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The 4G WiMax provider Clearwire will introduced WiMax-enabled smartphones from Samsung and HTC before the end of 2010, the company announced in its May 5 first-quarter 2010 earnings statement.
Both the Samsung and HTC phones will offer 3G, 4G and WiFi connectivity, while the Samsung model will run the Android operating system and be optimized for “heavy video and video communication use,” according to Clearwire. While under the Clear brand, the WiMax-enabled Samsung Mondi MID (mobile Internet device) is currently offered, it was the first news of a WiMax smartphone from Samsung.
No additional details were offered on the HTC phone.
“Customer demand for 4G services is truly making 2010 the year of mobile broadband, as always-on true mobile broadband keeps people connected to the information, services and applications that matter most,” Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement. “With record-breaking subscriber growth, a robust wholesale -network of networks’ approach to 4G, and customer usage that far surpasses anything seen on 3G networks today, Clearwire is standing at the forefront of the next evolution in telecommunications and technology.”
Clearwire ended the quarter with 971,000 subscribers and revenue of $106.7 million, which was up 72 percent year over year.
U.S. wireless carrier Sprint, which owns a 51 percent share of Clearwire, is one of the referred-to networks within Clearwire’s network, and March 23 it introduced what’s being billed as the world’s first fully integrated 4G consumer handset, the HTC Evo 4G.
Running the Android 2.1 operating system, the Evo additionally features a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, an HD-capable camcorder, an 8-megapixel camera and an additional 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
Through Sprint, the Evo will have access to 4G technology through Clearwire’s WiMax network, which is so far deployed in about 27 cities. On May 5, it announced plans to add an additional 19 cities-which include Nashville, Tenn.; Daytona and Orlando, Fla.; and Syracuse, N.Y.-by the summer. New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, the San Francisco Bay area, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh are also on docket for 2010.
By the end of the year, Clearwire expects to extend 4G coverage to more than 120 million people, both through the Clear brand name and through wholesale providers, such as Sprint-and, possibly, T-Mobile.
On May 5, the Financial Times reported that T-Mobile was considering turning to Clearwire for its 4G network support, in addition to considering either building out a 4G network itself or purchasing LTE-based (long-term evolution) 4G capabilities from hedge fund Harbinger Capital, which has plans for a dual-mode cellular-satellite network.
Clearwire didn’t offer any pricing or more exact launch-date details on the phones.