After the official launch of the Clearwire WiMAX service in Portland, the company's chief strategy officer announced plans and showed a prototype of a portable WiMAX/Wi-Fi router that enables access to the 4G mobile broadband network from Wi-Fi enabled devices. The pre-production version of the router uses a Motorola WiMAX USB stick and will allow multiple users to connect through it. Richardson foresees every iPhone user opting to use the Clearwire router for faster data speeds than the device's built-in 3G access.

The ability to connect multiple users to the network via the router is what differentiates Clearwire from existing data network providers, who do not encourage multiple users to use a single 3G or other connection, Richardson says. The Clearwire-branded WiMax router is expected to launch in February, tentatively priced at about $125. [via SidecutReports]