| HTC announces "first" WiMAX phone |
Nov. 13, 2008
 HTC and Russian carrier Yota have announced a Windows Mobile phone billed as "the world's first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset." The HTC MAX 4G includes a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 display, tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM, WiMAX, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a five megapixel camera, according to the companies.
(Click here for a larger view of HTC's MAX 4G)
Word of the device was first leaked last month on enthusiast websites, when the phone was said to be called the HTC T8290. Branding the device the HTC MAX 4G, Moscow-based Yota now says the device will be available to Russian customers on Nov. 26.
The HTC MAX 4G includes tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM connectivity and a SIM card, allowing users to make calls on any Russian carrier, says Yota. But for high-speed data networking, the device switches to Yota's WiMAX network, using frequencies between 2.5 and 2.7GHz. Touting operation up to 10Mbps, the company adds that calls from one WiMAX user to another will employ VoIP.
Apart from its wide area networking savvy, the HTC MAX 4G includes 802.11b/g WLAN capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, and GPS. No information was provided on whether the GPS receiver is compatible with Russia's own GLONASS (global navigation satellite system) service, however.
According to HTC, the MAX 4G employs a 528MHz Qualcomm ESM7206A processor. While we've been unable to find any specifics about this CPU, the ESM7206A likely uses the ARM11 core already found on many of the chipmaker's other mobile phone processors. The MAX 4 is cited as including 288MB of RAM, a 256MB ROM, an additional 8GB of flash storage, and a microSD expansion slot.
The HTC MAX 4G's display rotates into landscape mode to show multiple TV channels
Yota says its WiMAX service will be bundled with Yota TV, which will allow MAX 4G owners to select from among 23 different TV channels by the end of the year. The phone's 3.6-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen display (above) will allow "quick and easy channel surfing and program selection" by displaying thumbnails of up to nine channels at once, the carrier adds.
The MAX 4G is also said to provide access to 50,000 music titles streamed over WiMAX via the "Yota Music" service. In case that's not enough entertainment, the phone also includes an FM receiver, a five megapixel camera, and can output video to a TV screen, according to HTC.
Like other recent HTC devices, the MAX 4G runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It also incorporates HTC's proprietary TouchFLO 3D user interface.
Features and specifications provided by HTC for the MAX 4G include the following:- Processor -- Qualcomm ESM7206A clocked at 528MHz
- Memory -- 288MB of RAM, 256MB ROM, and 8GB of flash storage
- Display -- 3.6-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 resolution
- Cameras -- 5 megapixel main camera with secondary VGA-resolution camera for videoconferencing
- Wireless:
- WAN -- Tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE and Yota Mobile WiMAX (2.5 to 2.7GHz)
- WLAN -- 802.11b/g
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- GPS
- FM receiver
- Other I/O:
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- miniUSB port
- Video output (connector unspecified, but likely uses special dongle attaching to USB port)
- Dimensions -- 4.46 x 2.48 x 0.54 inches (113.5 x 63.1 x 13.9mm)
- Weight, with battery -- (151g)
Peter Chou, president and CEO of HTC, said, "The introduction of the HTC MAX 4G represents the culmination of a close partnership between HTC and Yota to develop the world's first integrated mobile GSM/WIMAX handset. Russia is a key strategic market for HTC, and Yota's mobile WiMAX network sets a new global benchmark."
Yota claims to be Russia's first provider of mobile WiMAX technology, touting speeds of up to 10MBps that are available even from a vehicle moving at sixty miles per hour. The company says it has installed 150 Samsung-supplied base stations in Moscow, 80 in St. Petersburg, and will have deployed 1000 base stations in the two cities by the end of the year.
The HTC/Yota announcement in Russia follows Sprint's formal rollout last month of its U.S. XOHM WiMAX service. XOHM is initially available in Baltimore, with near-term deployments in Washington, D.C. and Chicago. For details, including further background on the WiMAX technology, see our earlier coverage, here.
While Sprint has not yet announced a WiMAX phone, it has partnered with HTC on multiple occasions. In September, for example, it announced U.S. versions of the manufacturer's recent Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, which include HTC's TouchFlo 3D user interface, 2.8-inch displays with VGA resolution, 3.2 megapixel cameras, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and EV-DO Rev. A connectivity.
Further information
For more details on Yota's WIMAX service, see the company's website, here. More information on the Max 4G may be available on the HTC website, here.
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