Cool tech
Data with go-faster stripes
Vodafone has launched its 3G card for laptops - and the product could turn out to be a must for laptop users, says Ashley Norris
Monday April 5, 2004
Over the next 12 months, Vodafone and its rivals will have their work cut out to try and convince customers that they need to upgrade their mobile phones to 3G handsets.
It's a tough task, because there does not seem to be a great deal of evidence to demonstrate that consumers have much enthusiasm for 3G's supposed "killer applications", such as football videos and person-to-person video calling.
Not surprisingly, then, Vodafone has taken the easy route first, developing a product that it hopes will claw back some of the £13bn invested in 3G networks across Europe.
The Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card for laptops was launched to both consumers and businesses on Friday (it is available with a secure VPN - or virtual private network - often used by businesses to give their workers remote access).
The card, which fits in a laptop's PCMCIA slot, is essentially a version of the company's existing Mobile Connect GPRS card, but with go-faster stripes. Instead of accessing the web at GPRS speeds of around 50kbps, Vodafone promises that the 3G card can download data at up to 384kbps.
"The shift from 2G to 3G is like that from dial-up to broadband", Vodafone's new UK CEO, Bill Morrow, told a press conference on Friday.
