It’s surprising how new devices often appear in close time period.

Even the most sofisticated and complex devices like mobile phones, which have a developing period of more than 6 months, appear or announced on the market within periods of weeks.
It’s probably safe to assume that most competitive companies research, try out pretty much all possible technologies and develop at least a prototype, so that once the company decides to actually make the device, they wouldn’t have to start from blank.

Another possibility is that companies have enough potential to replicate other companies’ device right away, that the only thing blocking them from actually doing it is patent infringement.

Either way, the axiomatic fact is that we are living in a crazy competitive world.

In Korea, we’ve seen KT release Wi-Bro portable router to the market. In US, Verizon Wireless has released MiFi2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, pretty much the same thing based on different technology. Just a week after Verizon’s release, Sprint has released the exact same device.

Although the service plans for Sprint and Verizon differs significantly, they are still expensive compared to KT Egg. KT Egg is only 23 dollar(US) for 30gb. People in Korea seems to take the rich wireless environment for granted. On the other hand, coverage is a problem that Wi-Bro still faces.

Coverage and price are two vital factors when it comes to mobile wireless device. Of course, both solutions are not available on both country. However, comparing the simple facts, I would say it’s a draw. : )

Via –
- verizon-debuts-mifi-2200-portable-ev-do-router
- novatels-mifi-2200-portable-ev-do-router-comes-to-sprint
Image also from Engadget