Intel

Clearwire to deploy “developer sandbox”

Clearwire is going to deploy a WiMAX “sandbox” network in Silicon Valley, supported in part by Google, Intel, and Cisco. Each of the backers has its own motives here, of course, but we think there is a common desire to see as many broadband conduits to the user as possible and as many new applications for wireless as possible.

All of the players would also likely want a solid “migratory user” market to develop, and the final issue is that WiMAX might force faster LTE rollouts by AT&T and Verizon. It’s the classical “arms-race” mindset. The good news is that it suggests that everyone believes in a consumer recovery by the end of the year. The new network will be primarily for developers and will be offered at no cost.

Intel’s Nehalem chip and the Sun/IBM dynamic

Sun’s relationship with Intel on the new generation of processors may bear fruit with Solaris support for the Intel “Nehalem” chip family. In fact, Solaris may have the first and best support for the new processor.

Sun is hoping that better support for the new multi-core chips with special power management capability will give it an edge in the server space, but of course the question of an IBM Sun acquisition still hangs over the vendor. So does the fact that the Intel chip competes with Sun’s own Sparc line.

Users aren’t concerned about the IBM deal; they feel that Sun under IBM would be an even stronger partner. The Intel Nehalem affinity for Solaris and an IBM Sun acquisition might put Linux under more pressure. IBM has been a Linux backer but might be less active should it have its own open-source UNIX-compatible OS.

The Nehalem chip is one of the most advanced and fastest available, outperforming (says Intel) both IBM and Sun/Sparc by a large margin and providing unparalleled power management, I/O handling, and virtualization support. The new chip (Xeon 5500 is the current instantiation) is already launching a major flush of new servers from IBM, Dell, and HP.

WiMax needs “lifestyle” purpose to make it

At WiMAX World, panelists sparred with attendees over questions of when WiMAX would become more than another access technology, and this is what we believe the major question is for WiMAX.

If the technology is simply another way to get on the Internet from a phone or PC, it is threatened by competitive notions (3G/LTE, WiFi hotspots) that will attack segments of its potential market.

If the technology is aimed at a lifestyle built around portable devices big enough to entertain but small enough to carry to a café, or to put into a vehicle, it may be a different story.

Intel and others who have encouraged, if not blindly promoted, WiMAX will now have to step up and make this new model of behavior viable, or WiMAX will have little chance.

Sprint/ClearWire WiMAX move to shake industry

ClearWire and Sprint have finally married, apparently, brokered by Comcast, Google and Intel. The move is said to be preparing to shake up wireless carriers, but the most significant impact will be to expand the notion of a hot spot into something with metro or even national scope. As we have said continually, WiMAX is portable user technology not mobile technology, and thus will have its greatest impact where 3G is used for laptop connect. We expect to see pricing for wireless laptop plans fall, but all wireless including WiMAX has a significant limit in total bandwidth per cell, and this will result in sub-par performance relative to wireline broadband connections.

Intel’s non-voice mobile devices to jumpstart WiMAX?

In what may well be a key announcement for the industry, Intel revealed that it had 25 partners working with it on portable Internet devices, or “mobile Internet devices” (MIDs) in the new-speak. These boxes will be designed for use while away from home or work but not mobile as the driver of a vehicle, and are larger than a cellphone but smaller than even the smallest laptops. Intel and others believe that the future of wireless non-voice services will lie in these devices, whose screens are large enough to deliver a credible viewing experience. Intel hopes these will jumpstart the WiMAX market, a key market sector for Intel and also one that has seen recent rumors of partnerships involving Intel, Sprint, Clearwire and Comcast.