Yota currently provides commercial Mobile WiMAX services to more than 300,000 subscribers across three cities in Russia –- Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ufa. Yota has also started delivering Mobile WiMAX service to more than 50,000 subscribers in Kransnodar and Sochi. Yota has added more than 3,000 new subscribers per day and plans to expand Mobile WiMAX coverage to 180 cities in Russia.

In addition to the expansion of coverage in Russia, Yota is also actively extending its Mobile WiMAX services with Samsung in other markets around the globe. Yota launched a trial service in Nicaragua last December and is preparing to launch in Belarus in the second quarter of 2010. In January Yota was also awarded Mobile WiMAX bandwidth spectrum use for nationwide network services in Peru. Yota is aiming to provide Mobile WiMAX service across the world including Latin America, the CIS, Asia and Africa.

Scartel (brand Yota), Russian provider of Mobile WiMAX, and HTC today officially announced the HTC MAX 4G, the world’s first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset. The HTC MAX 4G was first leaked early last month as HTC T8290. It has a mix of HTC Touch Diamond and Touch HD design, comes with a 3.8-inch display screen, 800 x 480 WVGA resolution, built in WiFi and Bluetooth.

Thanks to mobile WiMAX, high-quality multimedia entertainment is no longer limited. With Yota Video, a full video on demand (VOD) service, users can watch their favourite movies and videos from their personal Yota catalogue anytime, anywhere.

Broadcasting 14 free channels at launch and 23 channels by the end of 2008, the new device will support Yota TV service. The vibrant, 3.8 inch 800×480 screen of the HTC MAX 4G can display up to nine TV channels simultaneously, allowing quick and easy channel surfing and programme selection. Thanks to the device’s TV-out capability, users can also watch content on the big screen, putting the HTC MAX 4G at the very heart of the mobile entertainment experience.

The HTC MAX 4G supports GSM calls using a SIM card from any Russian network operator and when both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota Mobile WiMAX network. The Yota Phone service also supports more business applications, allowing users to switch between English and Russian contact records while providing functionality such as call holding, conference calling and video calling using the VGA camera on the front of the device.

The HTC MAX 4G also integrates a 3.5mm headphone jack to create the best possible experience for enjoying movies, music and photos on the go. Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the HTC MAX 4G incorporates HTC’s proprietary Touch FLO 3D user interface, allowing swift and intuitive navigation to key applications such as dialling calls, listening to music, taking picture and more.

Key HTC MAX 4G specifications:

• Processor: Qualcomm ESM7206A 528 MHz
• Platform: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Memory: ROM: 256MB / RAM: 288MB / Flash: 8 GB
• Dimensions: 113.5mm x 63.1mm x 13.9mm
• Weight: 151 grams (with battery)
• Display: 3.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen
• with 480 x 800 WVGA resolution
• Network: Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:900/1800/1900 MHz
• Yota Mobile WiMAX 2,5-2.7 GHz
• Device Control: TouchFLO 3D
• GPS: Inbuilt GPS
• Connections: VoIP
• Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• HTC ExtUSB
• Main camera: High-resolution with autofocus
• Second: VGA-camera
• Additional: Motion G-sensor (automatically rotating picture)
• Proximity sensor (saving energy while talking due to the switching the display off)
• FM-radio
• Audio: Ring tone formats: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV
• 40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI
• Battery: Li-Pol, 1500 mAh
• Talk time: GSM: up to 420 minutes
• VoIP: up to 230 minutes
• Standby time: GSM: up to 350 hours
• VoIP: up to 50 hours
• AC Adapter: Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
• DC output: 5V and 1A

[via SlashGear]