According to DigiTimes, notebooks, eBook readers, slate PCs, and other devices with built-in 3G modems could start to outsell USB 3G modules by 2012. We’ve definitely seen a growing number of netbooks and larger notebooks with integrated broadband modems in the past year or two, and most of the major wireless carriers are now selling subsidized notebooks to customers that purchase a data plan to go with it — much the way they’ve been selling 3G USB modems for the past few years.

There’s no doubt that an integrated 3G modem is a more elegant solution than carrying around a separate modem just to get online. But there’s a major advantage to the two-piece solution: It’s not tied to a single device. USB modems can be paired with multiple computers. And we’ve seen the introduction of the MiFi and other devices that are essentially portable mobile broadband  hubs, allowing you to connect multiple computers to a 3G or 4G data streams over a WiFi connection.

But you know who really cares about being able to connect multiple computers to the net with a single modem? Geeks like you and me. And while we’re definitely part of the target market for 3G modems, let’s be honest: Most laptop users buy a single computer and use it for a couple of years before replacing it. An integrated modem is probably a better deal for those customers. But I think I’ll be keeping my USB WiMAX dongle for now.

via SlashGear

Wireless carriers have been offering 3G mobile broadband plans for laptops for a few years, but typically if you want to get a cheap or free USB modem you need to sign up for a 2 year contract. Or you could pay full price for a USB modem, which can easily run $150 or more.

Now Telava is offering a USB modem called the Broadband Bullet that’s available for free with no contract required. But here’s the catch: If you pay for a month of service for $50 to $60 and then decide to cancel, you have to send the modem back.

Actually that doesn’t sound too bad as far as catches go. If you know that you’re going to need 3G access while you’re traveling for a week or two, you can sign up, get the mdoem, and return it when you get home.

If you don’t want to deal with that kind of hassle, you can just buy the modem outright for $200 and activate it or deactivate as you see fit. If you go with the use it and return it model, you’ll have to pay a $100 security deposit to receive the modem.

Telava’s $50/month plan has a 5GB monthly data cap, while the $60/month plan offers unlimited data transfer. All in all, it sounds like a much cheaper solution than RovAir, a short term 3G rental service I tested last year.

via SlashGear

There are a few ways to get mobile broadband access on a portable computer. You can pick up a laptop, tablet, or other device with an integrated 3G modem. You can purchase a 3G or 4G USB stick that you can plug into your computer to connect to a network. Or you can get a portable WiFi hotspot like a MiFi that lets you connect multiple devices to a mobile broadband network.

Now it looks like there’s a new option… sort of. Connect One has unveiled a device called the Wi-Reach Classic. Basically it’s a portable WiFi hotspot that’s designed to work with any 3G USB modem. Just insert your modem in the USB port and the $99 Wi-Reach classic will let you share your connection over WiFi. Up to 10 computers at a time can connect to the hot spot (although I suspect you’ll take a serious speed hit if you try to hook up more than 2 or 3 computers).

You can also download software that adds support for 4G WiMax and LTE networks. Connect One says the mobile hotspot should get about 5 hours of battery life.

via SlashGear

I just got a chance to catch up with the folks at Datawind, and while they’re a bit behind schedule, they do still plan to bring the Ubisurfer netbook to the US. The latest target date is Q2, 2010, (as opposed to October, 2009). If Datawind actually manages to launch the Ubisurfer soon, it could poke a hole in the smartbook industry that’s still in its pre-infancy.

Here’s why: The Ubisurfer costs $199 up front. And that’s it. That price will buy you a 7 inch netbook plus a data plan good for up to 30 hours per month of downloads over a CDMA/EV-DO connection. There’s no data limit, just an hour limit. If you want more time, you pay $9.99 a month. And after the first year, you just pay $49 per year to keep using the connection.

Compare that with the $40 to $60 per month that mobile wireless operators are expected to charge for data plans to go with smartbooks such as the upcoming Lenovo Skylight.

That said, the Datawind Ubisurfer isn’t much to look at, and it certainly doesn’t offer much in the specs department. It features a 7 inch, 800 x 480 pixel display, an ARM-based processor, a tiny keyboard, an awkward touchpad with buttons on the left and right, and a light weight Linux distribution. If you’ve ever tried surfing the web with Firefox using a device like this, you know that the experience can be kind of sluggish and painful. But Datawind has a solution.

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If you want a USB modem that will provide mobile broadband access in the US, you’ll usually have to sign up for a 2 year contract and commit to paying $60 per month for up to 5GB of data transfers. Or, you can sign up for a new DataJack modem which costs about $100 up front and $40 per month thereafter for unlimited data. Oh yeah, and there’s no contract, so you could use the service for a month or two, cancel it, and then sign up again half a year later.

On paper, DataJack has me second guessing my recent decision to pick up a CLEAR WiMAX modem. That’s especially true since while my mobile WiMAX modem works great, the home modem isn’t as fast as the DSL service I was hoping to replace, so I’m thinking of canceling the home service which means I’d end up paying as much as $45/month for WiMAX service that only works in a handful of cities when I could be paying $40/month for 3G service that is available nationwide.

But this time I think I’ll try not to be the early adopter and wait to see how well the service works for others before signing up.

via Chip Chick

CLEAR launched its citywide WiMAX network in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, but the company held an event today in the iconic LOVE Park to kick things off. I stopped by to check things out, and you know what? Citywide internet access doesn’t make for a whole lot of exciting visuals. You know, cause wireless broadband is kind of invisible until you plug it into your computer. And you can only look at so many setups of computers plugged into modems and USB dongles.

That said, the folks at CLEAR did make things interesting by hosting a balloon drop ceremony. There were about 200 balloons and each had a code for a prize. I got $8 in music downloads. Somebody is supposed to have gotten a laptop.

