Samsung announced the commercial availability of its Mondi WiMAX tablet just as both Clearwire and Sprint Nextel made a flurry of announcements about the expanded availability of their mobile WiMAX service.
The Mondi is compatible with Clearwire's mobile WiMAX service and features WiFi connectivity, though it has no voice component. The device has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and runs on Windows Mobile 6.1. It has a full Qwerty keyboard, optical mouse, built-in GPS, the Opera 9.5 browser, push email support, a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder and supports instant messaging and MMS.
Samsung said that starting Aug 1., the Mondi will be available at Clearwire retail outlets and select Best Buy stores in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. According to a Samsung spokesman, the Mondi will be available for $449 without a Clearwire contract and $349 with a two-year service contract.
The news coincides with Clearwire's launch of its Clear mobile WiMAX service in Las Vegas. Clearwire also said that starting Aug. 1, it will offer its Clear 4G+ mobile USB--a dual-mode 4G/3G modem for users who travel outside of Clear coverage areas. The device uses Sprint's 3G CDMA network, and is also available through Sprint and Clearwire WiMAX partner Comcast.
Sprint, which has a 51 percent stake in Clearwire, said that it too will offer mobile WiMAX service under the Sprint 4G moniker in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland. Sprint acts as a WiMAX MVNO to Clearwire's service. Clearwire has promised to bring mobile WiMAX service to 80 markets covering up to 120 million people by the end of 2010.
For more:
- see this Samsung release
- see this Clearwire release
- see these releases from Sprint about Las Vegas, Atlanta and Portland
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