Clear 4G Wimax Chicagoland Review

Clear Wimax mobile internet launched in Chicago on December 1, 2009 with an event in downtown Chicago. I was invited, but unfortunately I was unable to attend due to illness. I missed out on driving around in the tricked out Ford Flex to test clear on the go. But, for the past 30 days I have been lucky enough to test out the service.

What is Clear?

CLEAR is next generation mobile internet that’s powered by WiMAX—the technology that combines the mobility you love about your cell phone with the speed you want from broadband. With CLEAR you can stream movies or TV, play online games and video chat on the go, at speeds 4 times faster than 3G. Backed by Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Sprint, Google, and others, CLEAR has already launched in Portland, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and now Chicago.

Installation

The Clear modem was easy to install. It came with a USB key that is loaded up with the drivers, but I would recommend downloading the drivers from Clear’s Support Site so that you have the latest version. Once installed the Clear Connection Manager runs in the system tray. This allows you to Connect or Disconnect, view your account information, or  search local listings and directions powered by Google maps. I had a few problems with the trial account that I was assigned working correctly, but that is not indicative of the service at all.

Installation on my MacBook Pro was just as easy and it connected quickly after prompting me to setup a new Profile in Network Preferences. It did all the work, I just had to supply my password to save the settings.

Speed

The speed is good. Better than the midrange ATT DSL plan in Chicago actually. Speed is advertised at up to 6.0 Mpbs down and up to 1.0 Mbps up. ATT DSL Pro is advertised at up to 3.0 Mbps down and 512 Kbps.

I ran a few speed tests during the trial and the results were decent.

1. 2089 Mbps/42 Kbps – This was from my job in Hyde Park, Chicago where I do not get that great of a signal, but I blame that on all the computing equipment around, and exposed wiring in the ceiling (it’s a loft space).

2. 4010Mbps/930 Kbps

3. 3829Mbps/934 Kbps

Streaming a show from Hulu and Megavideo was flawless, YouTube videos played without any problems and I even downloaded a few things to install on my new netbook.

Pricing

Pricing is about what I would expect for the service I guess. Mobile WiMax is $30 a month for the first 6 months, and $45 a month after that. The best deal comes if you sign up for both home internet and mobile. There is currently a deal to get both services for only $50 a month for life. To see all plans, check out Clear.com.

Summary

Clear WiMax services seems very fast and very reliable. In Chicago, it is perfect for a busy person on the go. I am thinking about signing up for the service to use with my Netbook. If you are in Chicago or another area that supports Clear and you are looking for mobile internet, definitely give Clear a look.

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review. I did however get a free 30 day trial of the WiMax service.

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