how far off are we from seeing wireless modems pre-installed

ptrashptrash
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Supposedly the 3G digital mobile technology was going to open the doors to wireless web surfing. I'm just wondering how long it will be before they start showing up pre-installed, and whether Apple would be one of the first to do so.



PS. I tried connecting to the net once on my cell phone, but after realizing the amount of minute usage it was going to take, I gave up. I haven't tried again.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    ensoniqensoniq Posts: 131member
    I don't see wireless modems ever being installed in Macintoshes. (Or PCs, for that matter.)



    Apple is going to have Bluetooth most likely in the next major round of hardware updates. And they made a big deal out of SyncML (iSync) technology at the last Macworld.



    Whether they build it themselves or just team with Sony Ericsson, Apple has their eye on new and exciting integration of phone/PDA combo devices with the Macintosh. An external phone talking to your Mac via Bluetooth is a much better way to handle wireless modem capability than building it in.



    Just my opinion.



    -- Ensoniq



    [ 08-26-2002: Message edited by: Ensoniq ]</p>
  • Reply 2 of 6
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,425member
    When the component cost to add Wireless Modems drops to under $10 I think you might see them become standard.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    The Bluetooth solution would be more Apple-like. A Bluetooth equipped phone as a bridge between the GSM and 3G net and your headset, computer and PDA is a much more elegant than all these having mobile network capacities themselves.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    bozo the clownbozo the clown Posts: 165member
    Yeah, but which type of modem (CDMA? GPRS?) should they include? What frequency should they operate on?



    Too many standards in the US, and with current "3G" technology, speeds aren't much better than 56k dialup, latency is supposed to be terrible, and high costs make a cable modem look positively cheap.



    I wouldn't hold my breath; it'll be a few years if not longer.
  • Reply 5 of 6
    big macbig mac Posts: 480member
    A more promising development from a pragmatic stand point would be overlapping, city wide 802.11 stations. I don't think cell phones make good modems, and since we already have wireless LAN support built-in, we just need to see cities start building it into the streets. The speed would be much better than cell, and they could charge a modest amount to recoup the cost of deployment. On the other hand, if nothing positive happens on that front, eventually phones will be used for laptop connections. I just don't see that happening any time soon.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    America (including my home: the 51st state) really needs to get it's telco act together. That Japan smokes us is to be expected: small coverage area and a very technophilic culture (at least when it comes to do-dads, most useful tech doesn't come from Japan.) But Europe also smokes us, and that's an area with just as many coverage difficulties compounded with the problem of various border problems, yet still they're a generation ahead. We really suck.



    We've only seen standard analogue modems built into motherboards for the last 5 years or so. How old is the analogue phone system exactly? My point is, such a thing won't be possible in North America untill EVERYONE can agree on a STANDARD. Then costs can get cheap, and the appropriatee chip can be included with the reasonable assurance that it work with whatever telco/region you use. Till then, bluetooth enabled cell-phones may be the best bet.



    [ 08-29-2002: Message edited by: Matsu ]</p>
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