From: InternetNews.com
July 30, 2007
Sprint has announced that it is working with Google to bring WiMAX mobile Internet customers search, collaboration and social-networking tools through a new mobile portal.
Sprint's network bandwidth, location detection and presence
capabilities will be paired with Google's Apps communications suite, which
includes the Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk services and are offered to
customers over a Web portal. The goal is to "untether" Internet
services for all Sprint customers, giving them speedy access to faster Web
browsing, GPS [Global Positioning System] services such as the
"find-a-friend" service from Sprint's deal with loopt, and multimedia
such as music and video from their mobile phones.
To facilitate its mobile Web services for WiMAX, Sprint
said, it will provide open APIs [application programming interfaces] to
go-to-market partners such as Google and the Internet developer community, so
they may customize products for Web-enabled devices. These services will be
available in connection cards, stand-alone modems, laptop computers, personal
media players, mobile Internet devices, gaming devices and phones.
The collaboration comes a week after Sprint partnered with Clearwire for a WiMAX network for 300 million consumers. The company plans to test WiMAX service in the Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas by the end of 2007.
WiMAX, which operates more than five times faster than today's wireless networks, allows workers to conduct live video conferences from remote locations and lets consumers play movies on their laptops, mobile phones and other handheld devices.
