Intel’s 6250 Wimax solution is coming.  It will allow for an internal solution for netbooks to access Clear’s network of Wimax broadband access.

While Clear’s service isn’t available across all of the US people in areas where the service exists speeds range from 4 to 6 Mbps.  It could go all the way up to 14 Mbps with some tweaking on Clear’s side but it comes at a price.  Netbooks with Wimax built in suffer from poor battery performance. 

It’s true that using Wifi can have a negative impact on battery performance, Wimax was even more damaging.  A Dell netbook with this solution built in was only able to get a few hours of use.  Similar spec’d netbooks are able to achieve 7+ hours of use.  The strain put on the battery is determine by how hard the service has to work to connect with the netbook.  The closer you are, the less power it needs but if you plan on using this kind of technology while being mobile you should consider keeping a spare battery handy.

Over time there may be way for Intel to work with manufacturers to improve the impact of Wimax on battery life but the concept seems very interesting at the moment.

[Source: The Standard]

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