Want to try Clearwire’s WiMAX wireless broadband service while you’re in Vegas for CES? Move now and reserve yourself a modem or modem-and-pocketspot combo from local provider Cheetah, which is teaming up with Clearwire to offer WiMAX rentals for as little as $12.50 a day.
So instead of paying exorbitant hotel fees for slow, shared DSL or clogged Wi-Fi — or taking a crapshoot on what will likely be crowded 3G airwaves — you can instead have a mobile connection of between 3 to 6 Mbps on the download side, pretty much anywhere in Las Vegas.
In addition to renting both USB modems (for laptops and netbooks) and desktop modems, Cheetah will also be renting a combo of a modem and Clearwire’s Clear Spot portable WiMAX/Wi-Fi router, which will let you connect a small workgroup of Wi-Fi devices. They are also offering a hybrid modem rental, which will fall back to 3G coverage in case you find yourself out of a WiMAX coverage zone.
Single-day prices, according to the Cheetah site, are $12.50 a day for a USB WiMAX modem, $15 a day for a desktop modem, $17.50 for a modem/portable router combo, and $20 a day for a hybrid 3G/4G modem. Costs per day go down with multiple days, with a 4-day basic modem total hitting $39.84, or less than $10 a day for fast broadband access.
Stay tuned to this bat-channel for a Twitter hashtag for Cheetah CES rental users… we will be happy to collect and publish a list of WiMAX download experiences! UPDATE: Let’s use #CLEAR4RENT and see how many people sign on and how fast they can connect…