In yet another blow to the ambitions of the WiMAX camp, Nokia has announced its intention to end production of the only WiMAX device in its portfolio, the N810 tablet PC. According to a Nokia spokesman, the device had reached the end of its lifecycle, remarkably quickly it seems as the N810 was only launched nine months ago. Nokia did not rule out re-entering the WiMAX device market but this does not seem a realistic possibility. The Finnish vendor was an early and keen supporter of WiMAX but seems to have cooled on the technology.
This has not been a good week for WiMAX, which until recently was being touted as a key player in the fourth generation wireless space. Its most significant supporter, Intel, announced it was writing off the US$950 million it invested in WiMAX, leaving the highest profile WiMAX operator, Clearwire of the US, dangling in the breeze. Support for Long Term Evolution (LTE) is another key factor in depressing the hopes of WiMAX. With all the US and Chinese CDMA operators now on board, more than 80 per cent of mobile operators are committed to evolving through the LTE path leaving little room for WiMAX.
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