Sidecut Reports

As avid followers of the growing field of Pocketspots — aka the mobile routers that deliver a personal Wi-Fi cloud anywhere a 3G or 4G connection can find your cellular or WiMAX modem card — we had to stop by and see the folks from Cradlepoint at the 4G World show last week. We wanted to hear more about Pocketspots and Cradlepoint, makers of the gear behind Clearwire’s Clear Spot, didn’t disappoint, giving us a sneak peek at some ready-to-go devices and software, as well as some later-future stuff (that we can’t talk about yet! Darn!).

On tap to be delivered sometime in the next few weeks is a new business version of the company’s MBR1000, the beefy device Sprint is using as its workgroup offering for hybrid 3G/4G access (the mobile device supports up to 32 Wi-Fi connections in Sprint’s configuration). Named the MBR1200, the new router, according to early Cradlepoint documentation, has neat tricks like being able to use either USB, PC Card or ExpressCard modems — or any combination of the above, with the ability to load-balance and connect to multiple services at the same time (we didn’t see this demoed so can only pass on the idea). There will also be support for multiple VPN sessions as well as a hard cover to cover up and lock the modem cards to the device — important if these things are being used in a public or on-the-wall location where modem theft might be a problem. (Some details and a partial picture have already leaked out at EVDOinfo.com, most likely with Cradlepoint’s blessing.)

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One theme we heard repeated often during our day and a half at the Clearwire Las Vegas market launch was that Sprint, not Clearwire, would be the company leading marketing efforts in selling WiMAX to business users. Wednesday the No. 3 cellular carrier showed a bit how that effort might happen, launching its own version of the Clear Spot portable WiMAX/Wi-Fi router, as well as a beefier version that can support up to 32 Wi-Fi connections.

The two new personal routers, or PocketSpots as we like to call them, are manufactured by Cradlepoint, which also makes the Clear Spot now being sold by Clearwire. The difference in Sprint’s offering is that these routers will work with Sprint’s hybrid 3G/4G USB device, meaning they will work connected to a WiMAX network if one is available, or to Sprint’s 3G cellular network if WiMAX ain’t around. Pricing is $160 for the “Sprint Personal Hot Spot,” and $250 for the lovingly titled “Cradlepoint MBR-1000 Broadband Router for business.” According to Sprint the products are available now, and can be used with either 3G or 3G/4G data plans.

We haven’t yet talked to Sprint reps about the products, and we are curious to know why they are only allowing the personal hot spot to have four Wi-Fi connections when Clearwire’s version allows eight. Also, Sprint WiMAX services are only commercially available right now in Baltimore, though our Sprint hybrid card worked just fine in Las Vegas, where service is scheduled to be commercially available “in August,” according to Sprint. Atlanta and Portland, Ore., also currently “live” Clearwire markets, are also scheduled for Sprint services sometime this month.

UPDATE: Andy “king of the PocketSpots” Abramson gives the low-down on how the mobile routers help him stay connected when others are not.

Updates later as we chat with Sprint. Gratuitous fanboy photos below.

This is the personal hot spot model. I don’t think the pretty yellow ribbon comes with the boxed version.

Three antennas = business router doin’ business!

Less than six months after first introducing WiMax services in Portland, Ore., Clearwire is already starting to mix in some aggressive pricing promotions, including a new unlimited-use home and mobile package for $55 per month.

In a call late last week following up on the company’s first-quarter earnings announcement, Clearwire chief strategy officer Scott Richardson said that some better-than-expected network performance was partially behind the idea of the new “bundled” pricing plans, which hadn’t previously been available in Portland. Richardson also said that there will likely be more service and gear pricing promotions as more cities come online later this year, from both Clearwire and its hardware partners.

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