Kelly Hodgkins reports for The Boy Genius Report, “In the world according to Sprint, the solution is not the next generation iPhone on the nation’s most improved network, but rather the slim and sleek Overdrive which can offer 4G connectivity to all those ailing iPhone handsets.”
Direct link via YouTube here.
Hodgkins’ article is here.
The Boy Genius’ review of Sprint’s Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot Video is here.
MacDailyNews Take: 4G iPad, anyone?
MacDailyNews Note: Sprint’s Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot can be purchased along with 3G/4G plans at select Sprint retail stores and select Best Buy stores; available through business sales, Web (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1). Sprint offers 3G/4G data plans for consumers and businesses for US$59.99 per month.
Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology. Sprint currently offers 4G service in 27 markets, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Antonio and Seattle. Sprint 4G is also offered in Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Bellingham, Wash.; Boise, Idaho; Charlotte, N.C.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, N.C. (along with High Point and Winston-Salem); Honolulu; Killeen/Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland/Odessa, Texas; Milledgeville, Ga.; Raleigh, N.C. (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Salem, Ore.; Waco, Texas and Wichita Falls, Texas.
In 2010, Sprint expects to launch service in multiple markets, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Sprint’s network coverage map is here.
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
Since that works as a hot spot, does that mean the iPod touch can go 4G as well?
That’s like Chevy building a trailer to haul crap behind your Ford truck.
Or whatever.
They have Boise, but not LA, Boston, NY, SLC….
Great idea. Sprint can tap business from iPhone owners without violating any licenses or agreements, and if this works like MyFi, you could share your 4G WiFi hotspot with others. The ad was very Apple-like but without copying overtly. Who knows? This could help make Sprint viable again. Kudos.
Nice. I might make me consider getting the WiFi only iPad instead of 3G. But $60 a month is a little to much than the monthly that AT&T;are offering. If it was more price competitive I could definitley see alot iPad customers getting this.
I’m sure they want to get iPad Wifi users to purchase this as well.
Interesting, but the price point makes this possibly not worth the investment.
macdaddynews has an interesting view on Sprint’s commercial. they see it as a complete lie. it turns out Sprint’s 4G network isn’t really that much faster than AT&T;’s 3G. Sprint’s commercial uses the average 3G speed of all the networks combined, including Sprint’s very slow 3G, and compares it to Sprint’s 4G network when it’s at its best. AT&T;’s average speed of 3G is 1.4 Mbps, not 600 Kbps like the small print in their add suggests. Check it out http://www.macdaddynews.com/?p=1756
Wow. That’s a pretty bold move, mentioning a competitor’s product in your ad, and even calling it “pretty cool.”
@QuadCore
You test in small markets first, so that if something goes wrong, you’re support center isn’t filled with complaints from millions of New Yorkers.
@ MacDust
It’s about the speed: 4g is up to 10x faster than 3g! For the iPad it makes the expense more palatable – IF you have 4g Sprint coverage in your area.
Of course no matter the speed on my crappy slow 3g iphone, slow is slow.
Waiting for my ATT commitment to expire in July/August and buying the iphone4 outright. Not so much with ATT service but they denied me the opportunity to upgrade to 3gs last year without huge markup. In May, maybe, they said. Yeah, right before the new model comes out they want to dump the 3gs on me?
Uh, nope, not gonna’ do it.
Not bad, wish it was in my market. Now Verizon can go after Sprint’s limited market with a new Map? Oh, wait… Verizon doesn’t have 4G! Can I use this with my Android phone?
Handsome Smitty –
You fail to understand how mobile phone subsidies work. AT&T;denying you a fully discounted iPhone 3GS is exactly what every other carrier would do as well. The iPhone does not cost $199. It costs $599. You only get the $199 price if you are a new customer or have completed the 2 year contract from your first phone. Believe it or not, you agreed to this in your contract with AT&T;. They did nothing to screw you.
Great service from what I hear, tiny map of coverage.
4G is just a marketing term, not a technology, and WIMAX is not 4G, according to Gartner:
Make way for 4G
Several technologies available today may play a roll in 4G as it develops. Here are five of them.
* Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and OFD Multiple Access (OFDMA). OFDM transmits data by splitting radio signals that are broadcast simultaneously over different frequencies. OFDMA, used in mobile WiMax, also provides signals that are immune to interference and can support high data rates. It is said to use power more efficiently than 3G systems while using smaller amplifiers and antennas. This all translates to expected lower equipment costs for wireless carriers.
* Mobile WiMAX is an IEEE specification also known as 802.16e and designed to support as high as 12Mbps data-transmission speeds. It uses OFDMA and is the next-generation technology of choice for Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Communications.
* Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), also known as CDMA2000 EV-DO, is an expected path to 4G for legacy CDMA network providers. It’s an IP-based technology that is said to support 100Mbps through 1Gbps data-transmission speeds. Also key for business users, it is supposed to be able to support QoS.
* Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless LAN technology supports two or more radio signals in a single radio channel, increasing bandwidth. MIMO does this by using multiplexing. MIMO was developed by Airgo, which has been acquired by Qualcomm. MIMO is expected to support data rates as high as 315Mbps in 36MHz of spectrum.
* Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a modulation technique designed for GSM/UMTS-based technology that uses OFDM and MIMO. It’s being developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is said to support 45M to 144Mbps in test networks today.
There is no single 4G standard
Unlike 3G, no specific standards spell out what a 4G service, network or technology is today. Analysts say these specifications are to come, but today “4G is more of a marketing idea,” says Phil Redman, a research vice president at Gartner.
There is a mobile WiMAX standard — the IEEE’s 802.16e standard — on which Sprint Nextel is basing its $3 billion investment. But Redman says mobile WiMAX is not 4G, “although the WiMAX folks would love for that label to catch on.”
Still, WiMAX and other technologies may be part of a forthcoming 4G specification. “There’s no doubt that existing technologies like WiMax and other technologies such as [Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access] and [multiple input multiple output] will be included in 4G,” Redman says. “But no one technology will be 4G.”
I heard that sprint doesn’t have “true” 4G speeds. It more like a marketing gimick like “3G plus”. Anyone confirm?
While the portable wifi technology is interesting; at $60 per month on probably a 2 year contract with a limited battery, it is not attractive to me for use with a 3G iPad which can be done on a non-contract, cancel at any time basis, for $15 or $30 per month and with no need to charge the 3G source, just the iPad itself.
This isn’t about 3g or 4g to me, but about having a mobile cellular hotspot that ANY wireless device can use! Leave tethering in the dust! The only drawback is that I assume it is battery powered…
i could do without the sound of that dude chomping on his apple. Very annoying
Hey Baggins:
Did you not read the post directly before yours… it kinda answers your question, don’t you think?
Clever approach. I think I’ll buy one and give AT&T;the big finger for being stupid. Glad I didn’t wait for the 3G iPad.
I just bought one of these 3g/4g Overdrive units, specifically to use with my WiFi only iPad when it arrives. I used to use a 3G express card with my MacBook Pro on Verizon’s network and gave that up to try out Clear 4G WiMax in Chicago. What I found after using Clear for both home and mobile over the course of 3 months is that the coverage in my office was non-existent, but otherwise pretty good in Chicago. Clear is what Sprint uses and after realizing WiMax wasn’t going to cover me everywhere and being very unhappy with their customer service, I dumped them and went to Sprint for the combined 3g/4g. The speeds vary greatly on WiMax, but on average I can get 1-2Mbps on the WiMax net and very solid 3G coverage everywhere else. I’m quite happy with the service thus far and Clear’s WiMax coverage will improve. Sprint is a way better company to deal with than Clear… they just have the experience to support the offering that Clear seems to lack.
That’s sweet!!!
Actually Sprint 4G is WiMax-based but an improved version since WiMax allows speeds of up to 12Mbps, Sprint’s version goes up to 22Mbps which is way faster. So basically they implemented True speeds of 4G on WiMax.
The $60 per month is a little bit high but I’d still get it. I’d be getting more from what I got since it does act like MiFi doesn’t it? I think it is a MiFi. So I can use it with my laptop (No tethering required with my iPhone), iPod touch, iPad (when I get one), iPhone, and well my friend’s stuff.
At that price point, who cares? Now, if they were offering it for $30/month, that would be a different story!