All phones have 2G/3G/4G, so why don't all laptops? (!!)

tronator

jeallen01 wrote: »

The Title says it all!

Why do you need a dongle or phone-pairing when it should be so easy/cheap to include the hardware to do this?

There are laptops with built-in SIM slot. Just buy one.

jeallen01

tronator wrote: »

There are laptops with built-in SIM slot. Just buy one.

There are a few, a very few, which tend to be from a few specific business-oriented suppliers, and all in the high end of the price brackets (a Grand or more), and I was/am talking about more mainstream machines.

jeallen01

kwikbreaks wrote: »

You sir have clearly never tried to smoke a fag on a motorbike.

Slight cross-purposes I think! Thank goodness I haven't been on a motorbike since I was at school (had a 50cc Mobylette - if you can really stretch a point and call that a motorbike, as, well, it did have a motor!) - and, anyway I would be trying to smoke a small cigar and not a fag

RumRat

jeallen01 wrote: »

There are a few, a very few, which tend to be from a few specific business-oriented suppliers, and all in the high end of the price brackets (a Grand or more), and I was/am talking about more mainstream machines.

The very fact that would indicate that the requirement is not commercially viable.

jeallen01

RumRat wrote: »

The very fact that would indicate that the requirement is not commercially viable.

No, it does not indicate that. What it does indicate is that the suppliers think they can charge an extortionate amount to business users and get away with it because these guys need to have the service.

Think about cars - when disk brakes, air-con or ABS (etc.) initially came out they were only available on high-end vehicles and you paid extra for it anyway. Nowadays, those features appear on almost every vehicle, even at the bottom ends of manufacturers' lines.

Mobile data is now pretty universal on phones - even some very cheap ones - and therefore would cost sweet FA for laptop/tablet manufacturers to include it in their products. Like a lot of things, you don't miss what you never had - until, that is, you HAVE had it, but now you don't.


I have had mobile data using a cheap GiffGaff SIM in a 3G dongle on several of my laptops when I used them at work (because only company devices could connect to the company WLAN), or travelling, but having a dongle sticking out of a USB port when you move around is asking for an expensive accident to happen.


OTOH, my old ASUS tablet (my wife has a similar, but more modern ASUS) and my current Sony Xperia tablet do have SIM slots, and those prove invaluable for maps & the like when we go walkabout in towns and the country, and when we go on holiday to places where the wifi is intermittent to non-existent (&/or I don't trust the security of those "free" systems!). Even some hotels with wifi often have very poor wifi outside the public areas, so getting on-line in bedrooms can be very patchy (unless of course you would want to go out somewhat deshabillee and sit in the bar - which would certainly cause a few "interesting" looks and comments )

RumRat

Well, there are products out there, but you are not prepared to pay the price for them.....So I guess you will have to make do with whatever cheap alternative there is, because, regardless of what you think, the manufacturers obviously don't see any commercial gain in it on lower end machines.

Leo2020

I had several desktop PCs before finally ditching it for a laptop. I don't use my laptop out of the home very often at all. I use it like a desktop, my husband also uses his like a desktop, and my sister, parents, in laws, friends, neighbours...you get the idea.

Most people have a laptop instead of a desktop. They often use them around the home/garden but very rarely take them any further.

When I want to access the internet out of the home I use my smartphone on 4G. I prefer this as it is a lot smaller and lighter - I don't need to lug a laptop with me. They only except for me is I like to take a laptop with me on holiday mainly to look up places to go but sometimes to watch movies (I have young children so don't go out at night). When I want to use the internet on it I turn my phone into a hotspot and connect to it. Or go to the nearest pub with wi-fi.

I just told feel the need to have a sim in my laptop.

Mr_Toad

jeallen01 wrote: »

No, it does not indicate that. What it does indicate is that the suppliers think they can charge an extortionate amount to business users and get away with it because these guys need to have the service.

