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Mobile Broadband
Why keep your internet connection tied to your home when you could take it with you? That’s the question answered by wireless broadband devices, offered now by nearly every service provider. These saucer or card-deck-shaped portals are basically the guts of a cell phone and a big rechargeable battery. They broadcast their data pathway via Wifi, so no need for a USB connector, and most also function as Wifi hotspots, allowing multiple devices to dip into the data pool. And if you buy a device from Clear or Sprint, it will likely be much faster than the native data connectivity of any 3G handset.
Most mobile broadband hotspots
require a two-year contract with the
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Telematics systems will give way to the 4G connected car in the near future. |
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inexpensive netbook, a slender
computer with few moving parts and
tooled to take advantage of web-
based and cloud services. The
netbooks of the past often had very
slow processors and were beleaguered
by sub-par operating systems, but
today’s netbooks have lightning fast
solid state drives, optimized operating
systems and are shipping with built-in
cellular connectivity. While major
providers like Verizon and AT&T sell
wireless internet-enabled netbooks,
the hottest news is the Google Cr-48,
a netbook running Google’s Chrome OS
with a nearly instantaneous boot time
and built-in 3g cellular radio.
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service provider, but pay-as-you-go
success story Cricket has just launched
their own, the Crosswave Wireless
Hotspot. It’s available online for just
over $100, requires no contract, and
boasts “faster-than 3G speeds,”
according to an in-store sales
representative. Symmetrical to their
release of the $100 Huawei Ascend
(Android 2.1), Cricket seems intent on
driving the new mobile experience to
the masses for the lowest possible
price.
Smarter Phones
As smart phones get smarter and hardware gets faster, the mobile experience likewise evolves. Newer phones are capable of functioning as wireless hotspots, functioning as a data portal for the home office or the coffee shop meeting. Hardware specs on the Windows 7 phones permit XBOX-style gameplay. And improved cameras have turned handsets into portable document scanners, bar code scanners and credit card processors.
While available in other parts of the world for some time, handsets are just starting to ship to the U.S. with NFC (Near Field Communications) chips which will enable mobile/swipe payment as well as unique peer-to-peer services.
Cellular Enabled Netbooks
Straddling a line somewhere between
a tablet and a laptop is the
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Bundles of Joy
While the traditional model is still in play—service providers subsidizing purchases with a data contract—service providers and online companies like Amazon are playing the other direction too: subsidizing data services in new ways to expand the mobile experience. Verizon is providing free 3G service for new netbooks by Google (100mb/month for two years, no contract), Amazon pays for Kindle’s free 3G wireless service, and the Data Wind Ubisurfer netbook comes bundled with a free year of 3G service for $250 total.
The Future is Bright
There is no doubt the mobile experience is changing, as evidenced by the push to make new cellular-connected devices a part of everyday life. Some devices we will likely see in the near future include: handheld gaming devices that are highly portable with long battery life and pull all games from the cloud; more devices that deliver free internet content from a “walled garden” portal (like the Kindle, but for movies, tv, or music); and home entertainment devices, like a 3D blu-ray player with built-in 3G/4G. The widespread deployment of 4G/LTE networks will certainly enhance mobile experience as well, making mobile high-definition streaming content a reality, and enabling such services as facial recognition apps and realtime translation.
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