We know Sprint will be getting a WiMax 4G BlackBerry PlayBook sometime this fall. The 4G PlayBook was supposed to be released this summer, but RIM has mentioned it could be postponed. The coming soon page for the Sprint 4G PlayBook takes you to another splash page for the WiFi-only PlayBook. What is interesting is the highlighted bubble that says the offer to purchase the WiFi-only PlayBook ends on September 8th.
Lets hope this means Sprint intends to promptly release the 4G PlayBook sometime around then. Sprint would have until September 22nd to rollout the 4G PlayBook by ‘summertime’. When do you guess Sprint will make the 4G PlayBook official?
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First it was Sprint replacing Wi-Fi with 4G WiMAX on the RIM PlayBook, and now notice there’s a recant that follows the trend in the U.S. mobile market. Sprint’s recant on the 4G PlayBook appears to be a RIM setback, but 4G network in the U.S. are not for business users. The WiMAX, LTE and HSPA+ from the four top U.S. carriers are shifting users between 3G and 4G. Clearwire is the only provider with direct 4G connections. Verizon’s LTE connection is a 3G mobile number that shifts between 3G and 4G with repeated disconnects. A business user on Verizon LTE cannot collaborate email, corporate server and unified communications (UC) without disconnecting and sending duplicate work. Verizon has strongly pitched its LTE for “gaming and entertainment” instead of business users or enterprises. Verizon implies that 4G LTE is for consumer downloads and not mobile computing. Verizon embeds its so-called VZAM (Access Manager) to shift users between 3G and 4G. The VZAM is actually software from Smith Micro Systems, formerly known for its business fax QuickLink. Smith Micro is now in gaming software for consumers. Being a 3G mobile number, the VZAM from Smith Micro downloads spam texts including gambling and indecency. The business user’s concern has to be that the Smith Micro VZAM links with Microsoft Windows Live and Xbox to send downloads. Verizon also uses the VZAM for its partnering with Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots. The VZAM manages the user behavior to try to offload customers to Wi-Fi. Verizon is also SIM-stacking so that newly activated customers get priority into 4G during the first billing period or 30-day satisfaction. The business user will be unlikely to get into or stay on 4G after 30 days as Verizon’s mobile hotspots from Novatel and Samsung will queue ahead into LTE. RIM will protect its business base in focusing on Wi-Fi like the Apple iPad and Motorola Xoom.