Shane McGlaun19 August 2009, 11:00 AM
Motorola Modi is a slick WiMax-powered MID with a touchscreen and slide out keyboard.
Samsung has announced a new WiMax product called the
Mondi that is a mobile Internet device designed for WiMax service. The Modi reminds me a lot of the
Nokia N810. The new 4G service is already available in some parts of Europe and Asia and is slowly rolling out in America.
The latest area in America to get WiMax is Las Vegas, home of CES each year. The new Mondi will be launched in the US in August and may make it to other countries after that date, though WiMax takeup seems to be stalling due to strong take-up of 3G/HSPA, thanks to aggressive marketing by existing mobile networks keen not to lose customers to a new technology.
The Mondi MID has a 4.3-inch touch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
The device has lots of multimedia features like the ability to access the Internet, email, video content, and business applications. The device is also GPS enabled allowing it to offer users turn-by-turn driving directions. The customizable Mondi has sets of widgets that can be dragged and dropped anywhere on the display of the device for easy viewing and use.
In addition to the WiMax connectivity the device also has integrated Wi-Fi. Other features of the device include a 3-megapixel camera and camcorder and the device has HDMI out. There is also a second front mounted camera for video conferencing. Pricing is unknown at this time.