Digital Trends
Verizon Wireless has announced the USB1000 Global Modem, a USB device that can pop onto both GSM and CDMA networks to bring EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA high-speed wireless connectivity to notebook computers—great for folks who might be in North America one day and hopping across the pond the next.
Novatel has taken the wraps off it’s new MiFi card, which weds an broadband modem for mobile networks with a Wi-Fi hotspot. The idea is that MiFi can create its own ad-hoc Wi-Fi hotspot, and route traffic for that hotspot to EV-DO Rev. A or HSDPA mobile broadband networks. With MiFi, anywhere users can get access to mobile broadband connectivity—even in a moving vehicle—they can also get their Wi-Fi capable cameras, game consoles, computers, and media players talking to the Internet. And the whole thing is barely bigger than a credit card.
U.S. mobile operator Sprint has officially launched the HTC Touch Pro, a widely-anticipated new smartphone offering Windows Mobile 6.1, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a 2.8-inch touchscreen display—all accessed via HTC’s generally-lauded TouchFlo 3D interface. And, of course, the Touch Pro can tap into Sprint’s EV-DO Rev. A wireless broadband network for peak connectivity up to 3.1 Mbps in an area that covers almost 17,000 cities and over 1,600 airports.
Canada’s Research in Motion has formally announced its new BlackBerry Storm smartphone, touting what the company is calling the world’s first “clickable” touchscreen design: the screen depresses slightly when the screen is pressed, giving users a sense of tactile feedback for their clicks. The phone is due to launch this fall in North America exclusively on Verizon Wireless, and will also be available to users in Europe, New Zealand, India, and Australia via Vodafone.
Sony has unveiled its Vaio TT ultra-portable notebook computer, making a play for consumers who want their computers to be small and light—but still pack entertainment power. The Vaio TT measures less than an inch thick and weights just 2.87 pounds, but selected models also pack a Blu-ray drive and can push 1080p high-definition video out an HDMI port to an HDTV.
If you’re using an HTC Touch or Mogul from Sprint and the launch of the iPhone 3G has got you thinking you’re using yesterday’s handset, an announcement today could put a smile on your face. Sprint has announced a free software update for the HTC Touch handset that brings EV-DO Rev. A mobile broadband to the smartphone, along with enhanced GPS capabilities, the mobile version of the Opera Web browser, and an onscreen 40-key QWERTY keyboard that offers an additional option for responding to messaging and entering other data. HTC Mogul users get access to the Sprint TV wireless video-on-demand service…and both the Touch and Mogul get a bump to Windows Mobile 6.1.
U.S. wireless carrier Sprint has rolled out the Palm Treo 800w smartphone, a Windows Mobile-based device offering high speed mobile data services via Sprint’s EV-DO Rev A network along with integrated Wi-Fi and GPS support. The 800w marks Palm’s first new smartphone since the company introduced the Centro back in September of 2007, and aims to cash in on the newly-developing market for smartphones amongst both business and enterprise customers as well as everyday consumers who are looking to pack more media and communications capabilities into their mobile devices.
At this week’s CTIA wireless conference in Las Vegas, Sprint announced it plans to roll out the Samsung Instinct this June, a new touch-screen phone with a 3-inch display, multimedia capabilities, high-speed mobile Internet, and a virtual QWERTY keypad. The Instinct will tap into the Internet using Sprint’s EV-DO high-speed mobile data network, and offer GPS navigation services in addition to tapping into Sprint’s existing mobile media offerings, including the Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV. And although Sprint and Samsung claim the Instinct has been in development for years, there’s no mistaking the device looks—and acts—a lot like the Apple iPhone.
Sprint and HTC are offering a software update to their Mogul smartphone that enables it to tap into Sprint’s EV-DO Rev A network, which has previously only been accessible via add-on cards for notebook computers. Other Sprint (and Verizon) smartphones use EV-DO Rev 0, which offers downstream bandwidth from 400 to 700 kbps and upload speeds off 50 to 70 kbps (the latter being barely better than a traditional modem). EV-DO Rev A roughly doubles downstream bandwidth to 600 to 1,400 kbps, and offers greatly improved upstream bandwidth of 350 to 500 kbps: not enough to make users give up their wired broadband, but enough to make sending images and documents more practical.
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