE, a task made easier with rival LightSquared tied up in Washington over GPS signal interference allegations.

Sprint, for their part, has begun constructing a network of their own. Their holdings are expected to exceed that of Clearwire by the end of 2013.

Dish Network has expressed an interest in either partnering with a wireless carrier like Sprint or Clearwire or buying them outright, Forbes reported. Dish purchased satellite operators Terrestar and DBSD North America, saving them from bankruptcy earlier this year, and is now looking to make use of the wireless spectrum acquired as a result.

“We’ll look at partnerships, acquisitions, all of the above,” said Dish CEO Joseph Clayton, according to Bloomberg.

Upon this announcement, Sprint’s stocks jumped, as a deal like this is predicted to significantly aid in correcting Sprint’s and Clearwire’s current 4G woes. Concerns that such a merger would result in a legal deadlock after the AT&T/T-Mobile model have been assuaged – AT&T has been accused of decreasing competition while Dish would serve to provide a new player to the market. AT&T is currently fending off multiple anti-trust suits from the Department of Justice, Sprint Co., and regional carrier Cellular South.

A deal like this would help Clearwire get the $150-$300 million in funding it so badly needs to implement spectrum maintenance as well as the additional $600 million required to launch its LTE network. Furthermore, Clearwire could afford to abandon talks with wireless carriers to sell its excess spectrum – holdings that are considered the WiMAX operator’s most valuable asset. Clearwire has been negotiating to this end with the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and Metro PCS, the 1st, 2nd, and 6th largest national carriers, respectively.

There are several missing pieces,” Clayton said. “Wireless infrastructure, additional technology capabilities and even distribution are pieces that we’re still working on. Stay tuned.”

The Android Smartphone is planning to evolve even more, so for those who are fans start getting excited. Japan plans to add a new addition to its smart phones, the Arrows Z ISW11F.

This phone runs the Android operating system from  Fujitsu Toshiba. There are plenty of cool features for all the Android fans out there, it is waterproof  to guard it from any splashes or spills and assures that water is not going to damage the phone in anyway. It consists of two cameras, one in the front ,a 1.3 MP and one in the rear, a 13.1MP. The phone has a 32 GB microsd card for storage. It features a 4.3 inch 1280 x 720 resolution display. The smartphone can also output 7200 videos so for those who love to take videos this is the perfect gadget for you. To get more technical, the phone has WiMax 4G connectivity and supports any WiFi hot spots.

The smart phone is primarily targeted for men around the ages of 25 to 40. The available colors are blue, white, black, and pink for the ladies who want to get in on the fun. The phone weighs 131 grams, so that is not even .30 pounds, and its measurement are 64 x 128 x 10.1mm. The phone is extremely light and slim for easier mobility.The current pricing for the phone is around 10,000 Yen, so that is around $130. In today’s economy I feel that the phone is fairly priced for all the features it contains.

Emerging markets in Asia are becoming intriguing testing grounds for ways to make the Internet more mobile and accessible. Malaysia has recently introduced the implementation of a next- generation high- speed broadband network that covers a majority of its population. Malaysian conglomerate group YTL Corp. Bhd. has set up a WiMAX wireless broadband network as part of its venture into the mobile Internet market. The company directors have looked to overtake regional mobile phone operators by offering customers much faster Internet speeds. The WiMAX system, started at an approximated cost of $800 million and named Yes, could ensure that Malaysia has a competitive edge over regional rivals such as Thailand and Singapore as it becomes more economically secure and viable. The introduction of a better high speed Internet network and infrastructure will move the country away from a reliance on natural resources for revenue and towards more varied sources of income.

YTL has already managed a substantial number of subscribers to the network (around 300,000) but hopes to increase that number to a million in order to start turning a profit. Though WiMAX has been seen as a quick and relatively easy way to provide almost blanket wireless broadband services, other advances like LTE are gaining traction in Western countries. The analysts at YTL are quick to state that if the LTE standard becomes more widespread, then the company would switch over to it. In any case, YTL’s early success implies that as high tech products and equipment become more ubiquitous and accessible, advances in mobile internet are not limited to the largest markets, but show much more promise of profit in emerging countries. YTL is predicting an increased demand in mobile Internet services as Apple is preparing low cost versions of its iPhone and rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. introducing affordable smartphones. With expectations of profit, YTL is focusing on expanding its signal into the farthest reaches of Malaysia and is planning entry into nearby markets like Indonesia and the Philippines.

