CHICAGO -- This probably should have been one of my first posts, but sometimes things don't happen in order.

There was a lot of talk this week about future devices that will emerge once networks start getting up and running. The first thing in the progression seems to be modems that can be used at home or at certain locations. Nextwill be PC cards for laptops, then laptops embedded with WiMax chips, and from there -- who knows? A host of consumer devices will go up for sale with WiMax, for instance, MP3 players, cameras, handheld gaming devices and more.

But if you are having a hard time picturing the home modem, I took a picture Thursday. As you can see, it is portable, but it's not particularly handy for toting around. Typically these also have to be plugged into an outlet.

This is for the Sprint Nextel Xohm network. The booth workers say it looks like a coffee cup. If that's true, they must be from Seattle -- it's pretty dang big.

Check it out: