Sprint, Google Partner on WiMAX For Mobile Web

In a deal that symbolizes the incorporation of new Web-based services on
mobile phones, Sprint (Quote) said Thursday that it is working with
Google (Quote) to bring WiMAX mobile Internet
customers search, collaboration and social-networking tools through a new
mobile portal.

Specifically, 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 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 (define) 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 to facilitate 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 (define), which operates more than five times faster than
today’s wireless networks, can allow workers to conduct live video
conferences from remote locations, or let consumers play whole movies via
laptops, mobile phones and other handheld devices.

The deal with Google speaks to Sprint’s desire to best AT&T and Verizon Wireless (Quote) by providing speedy
new collaboration tools from the most highly used application vendors to its
millions of customers.

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