The recent announcement that confirmed Sprint Nextel’s acquisition of the rights to the iPhone 5 come October led to a great deal of excitement among Sprint customers. Prior to this innovation, the wildly popular Smartphone from Apple was reserved for LTE powerhouses AT&T and Verizon. A Sprint iPhone is indicative of a WiMAX iPhone in the near future.

Adding to the fervor, the internet is now abuzz with the rumor that there will be a WiMAX iPad available to Sprint customers as well. The ultra-slim device, which dominates the tablet market, is said to be available to consumers in time for the holiday season. If the rumors are true, the iPad will be only the 2nd 4G tablet in Sprint’s lineup which currently consists of the HTC Evo View 4G, certainly not one of the bigger players in the tablet industry.

The advent of Apple devices is a very good omen for Sprint, who has taken its share of hits over the last few months. It is currently embroiled in a prolonged legal dispute with AT&T over their desired $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile, which Sprint claims will destroy their market share. Clearwire, the company that produces WiMAX 4G technology and in which Sprint is a majority shareholder, has been limping along recently and proven a drain on Sprint’s resources.
Sprint thus hopes that the Apple devices, considered the cutting edge in consumer technology, will add a sleek and hip veneer to their image.

Sprint recently scrapped plans to jointly develop a 4G-enabled tablet with Research in Motion, the maker of Blackberry and the Blackberry Playbook Tablet. This revelation came as a blow to both RIM and Sprint, who were hoping to establish more of a presence in the burgeoning tablet industry. A WiMAX iPad would certainly bridge that gap for Sprint.

The privately owned Canadian company Eion Networks, Inc. has acquired the WiMAX division of the California based Aviat Networks. Eion, which markets wireless broadband equipment for businesses, seeks to expand its technology portfolio through this acquisition. In May 2011, because of fiscal difficulties stemming from greater than anticipated losses in Aviat’s WiMAX business, the company had decided to streamline its operations and sell its WiMAX business. For Eion Networks, the purchase presents an opportunity it to expand into the American market, and more specifically to launch its upgrade solution to LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 4G technology. The sale is another growing indication of the burgeoning influence of LTE over that of WiMAX. Aviat Networks has chosen to focus on other aspects of its company rather than spend additional funds in reviving its WiMAX business. Eion, on the other hand, hopes that the acquisition paves the way for sales of its upcoming WiMax- to LTE conversion gear and products.

WiMAX equipment makers have had to face flagging sales, dampening any incentive there might have been to invest further in the technology. But, in many developing countries, where phone lines are not ubiquitous, WiMAX is successful in providing wireless technology. The majority of Eion’s WiMAX sales are based outside of North America. With the acquisition of Aviat’s WiMAX business, Eion now has the opportunity to present Aviat’s customers (many of whom are service providers) its WiMAX- to LTE conversion products as they look to eventually upgrade to LTE. As companies such as Eion Networks broaden their technology portfolios to include LTE, the waning influence of WiMAX, at least in North America, becomes apparent

Augere, a company of global broadband experts, delivering 4G WiMAX broadband services across many emerging markets, is now extending its activities to Central Africa.

Augere’s decision to implement WiMAX in this remote region of the world does not come out of the blue. They have great experience in installing network infrastructures and providing emerging markets and densely populated regions with WiMAX technology. More specifically, they are very strongly installed in Asia, in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in India. Since its creation in 2007, the company believes that by bringing reliable and fast mobile broadband internet access to their markets, they support economic development and create significant opportunities as well as growth factors for businesses.

As of today, Augere is expanding its activities in Central Africa and more precisely Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, under the brand name QuBee. Augere has already started implementing WiMAX in Uganda and has achieved very satisfying results in terms of speed and coverage on their test network. Stimulated by their previous success, Augere will launch a 4G WiMAX network in Kigali, the Rwandan capital town on November 25, 2011. This represents their first step in providing all major urban areas in the country with 4G WiMAX. Finally, Augere has also recently announced that on June 1, 2011, it obtained a spectrum license to offer 4G WiMAX in the neighbor country of Tanzania.

Augere is now working on all three fronts:

• it will soon start offering the network to cellphone service providers in Uganda and make it available on the consumer market
• it will run WiMAX network tests in Kigali, Rwanda to ensure optimal speed and coverage
• and it will start preparing infrastructures for their new 4G network on the recently purchased spectrum in Tanzania