Now that the long promised faster speeds of WiMAX are starting to rev up into reality, PC makers are rolling out the first WiMAX-enabled networks. At least one model -- from Asus -- is already shipping, but it'll cost you a cool $1,399.

Sprint's launch in Baltimore of the first WiMAX network in the US drew support this week from a long list of PC vendors that are either planning or already selling WiMAX-enabled laptops, including Asus, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, Dell, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony.

One WiMAX notebook -- specifically, the Asus M50Vm-A1WM -- is actually available from Newegg.com for $1,399, although only if you live in the continental US (which excludes Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico).

Beyond the obligatory WiMAX modem card -- and the embedded WiMAX support Intel has already built into its Centrino 2 notebook platform -- the Windows Vista Business-based laptop offers a 15.4-inch WXGA+ screen, a 250 GB hard drive, 4 GB of memory, and a built-in DVD Super-Multi drive.

Meanwhile, Sprint and Intel announced this week that Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders for WiMAX laptops from Asus, Lenovo, and Acer.

A quick check of Amazon.com by BetaNews this afternoon yielded a total of five WiMAX notebooks on the site: the Asus M50Vm, Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 and SL500, and Acer Aspire 6930 and 4930.

On its own Web site, Lenovo is selling four models announced as getting WiMAX support: the SL300 and SL500, which are geared to SMBs, along with two others, the ThinkPad X301 ultaportable and the T400 mainstream business model. However, when BetaNews viewed the product page this morning for the SL300 on the Lenovo site, WiMAX apparently hadn't yet been added yet to the list of customization options.

Lenovo has also talked up plans to add built-in WiMAX support to about five other notebooks later this year, including the consumer-oriented IdeaPad Y530.

Meanwhile, Toshiba expects to start selling WiMAX notebooks this year, too, while Dell, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony have announced WiMAX intentions for 2009.

While people in parts of the Baltimore area can make use of WiMAX laptops right away, deployments will wait for later in other sections of the US, anyway. In Sprint's phased rollout program, other cities that are taking top priority for early adoption include Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Chicago.