Sony Ericsson Makes a tri-band GPRS modem 143
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."
Portability! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Portability! (Score:1)
Yes, if only someone would invent a portable computer!
Fucking hell, 'Funny' moderation hits new low.
so when (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:so when (Score:5, Interesting)
That is a good idea but consider this:
Which does a service provider make more money on?
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.
Re:so when (Score:1, Insightful)
Option 1 will happen in the future, it's just takes a while before 802.11b implementation is small and cheap enough for mobile phones.
Re:so when (Score:2)
Are you sure? I have a C35 (siemens) which the first selection on menu is "Internet", in fact WAP. Do you think its because of a chance?
Re:so when (Score:1)
Mobile phone manufacturers make phones for the customer, but if a phone company knows a phone has features on it that they could run over the network (i.e. net access, if it can be done w/o the cell ntwk then they lose money), then they won't get as much money and they will sell another phone. Many phone service companies only sell a few (cingular has 5-6 in the store I went to) models of phones that cover a nice range of manufacturers (an Ericsson, a couple Motorolas, and a few Nokias [I have a Motorola 120t]) and make a good scale of low- to high-end. But like I said, if it lets people use the net w/o their network, it will be a while before they can afford to lose the business. The people who have the money/geekiness to use the wireless web enough to make them money are also the people who would spend money on a phone like this--so it takes away their best customers!
Re:so when (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this relevant, Sony/Ericsson is a mobile phone manufacturer. They don't provide the network access. All theyr'e interested in is makeing a modem that you'll rather but than whatever Nokia is shipping. Putting this kind of functionality into the modem will definetely make that happen.
Also, I know for a fact that Ericsson have done a lot of reseash into mobile phones that automatically use normal digital DECT wireless phone networks available in many workplaces, when available. So no conspiracy with the service providers here.
Re:so when (Score:4, Insightful)
for the DECT+GSM, they were one of the few (with SAGEM) to make a dual standard phone. Unfortunately, both discontinued their product some years ago.
in fact, DECT could be far worse for mobile phone operators than 802.11. It's quite easy to make an ad-hoc network of dect phones
DECT+GSM a threat to mobile phone vendors (Score:1)
DECT is great for voice: nodes can be configured in ad-hoc networks easily (in under 2-3 seconds), voice quality is superb (better than GSM or 802.11b streaming), it scales well, and has the largest installed base of digital cordless voice phones (not in the US though).
There was some talk about a GSM cordless technology called CTS -- supposed to be a "DECT-killer" -- but no one seems to be using it.
Re:seamless interoperation (Score:1)
Yes, exactly. They need to be able to charge money for WiFi/802.11b/whatever access. Now that I think about it, a group of providers could create a nice pile of hotspots in metropolitan areas, and we can have Richchet-style 802.11b access. This would be awesome, and probably dirt cheap for the providers! My reply [slashdot.org] to a reply [slashdot.org] to the parent [slashdot.org] of the parent [slashdot.org] (=D no need to click [Parent] anymore! =D) explains how manufacturers won't sell phones that lose them money, and doing it this way would be good--but manufacturers might be iffy at creating phones that can limit which 802.11b networks a phone can use.
Now I'm feeling pretty pathetic with my TDMA cingular phone =( Oh well, I'm only 13, I'll live... ;D
Re:so when (Score:3, Informative)
Re:so when (Score:2)
The source code required for this is slightly larger than the margins in the comment box allow for. The actual coding is left to the reader as a trivial programming exercise. </sarcasm>
It has happend if you buy Nokia (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,4879,1449,00.h
It is a wireless PCMCIA conectivity card, which supports both GPRS and 802.11b
There are even linux drivers avalabe to to download. (I don't know if they work)
It has been out for a couple of months.
The main downside is that it only supports dual band opperation, so I guess american readers are out of luck.
The other downside is that switching between GPRS and 802.11 is not automatic, though you could probably put together a script to make it so.
I dare say it is rather expensive as well.
Re:It has happend if you buy Nokia (Score:2)
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,5184,2022,00.html
It works on american GPRS frequences, but is otherwise very similar.