Think about cars - when disk brakes, air-con or ABS (etc.) initially came out they were only available on high-end vehicles and you paid extra for it anyway. Nowadays, those features appear on almost every vehicle, even at the bottom ends of manufacturers' lines.

Mobile data is now pretty universal on phones - even some very cheap ones - and therefore would cost sweet FA for laptop/tablet manufacturers to include it in their products. Like a lot of things, you don't miss what you never had - until, that is, you HAVE had it, but now you don't.


I have had mobile data using a cheap GiffGaff SIM in a 3G dongle on several of my laptops when I used them at work (because only company devices could connect to the company WLAN), or travelling, but having a dongle sticking out of a USB port when you move around is asking for an expensive accident to happen.


OTOH, my old ASUS tablet (my wife has a similar, but more modern ASUS) and my current Sony Xperia tablet do have SIM slots, and those prove invaluable for maps & the like when we go walkabout in towns and the country, and when we go on holiday to places where the wifi is intermittent to non-existent (&/or I don't trust the security of those "free" systems!). Even some hotels with wifi often have very poor wifi outside the public areas, so getting on-line in bedrooms can be very patchy (unless of course you would want to go out somewhat deshabillee and sit in the bar - which would certainly cause a few "interesting" looks and comments )

You have a very odd view of the business world.

Manufacturers are rarely stupid, especially those in the global tech market. Rumrat is correct, they've done their research and decided that SIM cards in laptops are a niche market at best.

Also one of the main reasons that mobile data and voice charges have dropped in price is that WiFi networks are readily and often freely available. People were were starting to use VoIP and one of the ways the mobile companies responded was to reduce prices.

Laptops are great but many people use their smart phone for those things you listed like maps etc. Or perhaps a tablet, most decent tablets have a SIM option. My Samsung tablet takes a SIM card but I've never needed to put one in there as WiFi is usually available and if I'm out and about my phone does almost everything my laptop is capable of, calls, email, browsing etc.

You might not trust free WiFi but I've been using it for years and with sensible precautions my email remains safe, my money is still in the bank and I'm free of malware and viruses

skivenov

kwikbreaks wrote: »

You sir have clearly never tried to smoke a fag on a motorbike.

That's low-grade stuff. In my younger years I got pulled over for rolling one

RobTang

jeallen01 wrote: »

No, it does not indicate that. What it does indicate is that the suppliers think they can charge an extortionate amount to business users and get away with it because these guys need to have the service.

Think about cars - when disk brakes, air-con or ABS (etc.) initially came out they were only available on high-end vehicles and you paid extra for it anyway. Nowadays, those features appear on almost every vehicle, even at the bottom ends of manufacturers' lines.

Mobile data is now pretty universal on phones - even some very cheap ones - and therefore would cost sweet FA for laptop/tablet manufacturers to include it in their products. Like a lot of things, you don't miss what you never had - until, that is, you HAVE had it, but now you don't.


I have had mobile data using a cheap GiffGaff SIM in a 3G dongle on several of my laptops when I used them at work (because only company devices could connect to the company WLAN), or travelling, but having a dongle sticking out of a USB port when you move around is asking for an expensive accident to happen.


OTOH, my old ASUS tablet (my wife has a similar, but more modern ASUS) and my current Sony Xperia tablet do have SIM slots, and those prove invaluable for maps & the like when we go walkabout in towns and the country, and when we go on holiday to places where the wifi is intermittent to non-existent (&/or I don't trust the security of those "free" systems!). Even some hotels with wifi often have very poor wifi outside the public areas, so getting on-line in bedrooms can be very patchy (unless of course you would want to go out somewhat deshabillee and sit in the bar - which would certainly cause a few "interesting" looks and comments )

A fair few of the convertibles have them but I don't think they are very popular, it costs a fair bit more because they are not manufacturing to the same scale, they have to be put through additional regulatory compliance (which I assume costs more money) and almost certainly some kind of licence needs to be bought from someone. Its about £30-60 really which is too rich for most people.