Apple seeks 3G specialist for Macs as subsidy deals near
Apple is seeking an experienced communications engineer to join its Mac team and focus on debugging communications technologies -- including 3G Wireless WAN -- amid rumors that the company is nearing deals with 3G providers that would help subsidize the cost of new Macs.
The job listing within Apple's Mac Hardware Group, spotted on Tuesday by ComputerWorld, seeks an individual that would be responsible for "testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner."
The reference to 3G is drawing some attention because it's the only communications technology mentioned in listing that's not currently a fixture of Apple's Mac line. Some industry watchers and customers have long called upon Apple to follow in the footsteps of rivals like Acer and Dell and build 3G wireless technology into its notebooks.
During a conversation with USA Today's Ed Baig last year, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs admitted to exploring the idea of building a 3G chip into the 13-inch MacBook Air, but said he ultimately decided against the move because he doesn't want MacBooks to be tied to a specific wireless carrier for enhanced internet services.
In the US, Apple would likely need to follow a similar approach to the iPhone and use the HSPA standard for 3G, which would limit MacBooks to AT&T for wide-area broadband if the company also wanted the technology to work in Europe and most other parts of the world.
Still, that hasn't stopped AT&T from knocking on the Mac maker's door. The carrier's Emerging Devices group president Glenn Lurie acknowledged in a January interview with Fortune that the company is making a push into non-phone devices that could use cellular broadband and looked forward to the possibility that Apple would be part of those plans.
"We're having conversations with lots of folks," he said. "[But] I would very much like to do more business with Apple, and hope that we do."
The executive noted that a holiday promotion that subsidized Acer's Aspire One down to $99 with the purchase of an AT&T 3G service plan worked "extremely well" and that he hoped to establish similar offers for as many products as possible, including larger portables.
Though Apple has thus far been unwilling to build specific wireless broadband hardware into its notebooks, it has reportedly agreed to deals by which it will allow MacBooks to be subsidized alongside sales of 3G services made accessible via USB dongle modems, which would offer customers the freedom to choose their wireless broadband provider. Apple's latest job posting may therefore represent a move on the part of the Cupertino-based company to certify that the broad range of wireless broadband USB modems and their software drivers perform well on the Mac platform.
A little over a month ago it was reported that Orange, the United Kingdom's top rated mobile broadband provider, was wrapping up talks with Apple to offer subsidized MacBooks to customers who sign up for its own 3G service. At the time, Orange was reportedly testing its USB dongle modems with the current line of MacBooks in anticipation of launching the promotion sometime this summer.
The job listing within Apple's Mac Hardware Group, spotted on Tuesday by ComputerWorld, seeks an individual that would be responsible for "testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner."
The reference to 3G is drawing some attention because it's the only communications technology mentioned in listing that's not currently a fixture of Apple's Mac line. Some industry watchers and customers have long called upon Apple to follow in the footsteps of rivals like Acer and Dell and build 3G wireless technology into its notebooks.
During a conversation with USA Today's Ed Baig last year, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs admitted to exploring the idea of building a 3G chip into the 13-inch MacBook Air, but said he ultimately decided against the move because he doesn't want MacBooks to be tied to a specific wireless carrier for enhanced internet services.
In the US, Apple would likely need to follow a similar approach to the iPhone and use the HSPA standard for 3G, which would limit MacBooks to AT&T for wide-area broadband if the company also wanted the technology to work in Europe and most other parts of the world.
Still, that hasn't stopped AT&T from knocking on the Mac maker's door. The carrier's Emerging Devices group president Glenn Lurie acknowledged in a January interview with Fortune that the company is making a push into non-phone devices that could use cellular broadband and looked forward to the possibility that Apple would be part of those plans.
"We're having conversations with lots of folks," he said. "[But] I would very much like to do more business with Apple, and hope that we do."
The executive noted that a holiday promotion that subsidized Acer's Aspire One down to $99 with the purchase of an AT&T 3G service plan worked "extremely well" and that he hoped to establish similar offers for as many products as possible, including larger portables.
Though Apple has thus far been unwilling to build specific wireless broadband hardware into its notebooks, it has reportedly agreed to deals by which it will allow MacBooks to be subsidized alongside sales of 3G services made accessible via USB dongle modems, which would offer customers the freedom to choose their wireless broadband provider. Apple's latest job posting may therefore represent a move on the part of the Cupertino-based company to certify that the broad range of wireless broadband USB modems and their software drivers perform well on the Mac platform.
A little over a month ago it was reported that Orange, the United Kingdom's top rated mobile broadband provider, was wrapping up talks with Apple to offer subsidized MacBooks to customers who sign up for its own 3G service. At the time, Orange was reportedly testing its USB dongle modems with the current line of MacBooks in anticipation of launching the promotion sometime this summer.
