Clearwire may not be as ubiquitous as you'd like it to be, but it's taking a huge step forward in hopes of wildly expanding by linking up with Cisco. In essence, the two have joined hands in order to "enhance and expand CLEAR 4G mobile WiMAX services throughout the United States," with Cisco providing the core infrastructure and Clearwire providing the guidance. Potentially more interesting is the notion that Cisco's Linksys brand will soon be delivering "new mobile WiMAX devices," such as routers that will presumably tune to WiFi and WiMAX waves. Specific product details are sorely absent, though Clearwire does reiterate that it's hoping to have WiMAX service to more than 80 markets across the US by the end of next year.

We've been tooling around with T-Mobile's just-launched @Home service for a little while now; frankly, there's not much to write about, but in the case of a product like @Home, that's a very good thing. In order to be successful, the whole setup has to be drop-dead simple -- bear in mind that the carrier is targeting folks stubbornly refusing to give up their landlines here -- and it absolutely was. We'll be upfront, we cheated a bit by simply hot-wiring the HiPort router into our existing router, but it worked like a champ nonetheless with the blue phone service status light coming on about 90 seconds after we plugged it in. Customers choosing to play it straight and replace their existing router (or those who are buying a router for the very first time) are greeted with a fold-out poster explaining the step-by-step process to get the ball rolling in plain English.

Sound quality was excellent, caller ID worked, and the voicemail system was up and running right away; if you've got messages, a blue light flashes on the router itself. No status symbol appeared on the handsets themselves to indicate that a voicemail was waiting, though, which kind of sucks considering that your router isn't likely to be positioned somewhere you can readily see it; the only saving grace is that you get the stuttering dialtone when you pick up the line.

Overall, for $10 on top of your bill, this seems like a total no-brainer for any T-Mobile customer with a landline, especially since you can port your number -- and the VTech handset isn't a bad little cordless, either.

Update: Folks have been pointing out that the voicemail button on the phone should light up when you have messages, but for us, it wasn't -- we checked it thrice. Just a word of warning!

Still really attached to that landline phone? Seriously? That's cool, we still love you, and T-Mobile still wants your business. Following a few months of trials, the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Talk Forever service has mercifully morphed into the simpler "T-Mobile @Home," featuring a Linksys-sourced router that plugs into a broadband connection and allows any plain ol' telephone -- you know, the plug-in kind -- to take advantage of unlimited nationwide calling for $10 a month on top of your regular T-Mobile bill. The so-called "HiPort" router runs $49.99 on a two-year contract, and if you're in the market for a fancy new cordless, they'll sell you a two-handset VTech DECT system for $59.99. No worries when you're ready to hop back into the 21st century, either; the system will happily work with T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home WiFi cellphones, too. Look for the whole shebang to go on sale July 2.

T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home already brings WiFi VoIP to compatible cell phones, and the latest FCC filing from T-Mo and Linksys indicates that soon all the phones in your pad will be able to get in on the action: say hello to the WRTU54G. Apart from the T-Mobile branding and the two phone jacks on the back, the router features two user-accessible SIM card slots, which appear to be used to configure up to two phone lines -- we're not sure if they're VoIP or cell, however.

[Via TG Daily]

Following a limited launch last year in its hometown of Seattle, T-Mobile's finally pulling all the stops and taking its "HotSpot @Home" hybrid GSM / WiFi calling service national. A first among the US' big four carriers, @Home relies on traditional cell airwaves out in the field but switches seamlessly to WiFi when it gets within range of a T-Mobile hotspot or any other wireless router you've configured your phone to latch onto. For the millions of us with less-than-stellar reception in our homes, the service could be a life-saver -- and even better, WiFi minutes aren't deducted from your plan. Launch handsets are the Nokia 6086 and Samsung t409, both of which will go out the door for $49.99 on contract and include a Linksys or D-Link router -- both specially designed for @Home service -- for free after rebate, though any 802.11b access point should work. The service itself will run $9.99 per month on individual and $19.99 on family plans for up to five handsets. Look for the equipment today in T-Mobile stores and on the carrier's website.

Instead sitting back and frowning on bandwidth hogging EV-DO to WiFi routers, Sprint has decided to jump into the game themselves with a new device made by Linksys. Accompanying the new router -- which, like current solutions, merely hosts existing PCMCIA EV-DO cards -- is a new USB dongle that brings EV-DO functionality to owners of laptops that lack PC card slots, or adventurous desktop users. Both products are due in the second half of this year, with the router going for "slightly under $200." The USB dongle still lacks a price, but we imagine it will be rather popular, especially for MacBook Pro owners with their incredibly functionless ExpressCard slots.

[Thanks, Michael]