If you’re not familiar with WiMAX or CLEAR, here’s the deal: It’s sort of like a citywide WiFi network. You can either get a modem for your home which you can plug directly into a computer or into a wireless router to host a home network. Or you can get a USB dongle that will work from your home or on the go, but only with one computer at a time.

CLEAR promises download speeds averaging between 3 and 6Mbps with bursts of up to 10 Mbps, and download speeds of about 1Mbps. That makes it generally slower than many cable modem services, but similar to or faster than many DSL plans. And it’s a lot cheaper, with plans starting at $25/month for home use and $35/month for mobile use — with no data caps.

That’s a heck of a lot cheaper than mobile broadband modem plans available from 3G cellular networks. The down side is that CLEAR isn’t available in nearly as many parts of the country yet. It’s available in about 2 dozen cities in 9 states right now.

There are some launch specials now including an online deal where you can get a home and mobile plan for $50/month lifetime plan. CLEAR also offers voice service, so you could sign up for home internet and voice. There’s also an internet special right now allowing users to signup for home, mobile, and voice service for $70/month for life.

One feature I especially like is that you can sign up for month to month plans. You have to pay a $17.50 activation fee if you go month to month, while it’s waived if you sign up for a 2 year plan. But that’s a lot better than the signup and cancellation fees you have to deal with from most other broadband and mobile broadband internet service providers.

You can check out more photos from the CLEAR launch event in Philadelphia after the break.

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HP is expanding its netbook lineup with three new models. All three feature 10.1 inch, 1024  x 576 pixel displays and 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processors. You know, just like the existing HP Mini 1000 line of netbooks. But there are a few details that make the new HP Mini 110, Mini 110 Mi Edition, and Mini 1101 stand out.

First, all three machines are available with high capacity hard drives. The HP Mini 1000 tops out at 80GB because HP decided to keep the chassis as small as possible and use a 1.8″ HDD. The new models are a little thicker (up to 1.3″ thick at their beefiest points), but some modesl are available with hard drives that pack 160GB of storage space or more.

Second, the machines that don’t run Windows XP are available with up to 2GB of RAM and hard drives up to 250GB. That goes for the HP Mini 110 Mi Edition which runs a custom version of Ubuntu Linux (much like the HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition) and the HP Mini 1101 which can run either Windows XP or Vista. Oh yeah, and third HP is offering a Windows Vista option.

All three netbooks should be available at HP’s Mini site starting in June.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the options available with each of the new machines:

• HP Mini 110 XP Edition: This model comes with either a 32GB solid state drive or a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and optional WWAN. At launch this netbook will be available with the same black swhirl pattern found on the HP Mini 1000, but in July it will also be available in white and pink. The HP Mini 110 XP Edition will also be available with an optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator for handling 1080p video. A high resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display option will eventually be available as well. This netbook should be available starting June 10th with a base price of $329.99.
• HP Mini 110 Mi Edition: This version comes with Ubuntu Linux and HP’s custom Mi Edition interface for the operating system. It will be available with up to 2GB of RAM and a hard drive up to 250GB. Prices start at $279.99. The HP Mini 110 Mi Edition should be available June 10th for $279.99.
• HP Mini 1101: This model will be available with Windows XP Home, XP Pro, or Vista. You can also get it with freeDOS if you want to install your own operating system. It’s available with a 32GB SSD or 160GB or 250GB hard disk. There’s also an optional EV-DO/HSPA mobile broadband modem. The HP Mini 1101 will be available starting June 1st with a starting price of $329.

You can check out more pictures of the HP Mini 110 and Mini 1101 after the break.

Update: Laptop Magazine also noticed that the new HP Minis have 3 USB ports (previous models had just 2), and comes with Syncables software for synchronizing files between your netbook and another PC. HP also released a short promotional video. You can watch it after the break.

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This weekend I ran the results of a poll suggesting that respondents in the United States were more interested in potential netbook features touchscreens, dual core processors, and discrete graphics cards than integrated 3G modems.

Some people were surprised at the results, but not me. You know why? Because 3G data plans in the US are expensive, costing $40 to $60 a month. And that’s typically on top of the money you already pay for home internet service and a mobile phone voice plan. In other words, you could wind up paying a $100/month to your wireless service provider (for your mobile phone and 3G netbook plan) and $50 or so a month to get broadband internet access at home.

I think as long as customers have to pay full price for each internet service plan, it’s going to be hard to convince them to add new services. But what if you could get 3G service letting you use your netbook on the go for $10 above and beyond the price of your home DSL or cable modem plan? Or as an extra charge tacked onto your existing mobile phone bill?

That’s what the analysts at Light Reading Insider think could happen. They’ve put out a $900 report on the impact of netbooks on mobile broadband, but you can read some of the highlights for free. What do you think? Do you expect mobile carriers to bundle services and bring down the costs in the hopes of signing up new customers? Or do you think they’ll try to milk the separate revenue streams for as much as they can?

via I4U

While US mobile carriers are just starting to dip their toes in the waters of subsidized laptops, the practice is old hat in the UK. And now UK wireless broadband provider O2 is offering its first “free” laptops bundled with a service contract. If you sign up for a 2 year plan, O2 will give you a Samsung NC10 mini-laptop or one of several full sized notebooks.

If you’re wondering why I put the word “free” in quotes, it’s because O2 charges £29.38 per month for a plan which will let you transfer up to 3GB of data each month. Over the course of a 2 year contract, that means you’ll wind up spending £705, or about $1013 US on that netbook. Not a bad deal if you were planning on paying for broadband service anyway. But if not, you’d probably be better off just picking  up the standalone computer.

For £39.15 per month, you can get a 10GB/month data plan.

via SammyNetbook