PC-makers lead the WiMAX charge

Round 1 in the WiMAX device bout goes to the computer-makers. When Sprint first launched WiMAX in the U.S., it touted support of the top three handset-makers as committed to seeding its forthcoming 4G network with converged devices. Now, Sprint's WiMAX group has merged with Clearwire, and Motorola has produced only modem cards. Samsung is releasing a WiMAX laptop, but U.S. versions of the handset it released in Korea are nowhere to be seen. And Nokia just canceled production of its sole WiMAX device, the N810 Internet tablet.

Meanwhile, laptop vendors have jumped all over the Clearwire launch with eight separate PC-makers planning WiMAX-embedded notebooks by the summer. That is no big surprise, said John Jackson, research vice president for CCS Insight. It's much easier to absorb the cost of a WiMAX chipset in a $1000 laptop than a $300 handheld, he said. At this stage in Clearwire's plan — it has launched only two markets — there simply aren't the volumes to support cheaper handsets, Jackson said. “It was always intended to be a laptop offering initially,” he said. “Right now WiMAX is focusing on portable rather than mobile.”

The PC-makers' initial hold on the market is likely to continue. Clearwire has already promised in the near future a wave of netbooks — cheaper, smaller laptops focusing on Internet connectivity. Vendors unveiled dozens of new netbooks at CES in Las Vegas last month, though only one of them, built by Asus, had WiMAX connectivity. The inflection point for the handset-makers will be where WiMAX devices get smaller: In the mobile Internet device (MID) and ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) categories, where their strengths in smartphone design come into play. It's still an open question whether they'll jump when the opportunity comes. The N810 clearly targeted the MID/UMPC space, though the N810 design itself was nearing the end of its viable life cycle. Nokia may well be planning an updated MID design for launch when there's more of a market. However, smaller consumer device manufacturers such as HTC and Digifriends have already begun unveiling MIDs and handsets, while the Big 3 have remained mum.

“The big handset guys are soul-searching now, trying to decide if they want to be in this burgeoning netbook, MID, ultra-mobile PC space,” Jackson said. “They're taking a wait-and-see approach.”