14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier Sprint has been already rumored several times before to plan releasing a WiMAX smartphone during the ongoing year, and it seems that it might not be too long before the company makes the move. The carrier already offers 4G services to users via ClearWire's WiMAX network, and now we learn that it plans on launching the first mobile phone to support the technology by summer 2010.
According to a recent article on Forbes, the wireless carrier has confirmed the fact that the first 4G handset is expected to become available for purchase during the first half of the ongoing year, a few months sooner than previously rumored. The handset is said to feature support for the “4G WiMax network Sprint has been building with wireless Internet service provider Clearwire Corp.,” and should make a lot of users rejoice, that's for sure.
“Paget Alves, Sprint's president of Business Markets, says the company views 4G as a multi-billion dollar business opportunity. Healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, media and retail companies are already using 4G to train and communicate with employees, he notes. Sprint says 4G technology can be up to 10 times faster than 3G, making it a good fit for bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming video, transmitting medical images and e-mailing training manuals,” the news site also notes.
It seems that Sprints aims big with the WiMAX services and the impressive speeds they can deliver to users. Moreover, the news site also notes that the launch of 4G handsets should help the company stay ahead of rival company Verizon, which is set to start the deployment of 4G network based on LTE this year. Unfortunately, no details on the upcoming handset have been unveiled, though previous reports suggested that it might be an Android-based mobile phone, the HTC Supersonic. One way or the other, info on it should emerge soon, so stay tuned.