Two Hot Gadgets with WiMax: The Cloudbook MAX and the Nokia N810
The buzz these days is about the new WiMax technology being included in a rash of gadgets.
Why this rash of WiMax goodies? How about WiMAX having download speeds of up to 2-4 Mbps, and a radius of up to 2-3 miles(WiFi’s radius is just a few hundred feet.) It could also be because of the deal announced last wednesday that brings together Sprint, Clearwire, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House for WiMax services to millions of people.
One of these WiMax enabled gadgets is the Cloudbook MAX UMPC. This beautiful laptop boasts an 8.9-inch WVGA (1,024 x 600) display and it is running Windows Vista. It has 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 2 Megapixel webcam and a battery good for four hours. It also features an 80GB HD, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor with the VX800 digital media IGP chipset, which touts full DirectX 9 support and video acceleration for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VC1 and DivX video formats. …Of course it also has WiMAX. This currently unpriced UMPC will be available in the latter half of this year in North America.
Next up, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet – WiMAX Edition. It’s pocket-sized but it still gives you the full Internet without barriers, while on the go. It allows you to easily and quickly access all of your favorite Internet services even outside the coffee shops. It has a full featured web browser, a large 4.13 inch touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. Some great new apps will be supported, including Google Talk ™, Skype ™, Gizmo5 with video calling, and more. Many of these applications can be found on Nokia’s dedicated OS 2008 User Site.
But wait, there’s more. The N810 has Nokia’s built-in GPS, with real-time maps, an integrated media player, 2GB of internal memory and up to 10GB with the addition of an optional microSD memory card. Also their newest Internet Tablet OS features an enhanced e-mail client, support for Chinese character rendering and Seamless Software Updates. The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition should be available in the US in mid 2008 in some areas.
Sprint, Clearwire, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House aim to build a national wireless broadband network based on WiMax. It is estimated that WiMax will cover tens of millions of people in a handful of major cities within a few months. The consortium aims to cover 120 million to 140 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2010.
