By Maisie Ramsay
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Clearwire has launched the 4G Samsung Mondi in the Dallas/Fort Worth market as part of its mobile WiMAX launch there.
The WiMAX-enabled mobile Internet device features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, slide out qwerty keyboard and multimedia access to e-mail, Internet, video content and business applications. It will be available through Clearwire investor Time Warner Cable in the upcoming months.
The Mondi was first launched in Las Vegas in August and is currently available through Clearwire retail stores, Samsung's Web site and some Best Buy locations.
Today's news comes after Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow told mocoNews the company would begin offering WiMAX-enabled smartphones by next year's holiday season.
In today's statement, Clearwire hinted that Samsung could become a larger contributor to its WiMAX device lineup. The company said that in 2010, Samsung devices "will power major markets throughout the United States, including Washington, D.C., and Boston."
Samsung has made a major push into WiMAX technology with chips, infrastructure and devices. The company is has deployed its mobile WiMAX platform with UQ Communications in Japan and Scartel in Russia.