Sprint announces a New 3G/4G wireless Wi-Fi router

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel introduced a 3G/4G wireless router Wednesday night called the Sprint Overdrive that will allow subscribers to share their wireless broadband connection among Wi-Fi devices.

Sprint 3G/4G Overdrive wireless router

(Credit: Sprint Nextel)

The Overdrive router, made by Sierra Wireless, uses Sprint's 4G Wimax network, where it's available, to allow customers to access the Internet and then it shares that bandwidth among Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Where 4G service isn't available, the router connects to the Internet using Sprint's 3G EV-DO wireless network. Subscribers can connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as laptops, cameras, game consoles and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

Sprint, which showed off the new device at an event the night before the Consumer Electronics Show kicks off here, claims that the 4G wireless network provides enough bandwidth to allow users to easily wirelessly stream high-definition video and music, play games on consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and surf the Web all at the same time.