Vodafone works on 3G embedded PC

IDG News Service - Vodafone Group PLC plans to introduce a PC with a built-in third generation (3G) data card in the next 18 months, an executive said on Monday during a conference for Vodafone investors.

"We're working aggressively with a number of [original equipment manufacturers] around the world to make that a reality," said Nick Jeffery, head of business marketing at Vodafone. He said he expects the laptops to reach the market in about a year and a half.

Across the ocean, Vodafone's U.S. joint venture Verizon Wireless is expected to introduce a laptop with built-in wide-area networking on Monday, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The Dell Inc. laptop will include a wireless data card operating on Verizon Wireless' high-speed Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) network, according to the report.

Historically, PC makers tend to ultimately build in technologies that are first introduced as external devices, Jeffery noted. "In the PC industry it's a natural evolution to include high-speed wide-area networking inside," he said.

Vodafone has sold 600,000 external PC cards that allow users to access the Internet from their laptops over a wireless connection, with 400,000 of those cards operating on Vodafone's 3G networks, said Peter Bamford, chief marketing officer at Vodafone.

In May of this year, Sony Corp. began selling a Vaio laptop computer with a built-in radio card enabling users to access the Internet over Cingular Wireless LLC's Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network in the U.S.