Sony Ericsson Makes a tri-band GPRS modem

prostoalex writes "Sony Ericsson announced their new PCMCIA GPRS wireless modem, capable of delivering 57.6 Kbps. It is tri-band and works in 900/1800/1900 MHz range, which led Sony Ericsson to imply that the card will work in 160 countries, providing an always-on Internet connection. Currently only Microsoft operating systems (starting at Windows 98) are supported. No exact price information on official site, but the PC Pro article above quotes 200 UK pounds. The manufacturer also runs a contest for those who would rather get one for free."

so when

[Multiple Sanchez]

will they manufacture a wireless modem that is "always on" in 160 countries, but bumps it up to high speeds when I stroll through a Ricochet zone or a community 802.11b hot spot? Never? The Jetsons promised me way much more than this. Come on -- chop, chop -- make it happen.

Barrier in Europe: Cost

[Denito]

Thoughts from a GPRS user:

I have a Handspring Treo phone here in Denmark, and it works great with GPRS. However, the cost (around 20c US / Mb) adds up quickly..

Coverage is fine and it is very usefull. But untill providers give unlimited use plans, this is very cost-prohibitive.

bandwidth

[asv108]

With At&T, I pay $5 for every 2 megs of bandwidth used. If I buy this card, it would cost me $15 just to download all the porn spam I get every morning. Unless the bandwidth costs get reasonable, I won't buy it. What happens if I accidently click on a goatse link? Can I send someone an invoice?

Re:so when

[MooseGuy529]

That is a good idea but consider this:

Which does a service provider make more money on?

1. A phone that can use other networks like 802.11b, Bluetooth, etc... which won't earn them money, or...
2. A phone that *always* uses their network and as such will *always* earn them money for your traffic.

Personally, I agree with your point but I know myself that #2 will probably happen. I would love a PDA, especially, that can roam between Wired Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11b, GPRS, CDPD, etc... to get the best connection. But it's just not in the best interest of the service providers. Oh well.

Wonder if it's really Windows-only

[Des Herriott]

If it's like other PCMCIA GPRS cards I've encountered, it might work under Linux/BSD/etc. - simply appearing as a serial device to which you send AT commands (and thus available to run pppd on).

The Windows-only sticker may just refer to some cutesy control centre applet which will (obviously) only run on Windows. Every modem needs its own control centre on Windows these days, it seems.

Anonymous Surfing?

[SealBeater]

This is interesting. According to the article, you can swap out the SIM card on the modem. Two immediate options occured to me. One, cell phone theft is a problem in Europe. This can lead to people swiping a cell phone, grabbing the SIM card and doing whatever needs to be done anonymously via the Internet. I'm sure everyone can use their imagination. Second, and perhaps more interesting, there are various services that will purchase or provide SIM cards that are (more or less) anonymous, so you can make phone calls that are not traceable to you. These pre-paid SIM cards are rechargable. This could be a help if you had one in a climate where you needed to make sure something you posted on the web, for example, would be far more difficult to trace. Very exciting. Brave new world.

SealBeater

Not so new...

[sheriff_p]

Turns out with my T68, Bluetooth dongle, and iBook, I already have a tri-band GRPS phone that works with a stable operating system...

It won't fly in europe.

[alecbrown]

They keep coming out with this cool technology but price it out of reach. My T39 Ericsson mobile phone has been able to connect via GPRS and my laptop's IrDA port for a year now, never done it though because my network providers (O2) costs is extortionate in my opinion, I stick to GSM dialup at 9600 bps to download my email when I am on the move. These mobile telcos shoot themselves in the foot.

Three years ago they were pushing WAP hard but then made it expensive to use, so no-one used it in Europe and all the techie press (including slashdot) said it was a dead and cr@p because of the small form factor, where are the WAP sites now? Slashdot's WAP site seems to have gone (eh Taco?). In South Korea they made WAP and GPRS affordable, and everyone used it, there are lots of sites and both technologies are considered a success.

The really strange technology success (for the telcos) is txting, they thought no-one would be interested so they bundled it as a cheap feature, and everyone used it. If they make GPRS cheap and put useful things on WAP (such as TV guides) then everyone will use it.

£rd generation mobile technologies will also fail unless these telcos learn this painful lesson.

Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost

[Cyn]

1USD/5MB sounds like an amazing rate. Everywhere I've heard is the opposite, you end up paying about
5USD/1MB.

You sure you didn't mean KB or something? then it would be much worse and I'd understand you - but personally I'd be happy to pay $1/5MB (given my options now, though naturally I'd be happier with unlimited).

I can't wait until this tech is invisible.

[sstory]

When this tech is invisible, I'll be able to buy a laptop, and it will just be online. No worrying about cards or areas, it'll just be omnipresent connectivity.

Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost

[TheSync]

In the US, Sprint PCS Vision offers unlimited CDMA 1xRTT data even in their $30/month plan - BUT they only guaranteee unlimited free data only for three months. You can buy on a month-by-month basis for $10 more per month to avoid getting locked in for a year. It seems kind of silly to me for them to only have unlimited for three months.

T-Mobile is selling the Danger Sidekick with unlimited GPRS data for $39.99 with 200 anytime minutes and 1000 weekend minutes. But they only guarantee unlimited data for one year.

Verizon Wireless "Unlimited Express Networks" gives you unlimited CDMA 1xRTT data for $100/month, no hedges.