WiMAX news and views from CES

As expected, the annual CES event in Las Vegas has been the platform for updates, (re)commitments and demos of all-things WiMAX.

Starting with the updates, Intel used a small fleet of cars to drive the press and other guests around to demonstrate the power of the wide-ranging wireless technology. The cars were equipped with an Intel-based "info-tainment" system, with an in-dashboard personal computer that was connected to the Internet via a WiMAX service that was being delivered from four base stations equipped with 60 feet antennas. Journalists were able to listen to audio streams and make VoIP calls at road speeds of up to 50MPH without ever losing the connection.

Next up, Intel gave more details on their Menlow and 'Baxter Peak' chipsets that will be finding their way into ultraportables and mobile internet devices that will start to ship from later this year. Nokia have committed to using the Baxter Peak chipset in their next iteration of their N-series Internet tablet, which will be WiMAX-enabled, and here is a link to a reporter from Popular mechanics trying out prototype "any time, any place, anywhere" WiMAX devices.

Sprint reassured everyone that their WiMAX plans are still on track. Currently soft-launching their Xohm WiMax business unit in Chicago and Baltimore, Sprint Nextel's CTO (and Xohm's President) said "being first to market is a huge advantage... and WiMAX technology is here, now and mature". He went on to explain that they had also looked at LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is a fourth-generation upgrade to existing cellular technologies, but discounted it because it isn't available yet.

Nokia and Samsung both confirmed that they expect to have user devices ready to launch in the second quarter , while Motorola confirmed that it is working on a multi-standard device that will operate over Sprint's EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) cellular network, Wi-Fi and WiMAX.

Samsung also demonstrated WiMAX products that are already shipping in other markets; the SPH-P9000 which is a true Mobile WiMAX convergence device, enabling wireless broadband access and voice communications, and the M8100 which is the first commercially available Mobile WiMAX PDA device. Mobile data transmission speeds of 100Mbps have been achieved on moving vehicles, with speeds of 3.5Gbps achieved under stationary conditions.

These products have been available in South Korea since May 2006, and Samsung now provides Mobile WiMAX network solutions to various service providers in North and South America, and Asia. As we're no finally getting a band of WiMAX spectrum (3.65 - 3.70 GHz) to play in, we should start to see products and the supporting products appear later in the year and into next year.

Lastly, Motorola unveiled its latest WiMAX modem - the CPEi 100 - which is a single data port, 2.5 GHz Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE) device, designed to sit on a desktop and serve as the interface between a PC and the WiMAX network. Motorola has already introduced a number of mobile WiMax CPE units under its MOTOwi4 brand, but this is the smallest yet.

Motorola also summarized their WiMAX progress to date, by revealing that they have 15 WiMax contracts and more than 57 WiMax engagements in 38 countries worldwide, including 44 active trials.

All in all, it's been a good week for WiMAX. When it gets to the point that you can kick the tyres by actually holding products in your hands and trying out real services, it makes it a lot easier to draw distinctions between technologies such as WIMAX that are here now, and are available (ok... almost here in the US) and those like LTE that still remain unrealized engineering pipedreams.