Two laptops from Dell can now be equipped with WiMAX, a wireless technology that works over a larger range than conventional Wi-Fi.
Dell's Studio 17 and Studio XPS 16 will support optional WiMAX for US customers only, according to the company's official blog. The technology pulls down 13 Mbps and uploads 3 Mpbs maximum, though Clearwire, the company working with Dell to support the service, has significantly slower speeds.
Upgrading to Dell's Wireless-N and WiMAX combo costs $60, but of course there's the price of a data plan to consider as well. Clearwire offers unlimted monthly Internet in Portland and Atlanta for $50 per month and 2 GB plans for $40 per month. Day passes are available for $10.
Clearwire plans to further expland the service to Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle. Roll outs in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area are planned for 2010. I guess my home of Los Angeles is too vast of an urban wasteland to include in the initial offerings.
Personally, I'd love to see something better than Wi-Fi hotspots take over. Getting a signal in libraries and coffee shops can be unreliable, and though I haven't tried WiMax, the promise of better signal range is enticing.
Dell says it's looking into other technologies as well, such as the super-fast but still in-develpment 3GPP Long Term Evolution.
