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As one of the first tier one carriers openly and wholeheartedly to promote the open access, open internet model on mobile networks, Sprint Nextel was always going to be seen as a key ally by Google.

Even before it became an investor in the soon-to-be-created 'new Clearwire', Google was working closely with Sprint on user interfaces and other software elements to enhance the Xohm experience. This work presumably dovetails with the Android platform and so it will come as no surprise that Android-based WiMAX devices are expected in the market at an early stage.

A research note issued last week by ThinkPanmure suggests that Android WiMAX devices will appear in mid-2009 for the Clearwire network (which by then will have been created from the merger of the current Clearwire and Xohm). Android devices would give Clearwire a distinctive device offering to set it apart from other carriers, and Google, as an investor, will be keen to ensure that there are some Android WiMAX products that are a cut above the cellular versions.

These may not be traditional handsets, given that Ben Wolff, head of the current Clearwire, said at the recent CTIA Wireless event that he was not expecting mobile VoIP to be deployed on the network until 2010, leaving Clearwire heavily focused on data, web services and applications that are not traditionally associated with mobile systems, such as M2M.

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