Embedded devices to lead Xohm launch

BALTIMORE—The wait for embedded WiMAX devices on the Xohm network was a short one. Today Lenovo, Toshiba, Acer and Asus all revealed WiMAX-powered laptops that would immediately be sold for use on the Xohm network here, while Dell, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony committed to having their own WiMAX notebooks by the end of the year. In addition, the Nokia 810 Internet tablet will go on sale in mid-October, with Amazon.com and Nokia’s Website already taking pre-orders for the 4G Internet tablet.

At launch last week, Sprint led off modems—a Samsung PC card and a ZyXel home gateway—indicating it would phase in embedded devices gradually, but it now appears to be making embedded devices the core of its portfolio. Six laptops, all using Intel’s new Centrino 2 dual-mode WiMAX-WiFi chip--will be sold on their manufactures websites, Amazon, NewEgg and the Xohm portal, as well as six Baltimore area Best Buy stores, Xohm kiosks at malls and independent retailers. By the end of the year, Sprint projects more than 20 laptops will be available with WiMAX as an option.

Lenovo has made WiMAX available in four models it now sells in the US, in prices ranging from $700 to $3000, and it plans eventually to make WiMAX a standard option in every model it sells, said David Critchley, worldwide segment manager for Lenovo’s T Series ThinkPad line. The same Centrino 2 platform powers both WiFi-only and WiMAX versions of its notebook PCs, Critchley said, making it relatively straightforward to add a WiMAX module to any laptop it ships. Lenovo released its first WiMAX-capable notebook, the X300, in January, so it finds itself ahead of the market in commercializing the technology , Critchley said.

“We’ve done all of the research and development; we’ve done a lot of electrical and mechanical and design work already, so we took the opportunity to be here with Sprint and Xohm, even though this is the first launch of WiMAX, and it is a small market because we’re already ready with our notebooks,” Critchley said. “We thought it was a very good idea to be here and publically talk about and encourage the network.”