how-to block ads
|
Review by ksmithofwa 
Posted: 3.2 years ago
member for 3.2 years, 49 visits, last login: 8 days ago
 Honolulu,Honolulu,HI
 $43 per month (month by month)
 "Easy to install(plug and surf),video streaming works great,portability is amazing. Wireless broadband."
 "none thus far, but of course more speed is always nicer. the 1.5Mbps is plenty fast."
 "Great alternative to RR and DSL considering the speed and portability factors."
| Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
First of all, Clearwire is wireless broadband so I guess that is why they went with that name, Clearwire. Truth is that there is no wires. Just power up your modem (anyway and anywhere you can get power) and plug it into your RJ-45 on your computer and you're off and surfing.
The choices are somewhat limited in Honolulu for broadband(non-wireless). Basically you have Oceanic's Roadrunner and you have Hawaiian Telcom's DSL. Both are more expensive than Clearwire's fastest plan for people who don't need a static IP ($43.00), but to be fair to the non-wireless guys they are (at the time of this writing) simply faster, yet lack the portability factor.
The most incredible part is that I can get much faster speeds(currently) than with Sprint's PC card and/or Verizon's PC card.(The other two wireless providers in Honolulu) It is rated at 1.5Mbps and I have tested it in various places in the Honolulu area and found this to be true, i.e. the advertised speed which is up to 1.5Mbps. Just a note that at times I have experienced bursts up to 2Mbps+ and everything inbetween 1.5Mbps and 2Mbps+. I do however hope that Clearwire comes out with their own PC card as some people might balk at the size of the modem and the hassle of having to haul it around with them. The modem(currently) is about 6 inches wide and 9 inches long and about an inch wide at the base(thinner at the top). It is very light and stands all by itself using a foldable/twisting stand which keeps it's sleek profile to that of a thin book so you can stash it in your laptop case and take it with you where ever you go. It would certainly be nicer to have a PC card for the truest of portability. If you read up on the technology that Clearwire is using and pursuing the use of (Wimax) then you can see that the future looks rather interesting what with Intel investing in Clearwire and Intel making chips with Wimax built-in. Kind of reminds you of Wi-Fi???? Gee I wonder why.
I should be fair to all other providers and say that the rated upload speed is 256kbps. I consistently never got much over that number on speed tests no matter how good my signal was. If you're into uploading massive files (over 4 to 5MB) then you're going to have to take a break and have a smoke, but for the typical upload of less than 1MB you're still flying. Even files that were in the 2MB range uploaded rather nicely and in a timely manner. At this time Clearwire offers only 256kbps upload speeds on all of it's plans. Hopefully the speeds both up and down will increase in the future.
To really see if I could get some real content I did some video strreaming from multiple sources at the same time. I never got the videos to stall and stutter and actually ran a speed test WHILE streaming. It was pretty insane considering I was sitting in my car on my slow laptop (by today's laptop standards). So all in all it seems you really can't go wrong with Clearwire unless you require some insane speeds and the need for intense bandwidth content. For the below-average to semi-power user there is no going wrong with this the newest choice of broadband in Honolulu.
To be fair though to all the competitors, Clearwire is new and no one knows what the future holds for this technology. So just how does it work? Google Clearwire and read their website. Being that Clearwire is so new I would have to assume that promotions galore will be available once they officially launch their business in Honolulu. Right now it's all good. No complaints. And Aloha to you all.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Clearwire Wireless |
|
|
Clearwire Wireless
(11)
(13)
·