FreedomPop moved beyond the pre-order phase and finally began shipping a sleeve that turns Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPod touch into a WiMAX-enabled communications device.
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Click here for a video of FreedomPop's sleeve in action. |
FreedomPop, an MVNO that resells Clearwire's (NASDAQ:CLWR) WiMAX service, is offering the iPod touch 4G Sleeve for $99 at its website. The sleeve is designed to allow iPod touch users to expand their device's communications capabilities beyond Wi-Fi at home or in public venues to anywhere there is FreedomPop WiMAX coverage.
The MMNO is still accepting pre-orders for a similar $99 sleeve for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The company began accepting pre-orders for the iPod touch and iPhone sleeves in May.
FreedomPop also offers a USB modem, called Bolt, for $49 and a mobile hotspot, called Photon, for $89.
In addition to streaming videos and serving as a hotspot for up to eight devices, an iPod touch equipped with the FreedomPop sleeve call is also capable of VoIP calling. "By leveraging a VoIP app such as Skype, the iPod touch essentially becomes a carrier-free option that allows consumers to enjoy an iPhone-like experience without signing contracts or paying monthly fees," said Mauricio Sastre, FreedomPop's vice president of product.
FreedomPop conducted a public beta launch of its service earlier this month, offering a guaranteed minimum of 500 MB of free WiMAX wireless Internet service every month. Customers can earn up to an additional 1 GB of free data by referring friends to the service. For each friend a customer refers, that customer can gain an additional 10 MB of data per month for free each month. Customers can also purchase prepaid data: 1 GB of data costs $10 and 5 GB costs $35.
FreedomPop is initially offering service over Clearwire's WiMAX network and is scheduled to expand service to include Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) LTE network in 2013. The MVNO has said it is also planning an in-home wireless broadband service that will target cable and DSL customers within the next few months.
For more:
- see this FreedomPop release
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