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I like to keep up on my tech news. However, sometimes things slip through the cracks, even when the thing in question is right under my nose. Sometimes it takes an Intel advertisement on the side of a bus to catch my attention with large font and a silhouetted skyline.
Baltimore isn't the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of cutting-edge technology. However, Charm City, since September, has been the nation's first testing ground for Sprint's WiMAX (short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, pronounced like "IMAX") technology. They call their service Xohm (short for basically nothing, pronounced like "home").
What's WiMAX? Basically, mobile Internet turned up to 11. It's faster than the current most effective mobile Internet method, EV-DO.
Comparing these third-generation and fourth-generation technologies is kind of like comparing DSL to cable. Everything loads faster and runs smoother. The connection is capable of pushing 70 megabits per second in a best-case scenario, though reportedly peaks at 10 in the real world. For comparison, EV-DO Revision A tops out at 3.1 and Verizon FiOS' top tier for home service is 50. So I'm not entirely sure if Xohm's numbers will hold up as the service gains users, but we'll see.
Speed tests conducted by laptopmag.com showed them loading sites four times faster on Xohm than on Verizon's BroadbandAccess EV-DO mobile service. Videos loaded much faster, though Verizon specifically forbids video and other fun things in their terms of service.
The most important laptop task, "World of Warcraft," also got a passing grade from the testers on Xohm.
The service isn't terribly expensive. Home or office service is $25 a month.
Mobile service, which is what really makes the service worth the trouble, is $30. A day pass will run $5, cheaper than the day rate on most Wi-Fi hotspots. However, these are reportedly only promotional rates. I'm unsure when they'll spring up.
To connect to the service, you need to either have a device connected to do so or have the functionality built into the laptop. Like BroadbandAccess, WiMAX capability comes built in with some laptops now.
Nokia also recently teamed with Sprint to release a pocket-size Xohm-ready tablet computer. The models are only just starting to trickle into the market, however, so be patient.
Where they get you, however, is on the Xohm peripherals if your laptop isn't ready to go. You need a modem, PC card or USB connector. The modem is $79.99, while the card and USB device are $59.99.
If you have a Mac, only the modem is officially supported, which really ruins the fun of getting connected on the road and renders the service useless if your home is out of the coverage area.
Baltimore is still the only place with extensive Xohm coverage, according to their website, though patches exist in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.
Unfortunately, the coverage map looks more like a Rorschach test dropped over the Baltimore area, with huge concentrations of service downtown and smaller patches as you get further from the Beltway.
In fact, when I asked the Sprint representative at the Xohm kiosk in Arundel Mills for a demo Saturday afternoon, he said the service was not available in that area. We both appreciated the irony of that.
But for those wondering, yes, the entire Towson campus is covered.
The whole map can be found at www.xohm.com.
Expect the coverage to improve greatly in the next few years, however, as Sprint just signed a deal with competitor Clearwire to merge their wireless broadband businesses, with Comcast, Intel, Google and other companies all owning a piece of the new firm.
The cynic in me and the nerd in me are arguing about what's going to happen next, so I'm not really sure, but making more Internet available to more people in more places faster can't really be a bad thing.
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