Comments
But really- Where's the bag of hurt (blu-ray) and matte we all really need?
There are so many more important things MAcs need besides this. I guess this is to push MobileMe further along.
But really- Where's the bag of hurt we all know is coming?
This is really a vague, one-off reference that could represent little more than Apple seeking an engineer to help certify Mac compatibility with the broad range of 3G services that can be accessed by plugging a USB dongle modem into the notebooks. We tried to make that clear in the report.
Best,
K
This is really a vague, one-off reference that could represent little more than Apple seeking an engineer to help certify Mac compatibility with the broad range of 3G services that can be accessed by plugging a USB dongle modem into the notebooks. We tried to make that clear in the report.
Best,
K
Thanks for clarifying. It seemed more than that. Thanks.
There are so many more important things MAcs need besides this. I guess this is to push MobileMe further along.
But really- Where's the bag of hurt (blu-ray) and matte we all really need?
we need blu-ray in our portables? I can't remember the last time i watched a DVD in my laptop.
I get 3MB DL from my USB 3G card and 2MB DL from my tethered iPhone, but having an internal card would be worth a Mac update to me for the simplified convenience.
we need blu-ray in our portables? I can't remember the last time i watched a DVD in my laptop.
Nor do we need or want matte screens en masse.
This is really a vague, one-off reference that could represent little more than Apple seeking an engineer to help certify Mac compatibility with the broad range of 3G services that can be accessed by plugging a USB dongle modem into the notebooks. We tried to make that clear in the report.
Best,
K
let's be honest - the article made MUCH more out of the posting than a simple "one-off" job post reference. Every single paragraph (except the second) talks about a 3g partnership deal. Readers have no choice but to infer that the job posting relates to Apple prepping their notebooks for such a deal.
we need blu-ray in our portables? I can't remember the last time i watched a DVD in my laptop.
Not for watching- for STORAGE.
All those itunes files on 1 disk!
Apple, come up with a better solution inside the machine.
Nor do we need or want matte screens en masse.
Speak for yourself always?
Not for watching- for STORAGE.
All those itunes files on 1 disk!
hah, right.
First off, correct me if i'm wrong, but current BDs in laptops are read only. Then (if you're able to get a BD burner) you're gonna pay for blank BD-Rs, and spend time waiting for them to write at 2x.
Or, you can get a 1TB HDD off amazon for $100. I'll take the HDD.
hah, right.
First off, correct me if i'm wrong, but current BDs in laptops are read only. Then (if you're able to get a BD burner) you're gonna pay for blank BD-Rs, and spend time waiting for them to write at 2x.
Or, you can get a 1TB HDD off amazon for $100. I'll take the HDD.
I'm not going to argue with you but the article is about future specialist and improving laptops. Have fun lugging your 1TB HDD around with that laptop.
If I'm not mistaken Apple helped pioneered the CD/DVD burner in the laptop. They could do the same here with blu-ray.
So if Apple are going to build WAN wireless into their devices, they are going to have to do what they do best (as they did with the iPhone OS & GUI) and jump way into the future (today!) and adopt LTE - in every device they make, from the iPod shuffle to the fully loaded Mac Pro.
I want to be able to exist in the cloud without hindrance.
And if Apple don't do it, I will. There is always room for another player when the paradigm is due for shifting again.
Capiche?
Apple is seeking an experienced communications engineer to join its Mac team and focus on debugging communications technologies -- including 3G Wireless WAN -- amid rumors that the company is nearing deals with 3G providers that would help subsidize the cost of new Macs.
The job listing within Apple's Mac Hardware Group, spotted on Tuesday by ComputerWorld, seeks an individual that would be responsible for "testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner."
The reference to 3G is drawing some attention because it's the only communications technology mentioned in listing that's not currently a fixture of Apple's Mac line. Some industry watchers and customers have long called upon Apple to follow in the footsteps of rivals like Acer and Dell and build 3G wireless technology into its notebooks.
During a conversation with USA Today's Ed Baig last year, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs admitted to exploring the idea of building a 3G chip into the 13-inch MacBook Air, but said he ultimately decided against the move because he doesn't want MacBooks to be tied to a specific wireless carrier for enhanced internet services.
In the US, Apple would likely need to follow a similar approach to the iPhone and use the HSPA standard for 3G, which would limit MacBooks to AT&T for wide-area broadband if the company also wanted the technology to work in Europe and most other parts of the world.
Still, that hasn't stopped AT&T from knocking on the Mac maker's door. The carrier's Emerging Devices group president Glenn Lurie acknowledged in a January interview with Fortune that the company is making a push into non-phone devices that could use cellular broadband and looked forward to the possibility that Apple would be part of those plans.
