HP Introduces Global 3G Wireless Laptop
December 14th, 2006 - Posted in OtherIn an overture to knowledge workers with wanderlust, Hewlett-Packard and Cingular have launched what they are claiming is the world’s first notebook with built-in global 3G capabilities.
The HP Compaq nc6400 boasts a built-in Cingular Wireless UMTS/HSDPA module — in plain English, hardware that lets the notebook connect to Cingular’s global high-speed data network in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, and much of Asia, with more than two dozen countries in all.
UMTS, which stands for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, and HSDPA, which stands for High Speed Data Packet Acceleration, are 3G standards already popular outside North America. Cingular was the first to introduce HSDPA in the States, where it now competes with high-speed networks from Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
Sprint and Verizon, both of which use the EVDO standard, offer 3G speeds roughly the same as Cingular’s. But T-Mobile’s EDGE network is slower, with speeds barely the equal to land-based ISDN lines. What’s more, neither EDGE nor EVDO let users surf the Internet while talking on the phone, as HSDPA does.
Road Rogues’ Delight
The nc6400 lets globetrotters roam at leisure, with download speeds fast enough to pull in podcasts, high-end Web sites, and even videos.
“You can use it wherever we have coverage in the U.S.,” said Cingular’s John Kampfe. “From a 3G standpoint, that’s 145 markets and growing, almost by the day, and it seamlessly falls over to EDGE where we don’t have the 3G coverage,” he added.
Of course, that kind of freedom comes with a price: Cingular’s basic plan for U.S. coverage is $59.99 monthly, in line with competing plans from Sprint and Verizon. For global service, monthly plans start at $109 for coverage of Canada and Mexico and $139 for coverage that extends to Europe and Asia.
Nuts and Bolts
The nc6400 also sports on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, a 14.1-inch widescreen display, and an optional HP privacy filter to keep prying eyes away from your screen.
The system is Vista-ready and powered by a choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processors. It also boasts HP’s Professional Innovations, a mix of hardware and software that offers users features like on-board biometrics for access control.
Set for release in late December, the nc6400 starts at $1,599, with prices moving north depending on the system’s feature set.
If you’re still deskbound and global roaming is just a glimmer in your eye, not to worry. “You can buy the notebook without it,” said Cingular’s Kampfe, “then purchase the [3G] module at a later date. You slip it into the notebook, and then you sign up for our service.”