Most people have discovered the convenience of mobile broadband and being able to access the Internet on their cell phone, PDA, or smartphone. This type of wireless broadband has become increasingly popular as availability and speeds have increased in recent years. Here are some of the newest developments of mobile broadband technology.
WiMAX - The New 4G Wireless Standard
With the merger of Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel, the expectations for WiMAX -- a 4G wireless digital communications standard - rose to new heights. Currently available in Portland, Ore. and Baltimore, Md., this generation of high-speed wireless technology can be accessed by PCs, smartphones, gaming devices, cameras, handsets, camcorders, music players and even more wireless-enabled devices. This opens up a wide range of wireless possibilities for home, mobile, and business broadband Internet users no matter where they are when they connect to the Web - at home, in the office, in the car, traveling, at a restaurant, a friend's house; nearly everywhere.
The advent of WiMAX is timely since some experts in the mobile broadband industry expect 60 times more traffic on wireless networks by 2013. WiMAX speeds may be as fast as 2 Mbps to 4 Mbps for downloads - a substantial increase in speed compared to an average of 700 Kbps on today's Wi-Fi networks, making WiMAX a better alternative for fast surfing and use of online applications.
3G Mobile Broadband Applications
But while consumers have to wait for 4G wireless technology to become widely available, what's new with 3G mobile broadband?
One of the most exciting developments in 3G technology was the introduction of the iPhone from Apple in 2007. The iPhone transformed the smartphone industry with its innovative design, multi-touch screen, and virtual keyboard. Smartphones from other manufacturers have followed suit, making it easy today to use your phone to access the Internet for email, Web browsing, and text messaging, as well as using the devices as cameras, appointment books, address books, game players, music players, and many other options.
Nokia still ranks at the top of the list for smartphone manufacturers, with Research in Motion's Blackberry smartphones in the second slot - both of which offer extensive features that are extremely popular with smartphone buyers today. iPhone has now climbed to third on the list of smartphone companies --- an impressive achievement in a market filled with cell phone and smartphone options.