"We're having conversations with lots of folks," he said. "[But] I would very much like to do more business with Apple, and hope that we do."
The executive noted that a holiday promotion that subsidized Acer's Aspire One down to $99 with the purchase of an AT&T 3G service plan worked "extremely well" and that he hoped to establish similar offers for as many products as possible, including larger portables.
Though Apple has thus far been unwilling to build specific wireless broadband hardware into its notebooks, it has reportedly agreed to deals by which it will allow MacBooks to be subsidized alongside sales of 3G services made accessible via USB dongle modems, which would offer customers the freedom to choose their wireless broadband provider. Apple's latest job posting may therefore represent a move on the part of the Cupertino-based company to certify that the broad range of wireless broadband USB modems and their software drivers perform well on the Mac platform.
A little over a month ago it was reported that Orange, the United Kingdom's top rated mobile broadband provider, was wrapping up talks with Apple to offer subsidized MacBooks to customers who sign up for its own 3G service. At the time, Orange was reportedly testing its USB dongle modems with the current line of MacBooks in anticipation of launching the promotion sometime this summer.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
I'm not going to argue with you but the article is about future specialist and improving laptops. Have fun lugging your 1TB HDD around with that laptop.
If I'm not mistaken Apple helped pioneered the CD/DVD burner in the laptop. They could do the same here with blu-ray.
I'm not saying BD for storage is a bad thing. In fact, I woudl love to have simplified physical backups of my iTunes library - without a doubt. And BD is probably the best way to do that. However, right now, it's (a) too expensive, and (b) not efficient enough. I'd say those two things right there amount to the "bag of hurt" steve jobs is talking about.
Blu ray is a proprietary format and I'm sure Apple has their sights banking on digital downloads rather than hi-def optical discs anyway. When the tech is affordable enough for their computer lineups, I'm sure they'll include it.
I sit here using a 24MBit optical broadband connection (from Virgin UK). Yet, no matter which cloud computing service I use, it is still not fast enough, never mind the HSDPA dongle I use when mobile, that is about 4 times slower, despite running at a nice 7MB in major cities. YouTube, Google Docs, Picasa, Flickr and other services or sites while useful, fall over or time out when the connection slows down a tad - making them all but useless.
So if Apple are going to build WAN wireless into their devices, they are going to have to do what they do best (as they did with the iPhone OS & GUI) and jump way into the future (today!) and adopt LTE - in every device they make, from the iPod shuffle to the fully loaded Mac Pro.
I want to be able to exist in the cloud without hindrance.
And if Apple don't do it, I will. There is always room for another player when the paradigm is due for shifting again.
Capiche?
Verizon = 4G. Can't come soon enough.
from the iPod shuffle to the fully loaded Mac Pro.
What would an LTE ipod shuffle look like?
I don't like dongles and no, I don't want to be tied to any specific carrier.
Apple, come up with a better solution inside the machine.
Your request is self defeating. Specific hardware inside will automatically limit the potential carriers because of carrier specific hardware requirements totally outside the control of Apple.
Dongles and/or PC cards give complete carrier flexibility because they can conform to the carrier specific requirements.
Until you can coerce ALL carriers to conform to a single 3G standard that tradeoff is your only option.
Verizon = 4G. Can't come soon enough.
AT&T is moving to the same exact 4G network at the same exact time. I agree, though, it can't come soon enough.
Your request is self defeating. Specific hardware inside will automatically limit the potential carriers because of carrier specific hardware requirements totally outside the control of Apple.
Dongles and/or PC cards give complete carrier flexibility because they can conform to the carrier specific requirements.
Until you can coerce ALL carriers to conform to a single 3G standard that tradeoff is your only option.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218044489891
This HP laptop has both EVDO and HSPA in it, so it is something where there is no tradeoff. While doing this in a phone would probably be too expensive for Apple to care about (yes, Verizon and Sprint have world phones, but those phones are nowhere close to cheap), doing this in a laptop would be more than feasible. If HP can do it for under 800 bucks (subsidized to 599 with AT&T or Sprint activation), Apple should be able to do it for 1200-1400 and have carriers subsidize it when activated.
If they go the internal WWAN route they could always do it like the original Airport cards by making it a small card you install if you want it. This could give buyers the option of having a GSM-based, CDMA-based or no card installed. ...
And given that Apple could put it inside the laptop for as little as 20 bucks, which might be subsidised by AT&T to the tune of several hundred bucks, it seems like a no brainer to me.
Personally, I think this is exactly what all the "cheaper Mac" speculation was about, as well as the "laptops will get minor upgrade at WWDC" stuff the week before.