By: Edward Jackson (Senior Editor)

• Nation’s First Pay-As-You-Go 4G Mobile Broadband Service
• Unlimited Usage for Just $5/day, $20/week, $50/month
• Redefines “Friends with Benefits” with Rover Puck
• Rover Stick Available for Those With Commitment Issues

Clearwire Corporation today unveiled Rover: the nation’s first pay-as-you-go 4G mobile broadband service for tech-savvy Gen Y customers. The Rover brand is designed for digitally addicted youth who refuse to settle for long-term contracts, overpriced internet service, or speeds slower than what they’ve become accustomed to at home.

Rover is available in all of Clearwire’s 49 4G markets across the U.S. at rover.com. Rover is also available at CLEAR stores, Best Buy stores and select independent wireless dealers in Houston and St. Louis.

“Simple, commitment-free wireless services are wildly popular with the Gen Y crowd, and Rover provides them with the first pay-as-you-go unlimited mobile internet offering at 4G speeds,” said Mike Sievert, chief commercial officer for Clearwire. “We’ve built Rover from the ground up with products, pricing and features designed specifically to serve a younger market who knows how you get connected is just as important as where. Expanding our offers to meet this underserved segment is an important new business opportunity for Clearwire as we continue to extend our leadership in mobile broadband.”

“The opportunity for pay-as-you-go mobile broadband should not be underestimated,” said Carrie MacGillvray, program manager and wireless analyst at IDC. “Prepaid – or pay-as-you-go – data provides an option for consumers to experiment with the power of mobile broadband without being saddled with a two-year commitment. A prepaid mobile broadband service can offer consumers the ability to access and share Internet service, at home or on the go, in an affordable way.”

PUCKS AND STICKS 

Friends with Benefits:

Rover’s flagship device is the Rover Puck: an ergonomically designed portable Wi-Fi hotspot that lets you share broadband access, or “Puck”, with up to eight devices at home, out on the town or nearly anywhere the feeling strikes you. The Rover Puck can easily slip into a purse or backpack and serve as an on-the-go broadband access point for devices such as laptops, netbooks, the iPad, the iPod touch, smartphones, PSP systems, game consoles, and Wi-Fi enabled digital cameras, among others. Users have the option to connect up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously.

The Rover Puck features mobile download speeds of three to six mbps, with bursts over 10 mbps (up to 4x faster than conventional 3G), using Clearwire’s 4G network. The Rover Puck is available today for $149.99 (plus tax).

Going Solo:

The Rover Stick is a personal 4G USB modem that connects any notebook, laptop or desktop to the Rover 4G Service. The Rover Stick is compatible with MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops using Mac OS X, as well as netbooks and notebooks running Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Offering the same super-fast internet speed as the Rover Puck, the Rover Stick is available today for $99.99 (plus tax).

No Commitment Issues:

New users receive two free days of service to ensure Rover’s metro-focused 4G coverage fits their mobile lifestyle. Rover has a 14-day no-hassle return policy for any device purchases made on rover.com or in CLEAR stores.

Rover is priced at $5/day, $20/week, or $50/month for unlimited 4G internet usage. Depending on the retail channel, customers will be able to purchase a Rover Re-Up PIN code or physical Rover Re-Up card in $20 or $50 denominations. Rover Re-Up is available online at rover.com, at all retail outlets carrying the Rover Puck or Rover Stick, as well as at Rover Re-Up specific retail locations. Rover does not require a credit card to activate service and is designed to bring broadband internet to a new audience.

GENERATION Y:

The Rover brand is designed for a demographic that has grown up in a wireless world. They manage their life through the internet, and their devices signify status. Rover provides products and service to meet their need for all things internet.

“Rover’s target audience has never known life without internet. They love their devices and they want as much speed and capacity as possible, without the limits and commitments of most mobile options,” said Seth Cummings, GM, Rover. “Rover offers iconic devices along with straight-forward pricing, and plans where unlimited truly means unlimited. It is not in Rover’s DNA to be constraining, confusing or complex.”

Detailed coverage maps of service availability can be found at www.rover.com/coverage.

By: William Armstrong (Contributing Editor)

Even with the tremendous success and popularity of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 7, there are a number of PC users out there that are not ready to embrace change. These hold outs are users of the most popular operating system of all time, Windows XP. For those who have not yet upgraded to Windows 7, Microsoft has announced that they are extending the Downgrade rites for Windows XP until 2015.

This means that any new computer purchased with Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate will be eligible for a free downgrade to Windows XP Professional. Primarily, this change in policy is due to the large numbers of businesses that use Windows XP. Even though Microsoft has reported that some 65% of business have begun the transition to Windows 7, those who have not will continue to receive support for another 5 years.

This new policy will benefit home PC users as well. Microsoft has not limited this to just business users. Home users can purchase a brand new computer with one of the qualifying versions of Windows and take advantage of the downgrade themselves. Now those customers that choose to downgrade are missing out on a lot of features that makes Windows 7 great, but it is nice to know that you can get a new computer and still have the comfort and security of an old friend like XP.

via Ars Technica