14 DAY TRIAL // Clearwire Announced recently the release of its CLEAR Spot Personal Hotspot, which is meant to offer Internet connectivity to standard Wi-Fi products, while also providing true broadband speeds through the CLEAR mobile WiMAX service the company delivers. Basically, the new device is meant to allow users to benefit from their own Wi-Fi hotspot so that they would be able to connect to the Internet faster and easier.
The new CLEAR Spot is meant to deliver to users a personal Wi-Fi hotspot that could be carried around, offering them connectivity wherever they go as long as the area is covered by CLEAR. The device has been manufactured by CradlePoint and comes as a portable, battery-powered router able to offer connectivity to up to eight Wi-Fi devices through the CLEAR mobile WiMAX network. All that users have to do is insert their CLEAR USB Modem (available for $49) into the router and the Wi-Fi hotspot is created instantly, providing Internet connectivity to any Wi-Fi-enabled consumer electronic or PC device, if it is compatible with 802.11b/g.
“CradlePoint technology is at the forefront of device interoperability and we are excited to enter the WiMAX ecosystem through our relationship with Clearwire in developing the CLEAR Spot device,” said Jack Alton, CradlePoint vice president of sales. “Clearwire’s mobile WiMAX network offers an attractive opportunity to expand the reach of our products into a new and growing mobile networking standard while helping the company to expand the value of WiMAX to the wide array of Wi-Fi-enabled devices already in the marketplace.”
CLEAR’s mobile WiMAX service is expected to soon be available in major metropolitan areas in the US. The new CLEAR Spot router will become available in early April at CLEAR stores and authorized dealers with a price tag of $139, but it can also be found online on the company's site. Clearwire also states that the new router is only one of the CLEAR Spot Wi-Fi-enabled devices it plans to introduce this year.
“With CLEAR Spot, we’ve combined the speed and mobility of our 4G service with the ubiquity of Wi-Fi to create the best possible broadband experience for our customers,” said Scott Richardson, chief strategy officer for Clearwire. “While many CE devices will eventually include embedded WiMAX technology, our customers can now easily use their existing Wi-Fi-enabled phones, cameras, game systems, or laptops in compelling new ways. Since CLEAR is a true broadband Internet service, which just happens to be delivered wirelessly, we actually welcome the use of heavy bandwidth data applications that conventional 3G network operators may discourage or simply can’t support. In fact, we encourage our customers to use their Wi-Fi-enabled smart phones, or other CE devices, on our open network to receive better Internet connections.”