When netbooks arrive in the US with 3 or 3.5G “built in,” I hope we will be able to buy the netbook of our choice and then subscribe to the service of our choice, as I understand one can at least sometimes do in Europe, rather than be forced to accept whatever netbook the provider is subsidizing and sign up for an expensive, confining 2-year contract.

Of course, we would have to switch mini-PCIe cards (assuming this is the way it's “built in”) when changing between CDMA providers and GSM providers, but at least we would have the freedom to do that.

It's true that we can already do it with ExpressCard adapters and USB adapters, but I've seen references, for example, at the Dell site, that claim that you get much more reliable connections with the adapter “built in.”

And I was told at a local Verizon store that they were phasing out ExpressCard adapters as soon as they sell all they have left. They charge $150 for an ExpressCard, and USB adapters are free with rebates. Also, long, protruding USB dongles defeat the idea of portability, and could get damaged in backpacks or have to be removed and stored separately. The ExpressCard adapters protrude quite a bit as well.

Gobi, from Qualcomm, sounds interesting: http://www.GobiAnywhere.com

Edit: The above site has a .pdf: http://www.gobianywhere.com/Qualcomm2729.pdf
which says CDMA (EV-DO Rev A) and GSM (HSPA) will be available in the same internal card in early 2009.

When netbooks arrive in the US with 3 or 3.5G “built in,” I hope we will be able to buy the netbook of our choice and then subscribe to the service of our choice, as I understand one can at least sometimes do in Europe, rather than be forced to accept whatever netbook the provider is subsidizing and sign up for an expensive, confining 2-year contract.

Of course, we would have to switch mini-PCIe cards (assuming this is the way it's “built in”) when changing between CDMA providers and GSM providers, but at least we would have the freedom to do that.

It's true that we can already do it with ExpressCard adapters and USB adapters, but I've seen references, for example, at the Dell site, that claim that you get much more reliable connections with the adapter “built in.”

And I was told at a local Verizon store that they were phasing out ExpressCard adapters as soon as they sell all they have left. They charge $150 for an ExpressCard, and USB adapters are free with rebates. Also, long, protruding USB dongles defeat the idea of portability, and could get damaged in backpacks or have to be removed and stored separately. The ExpressCard adapters protrude quite a bit as well.

Gobi, from Qualcomm, sounds interesting: http://www.GobiAnywhere.com

Edit: The above site has a .pdf: http://www.gobianywhere.com/Qualcomm2729.pdf
which says CDMA (EV-DO Rev A) and GSM (HSPA) will be available in the same internal card in early 2009.

When netbooks arrive in the US with 3 or 3.5G “built in,” I hope we will be able to buy the netbook of our choice and then subscribe to the service of our choice, as I understand one can at least sometimes do in Europe, rather than be forced to accept whatever netbook the provider is subsidizing and sign up for an expensive, confining 2-year contract.

Of course, we would have to switch mini-PCIe cards (assuming this is the way it's “built in”) when changing between CDMA providers and GSM providers, but at least we would have to freedom to do that.

It's true that we can already do that with ExpressCard adapters and USB adapters, but I've seen references, for example, at the Dell site, that claim that you get much more reliable connections with the adapter “built in.”

And I was told at a Local Verizon store that they were phasing out ExpressCard adapters as soon as they sell all they have left. They charge $150 for an ExpressCard, and USB adapters are free with rebates. Also, long, protruding USB dongles defeat the idea of portability, and could get damaged in backpacks or have to be removed and stored separately. The ExpressCard adapters protrude quite a bit as well.

Gobi, from Qualcomm sounds interesting: http://www.GobiAnywhere.com

When netbooks arrive in the US with 3 or 3.5G “built in,” I hope we will be able to buy the netbook of our choice and then subscribe to the service of our choice, as I understand one can at least sometimes do in Europe, rather than be forced to accept whatever netbook the provider is subsidizing and sign up for an expensive, confining 2-year contract.

Of course, we would have to switch mini-PCIe cards (assuming this is the way it's “built in”) when changing between CDMA providers and GSM providers, but at least we would have the freedom to do that.

It's true that we can already do it with ExpressCard adapters and USB adapters, but I've seen references, for example, at the Dell site, that claim that you get much more reliable connections with the adapter “built in.”

And I was told at a local Verizon store that they were phasing out ExpressCard adapters as soon as they sell all they have left. They charge $150 for an ExpressCard, and USB adapters are free with rebates. Also, long, protruding USB dongles defeat the idea of portability, and could get damaged in backpacks or have to be removed and stored separately. The ExpressCard adapters protrude quite a bit as well.

Gobi, from Qualcomm, sounds interesting: http://www.GobiAnywhere.com

Edit: The above site has a .pdf: http://www.gobianywhere.com/Qualcomm2729.pdf
which says CDMA (EV-DO Rev A) and GSM (HSPA) will be available in the same internal card in early 2009.

When netbooks arrive in the US with 3 or 3.5G “built in,” I hope we will be able to buy the netbook of our choice and then subscribe to the service of our choice, as I understand one can at least sometimes do in Europe, rather than be forced to accept whatever netbook the provider is subsidizing and sign up for an expensive, confining 2-year contract.

Of course, we would have to switch mini-PCIe cards (assuming this is the way it's “built in”) when changing between CDMA providers and GSM providers, but at least we would have the freedom to do that.

It's true that we can already do it with ExpressCard adapters and USB adapters, but I've seen references, for example, at the Dell site, that claim that you get much more reliable connections with the adapter “built in.”

And I was told at a local Verizon store that they were phasing out ExpressCard adapters as soon as they sell all they have left. They charge $150 for an ExpressCard, and USB adapters are free with rebates. Also, long, protruding USB dongles defeat the idea of portability, and could get damaged in backpacks or have to be removed and stored separately. The ExpressCard adapters protrude quite a bit as well.

Gobi, from Qualcomm, sounds interesting: http://www.GobiAnywhere.com

Edit: The above site has a .pdf: http://www.gobianywhere.com/Qualcomm2729.pdf
which says CDMA (EV-DO Rev A) and GSM (HSPA) will be available in the same internal card in early 2009.