The creation of the Clearwire company and subsequent launch of the Clear network in Portland has allowed many of us to feel excited about this upcoming technology, but for some companies, two launched cities is not enough to support WiMAX products. There aren't many WiMAX-compatible devices on the market right now, and as of last week there is now one less: Nokia has discontinued the N810 WiMax Edition of its Internet Tablet series.
The tablet - a relatively new format of computer whose size is somewhere between a PDA and a small laptop - uses a version of the Linux operating system called Maemo and a Firefox browser called MicroB, will no longer be sold and existing users won't be able to get any support from Nokia. Other tablet models in the series that do NOT use WiMAX will continue to be sold and supported; it is just the WiMAX Edition that has gotten the boot.
It is a bit disconcerting to see one of the VERY few WiMAX-compatible discontinued without being given much of a chance to really take hold in the market. Tablets are still relatively new, and WiMAX is brand new, so it seems that Nokia might be giving up on this without even giving it a proper chance.
It is unclear at the moment whether Nokia is planning on developing or releasing any other WiMAX devices in the future, but one would assume that once WiMAX takes off - and it will, though patience through the next couple formative years is necessary - and WiMAX becomes standard on handsets, we'll see more from them.
Discuss the Nokia N810 WiMax Edition Tablet on the 4G Forums
