Have you ever noticed around Christmas time especially, or in the grocery store when it’s the night before a holiday, that the item you really wanted, wasn’t on the shelf at the store?  Too much demand for the current supply chain.

Well, with the big push this month in August for the “Back to School” special deals on all CLEAR 4G+ modems and hotspots, the demand has out stripped the available supply of 4G+ Hotspot modems. 

At only $50/month for service, plus $5.99/month for equipment, this item has proven to be extremely popular with the customers, breaking sales goals set by corporate, just like the San Antonio market has exceeded its sales goals for 2010 SIX MONTHS EARLY.

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Inside the packaging we find the CLEAR 4G+ Hotspot & CLEAR's instructions

One of our clients recently ordered (from us) and just received their CLEAR 4G+ Hotspot today. Gary was kind enough to let us be the one to open the new box, photograph it for this website, and then show him how to set it up.

This device is tiny!  Smaller than we had expected, based upon the size of the other CLEAR 4G Hotspot that only does 4G.  We’ll do a photo review of that one next.    About 3 inches square, and 1/2 inch thick.  Looks like a Hocky Puck in all shiny black (that attracts lots of finger prints, and makes it hard to photograph with flash).

This CLEAR 4G+ Hotspot runs on both the 4G and 3G network.   When first activated on the 4G side, it may take up to 2 hours before the 3G activation takes place, because CLEAR’s computer has to tell Sprint’s computer to activate it, and that takes a while.  It MUST be activated inside a 4G service area the first time, or it won’t activate at all.   Please do not frustrate yourself, us and CLEAR Customer Care by failing to follow  those simple steps as we indicate in our photos below.

The USB Charging cable is the same as the one used for the Sprint EVO, the micro USB cable, very flat thin connector (see photo later).   The CLEAR 4G+ comes with a 3 foot long USB cable and AC adapter that you plug the USB cable into. You can also buy (not included) a car USB charger adapter from Walmart, etc, that will let you charge up to 2 USB devices at a time, etc. for under $15.  You might even already have some if you are using Smart Phones that use USB charging method.  We bought a spare 10 foot cord from local Altex Electronics store for about $9 plus tax.  if you do go buy a spare / longer cable, take your original with you to verify the new cable has the right connector on it.

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Thanks to CLEAR coming out with new, more compact and easier to use 4G and 4G/3G personal hotspot devices, even folks who chose to limit themselves to the iPhone 4 can now experience the speed and thrill of CLEAR’s 4G network here in  San Antonio and other markets in Texas.  And now you can easily share your 4G signal, unlimited use on the 4G side, with your friends, or even just with your own smart phone if you don’t own an EVO already.

CLEAR has released two new devices, the CLEAR Spot 4G and the CLEAR Spot 4G+, this month.  Don’t confuse these with the older model called a “Clearspot” made by Cradlepoint (PHS300).  You don’t need to plug in a separate USB modem to these new devices, it’s all built in!   Each also has an internal battery so you can slip either one into your shirt or pants pocket, or for the ladies, their purse. 

We recently attended a training session in San Antonio where we got to touch and feel one of the Clear Spot 4G units.  It’s so tiny!  Only about 2.5″ wide and 4″ long, about  4 or 5 ounces in weight (with battery installed).  Simple to operate with LED lights to tell you what’s happening.  And if you forgot what color LED light means what, the instructions are written on the bottom of the device.  Talk about simple!

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On Saturday, May 1st, some of the staff of WiMaxSATX was hard at work, but  weren’t hard at work selling CLEAR.  Instead, we were coordinating the HT radios by staff and volunteers at the Area 20 Spring Games in San Antonio, Texas, held at Harlendale Stadium on the south side near Stinson Airport. 

But while we were there, since we had the ability to do it, we set up a modem connected to a wireless router, and created a strong Wi-Fi hotspot at the south end of the Harlendale Stadium where the event was taking place.

We set up a 2nd smaller hotspot as well, for roaming around the stadium, using our portable ClearSpot and a 4G USB modem.   Due to the very strict rules regarding sponsors and non-sponsors by Special Olympics Texas, we did not advertise our company nor CLEAR during the event, but our clearly marked van was parked in a prominent spot inside the stadium near the track, visible to all volunteers, staff and athletes.

