WiMAX Watch: New WiMAX Laptops Ready for Baltimore
[That there photo to the right is a Lenovo X300. It's WiMAX ready. We meant to tell you yesterday about the WiMAX gadgets galore available to consumers now, but there weren't enough hours in the day. Without further ado, I'm turning this post over to Gus to tell you more. -- DD]
For now in Baltimore, there have been only two ways to get a taste of Sprint's new XOHM network -- a broadband system that's basically turning the city into one big "hotspot" for wireless Internet connectivity. You could buy a little plug-in device for your laptop at $59.99 -- or a home modem for $79.99 -- and then pick a service plan that suits you over at www.xohm.com.
But, at Sprint's big launch party for XOHM yesterday in Fells Point, we learned of several new laptops that will hit the market that will come with the WiMAX chipset already embedded inside. This means, if you buy one of these laptops from Lenovo, Acer, Asus or Toshiba, you won't need to also purchase the $59.99 plug-in device to tap into the Sprint's XOHM in Baltimore.
Intel designed a new chipset that catches both WiMAX and Wi-FI signals, and will be pushing them into the hands of these computer-makers. Other heavyweights, including Sony, Panasonic, and Dell, have also committed to incorporating the WiMAX/Wi-Fi chipset in their computers in the near future, according to an Intel marketing director I spoke with yesterday at the XOHM launch.
Getting major computer manufacturers to embed the WiMAX chipset is important for the Sprint, but it's also good for consumers. In the future, when you go out to buy a new laptop, there's a good chance that it will already come WiMAX-ready. So, catching the WiMAX signal and registering for the service will be a far more integrated experience.
So far, these four computer makers are only selling their WiMAX-ready computers online. In most cases, you'll be able to place an order but you may have to wait a few weeks to receive your new toy. I've done my best to track some links to the products for you, in case you're interested at looking at their specifications. These companies are counting on WiMAX getting traction with consumers who want to "future-proof" their next laptop purchase, by making sure it's WiMAX-ready. So far, XOHM is only available in Baltimore, but Sprint's goal is to cover about 200 million Americans with the network in the next two years. In Baltimore, the company is about three-quarters of the way complete with building out the network.
Without further ado, let's take a look at some of these new laptops that should work seamlessly with Sprint's XOHM in Baltimore:
Lenovo has four WiMAX-enabled laptops for sale today. Here are the product series ID's: X301, T-400, SL300 and SL500. They range in price from around $720 to $3,000, depending on the model and add-ons you choose, I was told yesterday. A fifth type, the Y530, will be available for sale later this month, and the company has plans to introduce 6 more laptops that are WiMAX-enabled in the near future, according to David Critchley, a product marketing manager for Lenovo I spoke with yesterday. Kudos to Lenovo for actually having an easy to navigate Website that points you exactly to the WiMAX computers. Check the Lenovo WiMAX laptops out here. The lowest-priced Thinkpad was actually at $570.
Acer apparently has two laptops for sale that are WiMAX-enabled. But you'd never know it from their Website. I can't find the two WiMAX models there. I found a 16-inch Acer Aspire 6930-6771 laptop for sale on Amazon.com and it was priced at $941.99. The other model apparently is the Acer Aspire 4930-6862.
Asus has a 15.4 inch laptop that's up for sale, and priced for $1,399 on Amazon.com. It also looks like they'll have a second WiMAX laptop hitting the market soon. Check out the Asus WiMAX promo site here.
Toshiba has a WiMAX laptop that will start shipping soon from its ToshibaDirect.com Website. It's an "ultra portable" that weighs about 4.8 pounds, has a 13.3 inch screen, and is designed for consumers and small businesses. Philip Osako, a product marketing director for Toshiba, told me yesterday it will be priced at around $1,199. I was told that the computer would be "up for sale" as of yesterday, but it looks like the Toshiba folks haven't enabled the ordering on their Website.
If you find better and more specific information about any of the computers I mentioned above, just leave a note for us below. Thanks!
Categories: Complaints, Technology, WiMAX Watch
