Sprint has confirmed pricing for its XOHM WiMAX service, officially launched today in Baltimore. Offering average download speeds of 2-4 Mbps and uplink speeds of 1-2 Mbps, XOHM will be initially offered in two versions: Home, for replacing an ADSL or cable broadband service, and On-the-Go, for use with a mobile device. Initial discounting means service starts from $25 per month.
Full XOHM pricing details after the cut
ASUS is the fourth notebook manufacturer to take the wraps off of a WiMAX-enabled laptop range today, joining Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer. The company has three models with integrated support for Sprint’s XOHM network, officially announced today, the F8Va-C2WM, N50Vn and M50Vm. The former is a slick ultraportable while the latter two are media center laptops both with Blu-ray.
Early this year, Netflix has announced plan to increase Blu-ray titles and hinted the possibility of raising fees on monthly subscribers with Blu-ray renting option. The Blue-in-Red-Envelop subscribers are probably anxious to wait on the new rate, as if compatible to Blockbuster’s option. The company has formally notified its rental customers of a fees increment according to engadget and what a relief for BD-content renters! Begin at November the 5th, the company will only post a small sub-charge of a dollar + tax per month for subscribers with unlimited Blu-ray movies.
According to the latest market rumors, Microsoft is preparing an external Blu-ray drive for use with the Xbox 360 console. X-bit labs quote “market sources” who claim the drive is made by Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp., and that it will be released at an estimated $100 - $150 price-point.
Could Microsoft’s upcoming cloud OS be called Windows Strata? That’s the rumor circulating after sessions at the Professional Developers Conference, held at the end of October, focused on “Windows Strata” showed up on the PDC website.
ASUS has admitted that its Eee Box nettop - the desktop version of its popular Eee PC netbook range - shipped to some customers carrying a virus. According to an email sent out from the company, the Japanese version of the device has a virus file called “recycled.exe” saved in the D: drive partition. If activated, the virus begins to copy itself to the C: drive and any attached USB memory sticks or hard-drives.
If you don’t like the idea of a USB modem dangling precariously out of the side of your notebook, Sprint also have an ExpressCard option for users of its high-speed XOHM WiMAX service. The Samsung SWC-E100 is the first such modem for the newly launched network, with a flip-up antenna and the promise of average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps and uplink rates of 1-2 Mbps.
As well as notebooks with integrated WiMAX, Sprint was also demonstrating how users could add high-speed XOHM access to their existing hardware. Top of the list is the ZTE TU25 WiMAX USB dongle, the only such modem certified for use on the XOHM network.
iRiver have announced the US launch of their distinctive SPINN PMP, the 4GB and 8GB versions of which go on sale today. Based around the dual input methods of a 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen and a large “spindle” scroll-wheel, the SPINN includes video, music, FM radio and picture viewer functionality, together with voice recording and integrated Bluetooth 2.0 for wireless headsets.
Toshiba have announced their own WiMAX-enabled notebook, the Satellite U405-ST550W, which will take advantage of Sprint’s high-speed XOHM WiMAX network announced today in Baltimore. The Satellite U405 has a 13.3-inch display, Centrino 2 chipset and uses Intel’s WiMAX/WiFi Link 5050 Series mobile networking card.