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We are currently sitting inside the huge San Antonio Emergency Operations Center, posting this article using our CLEAR modem in one of the conference rooms, attending the monthly meeting of the Bexar County ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service), the local emergency ham radio group.

Naturally, we powered up our laptop and plugged in the CLEAR USB modem, testing both the 4G only, and the CLEAR USB 4G+ (combo 4G/3G) modem.  We also demonstrated the CLEAR Spot mini-hotspot device as well.

Not the fastest speed we have seen, but considering all the insulation and shielding built into this huge facility, not bad at all.  The location of this super secure facility is well known as being on the former Brooks AFB, now called Brooks Citybase, but the exact location is still sort of a loosely held secret and access to the building is restricted those who need to be there.

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Just read an article on Computer World, saying that McDonalds’ plans to discontinue charging $2.95 for 2 hours of wi-fi service at their 11,000 locations currently offering such hotspot services thru AT&T, effective mid-January 2010. For some reason, they want customers to sit around and take up space long after they’ve eaten their meals?

But if you are a CLEAR customer, you aren’t so dependant upon finding hotspots in order to get on the Internet, and you don’t have to expose your computer to possible hackers sharing that same public wi-fi connection.

Sign up for CLEAR today thru WiMaxSATX and we’ll set you free of the search for wi-fi hotspots!   Call Lee @ 210-771-7075 or lee@wimaxsatx.com.

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We had recently ordered in a trial ClearSpot (aka Cradlepoint PHS300) to play with, since we don’t like to sell stuff that we haven’t already tried out and tested ourselves.   Just an excuse to have the latest toys and gadgets, or so we’ve been accused at times, but it makes good business sense to not sell something unless you have 100% confidence in it.

The ClearSpot arrived today, and we promptly (without reading the instruction manual) inserted the battery, connected our Clear USB modem, and turned it on.   Within 60 seconds, we found a new wi-fi connection listed for our computer to connect to, but then we needed an access code.  So we read the instructions (more of a single sheet folded out, illustrated guide than a manual) to learn the code was printed on the bottom of the Cradlepoint device.  The same instructions reccomended changing the default password to something unique and to establish wireless security (default is no WEP or WPA security activated) to control usage by those other folks nearby.

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 CLEAR Spot

I’ve been asked how to link up a 3G device, or a device that can do Wi-Fi, with this new Clear 4G WiMax network in San Antonio.   One answer is to use your normal Wi-Fi wireless router at home, but what about portable uses?   If you are out in your car, or sitting at the restaurant, how can you link up your wi-fi devices if you can’t plug in your USB Clear modem into it?

There are 2 workable solutions that I’ve found, one using that free program Conectify that runs only on Windows 7 operating system, or a hardware solution called ClearSpot.    Plug your USB Clear Wimax modem into this ClearSpot (also sold under the Cradlepoint brand name) and you get an instant local Wi-Fi network that can support up to about 8 users. 

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A Philadelphia developer has rooted out an unfinished feature of Windows 7 that turns any laptop into a wireless access point, allowing other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to share the connection without special software.

Connectify works with new Windows 7 logo-tested WiFi devices, and many older devices that have compatible Windows 7 drivers. There are a number of Intel WiFi devices that do not have proper driver support. They are working on a solution that will allow Connectify to work with all WiFi devices (and even older versions of Windows) and will make an announcement when they have a resolution.

The resulting Connectify differs from the Internet connection sharing that Windows already supports via an “ad hoc” network connection, which lets several Windows computers share a single connection.

“For one thing, it shows up as a real wireless access point,” Gizis said. “Two, Internet connection sharing has issues. It returns to the default settings every time you shut down a connection. And three, you can join another wireless network and still run the Connectify Hotspot on the same Wi-Fi card.”

Download the free beta version software here…

Note: I’ve just now tested this myself, using my Windows 7 laptop and my CLEAR USB modem.   It uses the wireless modem built into the laptop to establish the local wi-fi network, and uses the CLEAR USB modem to attach to the Internet.