Sidecut Reports

The reviews are in on the latest WiMAX smartphone, the Samsung Epic 4G, and they are resoundingly good — meaning that Sprint and its partner in WiMAX Clearwire should have another winner on their hands when the Epic goes on sale Aug. 31. For industry watchers, that date should set a clock ticking on when we might see the first mass-market Long Term Evolution-based smartphone available in the U.S., from big LTE backer Verizon: Will it be Aug. 31, 2011 before we see a Verizon-branded LTE smartphone? Or later? And what does that year-long lead mean for WiMAX’s shelf life?

Given the design complexities that an LTE smartphone from Verizon will have to overcome — namely, multiple radios for different frequencies for LTE upstream, downstream, and 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity — it’s probably safe to bet that LTE smartphones will arrive later, rather than sooner, than the oblique “mid-2011″ deadline Verizon is now publicly stating. And yes, we know that Samsung is planning to release a “LTE smartphone” for MetroPCS in Las Vegas maybe later this year. But one phone for one market does not a national competitor make. It’s interesting for sure, but in any WiMAX vs. LTE entree-provider comparison the MetroPCS offering is sort of a side dish.

Put aside for the moment the kerfluffle about whether or not Clearwire and Sprint will move to LTE in the future, since it’s not something that will happen anytime soon. Instead, start thinking about what will happen in the next 12 months, when Sprint and Clearwire get to keep selling all the HTC EVO 4G phones and Samsung Epic 4G phones they can get their hands on, while Verizon tries to explain why you need to buy an LTE data card and a Verizon smartphone, with limited-download more-expensive data plans for both.

Almost a year ago, I was of the opinion that WiMAX providers needed a snazzy iPhone-like smartphone, if for no other reason than to get the point across. You can market all you want, but what says faster broadband better than a cool phone that can also act as a Wi-Fi hotspot? As I said then, WiMAX folks needed a cool handset to help them spread the message:

What the WiMax industry really needs? A snazzy WiMax-enabled smartphone that can do the talking for them.

Now, the HTC EVO 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G seem to be doing just that. If this device lead can stretch to next summer, will consumers really want WiMAX to go away?

Tweet

Call it the intersection of preparation and opportunity — Clearwire today took a swipe at the network troubles that have been limiting the communication features of Apple iPads and iPhones with the introduction of the “iSpot,” a personal 4G/Wi-Fi hotspot that has an introductory service price of $25 per month for unlimited data use.

The device, in a white case to match the signature Apple casing, is a rebranded version of earlier devices from Clearwire that connect to the provider’s 4G WiMAX wireless broadband network on the back end to provide a Wi-Fi “cloud” for up to eight other devices.

While the device’s retail price is $99.99, Clearwire is offering it online for sale until tomorrow for the price of $29.99. The contracts advertised are month-to-month with no long-term obligation.

Though we haven’t spoken to Clearwire yet about the device, it is clearly designed to take advantage of the hobbled cellular data plans available for Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad via Apple’s exclusive agreement in the U.S. with AT&T. Though the device is marketed as an iPad/iPhone/iPod touch companion, we are guessing that any other device with a Wi-Fi connection can use the services made available from the portable router. UPDATE: According to the Clear blog, the device is actually locked for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch use only at the $25 rate; to use other equipment it needs to be unlocked by Clearwire folks and you will pay the regular service fees. From the Clear blog:

There has been some confusion out on the interwebs about what devices the iSpot can work with. To clarify, if you take advantage of the $25/mo service plan, your iSpot will only work with iPod touches, iPads, and iPhones. If you want it unlocked to work with any wi-fi enabled devices (laptops, Macbooks, smartphones etc) our Customer Service team can unlock it it you decide to go with the same monthly service plan that is available for the CLEAR Spot 4G.

The Sidecut take says — why lock this thing at all? The more open the better, why introduce the confusion? After all, it’s not like people who buy Apple products are necessarily budget-sensitive, so why give them a better deal than other device holders?

Since we hear that the Apple iPad may actually now be available, we will do our readers the service of reprinting the post we wrote back in January — in which we opined that the best way to get fast connectivity for your iPad would be to buy one of the WiMAX Pocketspots like Sprint’s Overdrive, and surf the web in 4G fashion using WiMAX backhaul to your own personal Wi-Fi cloud.

(Savvy folks that they are, Sprint and Clearwire marketing types picked up on our lead and made such thinking the center of some press releases. No charge for the idea!)

Anyway, here’s the post from Jan. 27 to enjoy all over again.

– old post below —

Om said it best in less than 140 characters: “If i had to buy an iPad, I would buy a WiFi one with a Sprint MiFi. Who needs to blow money on a crappy AT&T 3G connection.”

His late Wednesday tweet summed up perfectly my reaction to the Apple iPad’s pricing for a model with connectivity to AT&T’s 3G cellular service: Why would you pay an extra $130 “3G tax” for the privilege of connecting one device to a network whose underpinnings are still suspect? Especially when you can get a mobile Wi-Fi router, either in the slim 3G-only version or in the beefier, brawnier hybrid 3G/4G configuration — and have better connectivity for your iPad and four other devices?

From AT&T’s standpoint, the pricing structure makes sense — by making it a high leap over the base iPad price, you can guess many folks will opt not to spring for a 3G version, especially since (unlike an iPhone) this device is primarily designed for content consumption or creation, and not necessarily for communications. (Though we fully expect Andy A to be the first to use it in an airborne Wi-Fi/VoIP configuration)

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Om said it best in less than 140 characters: “If i had to buy an iPad, I would buy a WiFi one with a Sprint MiFi. Who needs to blow money on a crappy AT&T 3G connection.”

His late Wednesday tweet summed up perfectly my reaction to the Apple iPad’s pricing for a model with connectivity to AT&T’s 3G cellular service: Why would you pay an extra $130 “3G tax” for the privilege of connecting one device to a network whose underpinnings are still suspect? Especially when you can get a mobile Wi-Fi router, either in the slim 3G-only version or in the beefier, brawnier hybrid 3G/4G configuration — and have better connectivity for your iPad and four other devices?

From AT&T’s standpoint, the pricing structure makes sense — by making it a high leap over the base iPad price, you can guess many folks will opt not to spring for a 3G version, especially since (unlike an iPhone) this device is primarily designed for content consumption or creation, and not necessarily for communications. (Though we fully expect Andy A to be the first to use it in an airborne Wi-Fi/VoIP configuration)

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We’ve documented here at Sidecut Reports the ongoing struggles AT&T has had keeping its iPhone customers from congesting its wireless networks. Now apparently it’s Verizon’s turn to see how good its network is, if the rumors about Verizon getting the 3G contract for the also-rumored Apple tablet and Verizon getting the iPhone in June turn out to be true.

While there’s still a lot we don’t know — for instance, how much data plans for the devices might cost, what the data download limits might be, etc., etc. — our initial guess is that Verizon might be better equipped to handle a bigger traffic load, if only because Verizon has been aggressively building out for its Long Term Evolution (LTE) launches, still theoretically scheduled to start happening this calendar year. Since LTE installs will likely take place in a lot of the same 3G tower locations, it’s a good bet that Big Red has been beefing up cell-site backhaul in advance of these launches — instead of having to play catch-up like AT&T recently admitted it is now doing. If the rumored tablet appears and is as successful as the iPhone was, Verizon will find out very quickly how good its network really is.

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