Smart gearing up to launch LTE Mobile WiFi service
When Smart hosted the LTE forum a few weeks ago, an NTT DoCoMo executive showed us their LTE device line-up. It consisted mostly of Android handsets and USB dongles. This is significant because NTT DoCoMo is an investor in Smart and it’s safe to assume that we will see a lot of what they offer in the land of the rising sun here in the pearl of the orient (naks). Among all the devices shown, what caught my attention though was their LTE Mobile WiFi product. It makes much more sense to have LTE via a mobile wifi router than your usual USB dongle or handset because it’s more versatile and flexible. Here’s the good news: it’s confirmed that Smart is going to offer an LTE Mobile WiFi product as well!
SEE ALSO: Smart LTE Roadtest (Greenhills and Fort)
It looks like the Huawei E589 M
We can’t be 100% sure but based on the photos it looks like the Huawei E589. This is a multi-mode Mobile WiFi router which lets you connect up to 10 devices to either LTE, HSPA+, 3G or even 2G. With LTE, you can go up to 100 Mbps download speeds (if the network can offer that).
In terms of hardware design, it’s still pocket-friendly but it’s quite big compared to other mobile WiFi devices. It’s slightly smaller than the iPhone 4. Check the photo below to get a feel for the device.
Here are the rest of the technical specs:
Huawei E589 Spec Sheet
- Platform: MDM9200
- LTE/4G/3G/2G Multimode
- LTE 2600/2100/1800/900MHz
- UMTS 2100/900MHz
- Support 100Mbps download speed
- Support 50Mbps upload speed
- Battery life up to 6 hours
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
- MicroSD slot, share file on Micro SD card
- OS: Win7, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Linux, Mac.
Waiting for more details…
We don’t have details yet with regards to the pricing or date of availability. As soon as we get more information we’ll post it here. We’re thinking though that we should see the official announcement of this in the next few weeks as the telco LTE wars keep heating up.
