Sprint WiMAX WaTCH: Where Be the Phones?

When it comes to Sprint's WiMAX / XOHM were not really quite sure what

WC Staff
2 Comments
  • Why no phones? Two reasons I can think of...
    [LIST=1]
    [*]There is no mobile OS around that could really swallow that much data usefully anyways. Maybe in a few years, but right now the bottle cap on smartphones is processors, graphics and batteries.
    [*]So they can spin off the business. In order to do that, they'd have to keep their phone and XOHM services separate. It's like they know to avoid the next Nextel debacle, lol
    [/LIST]
  • I think they're waiting for technology to catch up just a little bit before they spin the next model. Since they're all IP, couldn't you just have some device that runs an SIP VoIP client on it? That means whether you're out on the road in WiMAX coverage, or indoors and have your own WiFi setup, you'll just use it like a normal phone with a twist-- Since its a software based phone, it can be provided by a player like Vonage or even MagicJack. Sprint gets out the phone business and into the Internet utility business. I'm actually putting together a write-up of what this may look like around 2012 with WiMax, LTE and that nice 700MHz out there. Not to mention other tech like FiOS and IPTV and such.