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

S0litaire

Its very simple why their are few Mobile devices built into Laptops.

Money!

A laptop (Classes as an electronic device) has to conform to a set number of guidelines for power and emission (electronic interference) for it to be legally sold in the UK/EU.

But once you stick in a Mobile Sim module the "Electronic device" now becomes classed as a "Mobile telecommunication device" which requires a whole other set of guidelines to adhere to.

The testing and compliance costs alone can stretch in to the 10's of thousands per model version so the extra costs have to be passed on to the consumer.

The consumer then would tend to go for the cheaper one without the Mobile data and use Free Wi-fi or their mobile.

So in most cases it's not worth the hassle except for a few specific "business" class devices which they can charge more for.

spud17

esuhl wrote: »

Assuming you're talking about mobile phones, why have you still got an analogue phone?! Are there any countries where you can still use it?

Sorry, I could have worded it better.
My phone is 2g capable, but it has never been set up or used in any way other than calls and texts.
I'm not even sure how to connect it to the internet. :cool:

pineapple

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?

The title is BS. All phones don't have 2G etc.

prowla

pineapple wrote: »

The title is BS. All phones don't have 2G etc.

In what way is it BS?

I think the context is clear that it's mobile phones we're talking about, and don't they run over one (ore more) of the 2/3/4Gs?

buglawton

We all know about the 3g/4g dongles you can plug into a laptop. Big minus with them is the way they stick out a mile and therefore are delicate. Every time you put your laptop away, have to remove the stick.

So what's the most compact, neat USB 3g/4g data stick available? I noticed that very compact USB SD sticks have been around a long while now, you can just leave them attached at all times.

jeallen01

buglawton wrote: »

We all know about the 3g/4g dongles you can plug into a laptop. Big minus with them is the way they stick out a mile and therefore are delicate. Every time you put your laptop away, have to remove the stick.

So what's the most compact, neat USB 3g/4g data stick available? I noticed that very compact USB SD sticks have been around a long while now, you can just leave them attached at all times.

I think the main problem with those dongles is that the mobile phone frequencies are a lot lower than those used for 2.4/5GHz WiFi connections, and therefore the integrated transmit/receive antennas need to be a lot bigger (remember the old phones with antennas sticking out the tops?) - and that means that the mobile phone dongles have to be a lot bigger than Wifi dongles.


(this thread has a life of it's own - some points with which I now agree, and some with which I still don't!)

[Deleted User]

buglawton wrote: »

We all know about the 3g/4g dongles you can plug into a laptop. Big minus with them is the way they stick out a mile and therefore are delicate. Every time you put your laptop away, have to remove the stick.

Or, you could use a MiFi unit instead.