Option (GlobeTrotter Universal TriBand) (Score:1)
Option International has been a leading company in bringing modems to PDA's and Laptops for years. They sold the first GSM Modem for the PalmOS as long ago as in 1996.
Re:It has happend if you buy Nokia (Score:1)
Not a big deal.. (Score:2)
some do! (Score:1)
Well... (Score:1)
Re:Well... (Score:3, Informative)
It's not a phone, that wouldn't be news, I've got a tri-band GPRS phone in my pack. Plug it in via firewire... anyway this isn't a phone, it doesn't do voice, data only, it's a PMCIA card dedicated GPRS modem. And you're right, it's expensive, mind you the nice thing with GPRS is that you don't pay for time connected, just bits transferred, so if you filter your mail on the server and browse with lynx you could keep constantly up to date relatively cheaply. GPRS service in Europe runs around 20 cents a megabyte IIRC, depending on where you are of course... anyone know about the US? it would definately get expensive fast if you don't take steps to keep your bandwidth usage limited.
Re:FLAT RATE! (Score:1)
Wow, that would rock. Vodafon is one of the biggies here too, I'm on Comviq instead at the moment but I should check if they offer that here, I'll switch it a heartbeat for reasonable unlimited GPRS... 3200 forint is 122 kronor... damn that would rock. Thanks for the tip.
Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:2, Interesting)
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).
Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:2, Informative)
Indeed, I cited the wrong rate above, as I lost a zero on my Kroner -> Dollar conversion..
it is about 3 USD per Mb. That's why it's cost prohibitive.
Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:1, Informative)
I have the Sprint PCS Connection Card, a.k.a. the Merlin C201 from Novatell Wireless:
http://www.novatelwireless.com/pcproducts/index
I was very skeptical when I bought it, but after 14 days of testing in various locations I decided to keep it. It works well even in places where I have only one bar of signal strength.
Testing using the test for mobile devices at bandwidthplace.com I regularly see connection speeds in excess of the "peak" advertised, and my average speed is definetly higher than the average the 50-70Kbps they advertise -- more like double that.
Re:Barrier in Europe: Cost (Score:1)
Who wouldn't (Score:5, Funny)
Who wouldn't rather get one for free?
Great Innovation (Score:1)
Who needs a computer to find food? (Score:2)
Finding food while travelling is one of the most basic instincts - even the most primitive hunters and gatherers managed it. I've been on many trips and vacations and never found it necessary to do much more than "follow my nose" to find something decent to eat. Most "travel guides" seem to steer you to over-priced tourist traps, so I would need some other motivation to take another expensive gizmo along on a vacation.
In most of the world there is no such thing as a doggie bag. -- Prof. Kelly Brownell
Re:Who needs a computer to find food? (Score:1)
Price Listed on site. (Score:3, Informative)
The prize consists of one Sony Ericsson GPRS PC Card Modem, GC75, which has a recommended retail price of EUR 399.
Re:Price Listed on site. (Score:2)
e.g. the Nokia 7650 with built in camera and mms, of course gprs is=$250!
bandwidth (Score:4, Interesting)
If you really need it (Score:2)
Youch, that's a lot more expensive than it is here (Sweden) IIRC. That said, if you really need the portable connection, there are ways to minimise the bandwidth needed. Filter your mail on the server, use an IMAP client (mail.app on mac, mutt on *nix, pmail on windows all work alright for this) and set it to only download headers automatically, wait till you request the message to get the body, wait till you request attachments to get them... and browse with lynx. Or at least turn off image loading. Do all that and you'll cut your bandwidth usage tremendously.
Re:If you really need it (Score:2)
Sprint, for example, offers reasonably priced (well, sort of) unlimited plans (as does Verizion). AT&T just has high prices.
BTW: Both Verizion and Sprint use CDMA; not GSM; however, CDMA is actually a tad bit faster than GPRS.
Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:5, Insightful)
The way things should be:
- Most notebooks come with bluetooth.
- you have a Bluetooth enabled GPRS phone.
Done.. there is your internet connection.
Intead, for us stuck here in North America. We get CDMA, and no bluetooth to speak of (except as an option on some high end notebooks). Sure we can buy an adapter for the notebook. But no phones.
Use Infrared (Score:1)
Turn the phone on infrared, and the thinkpad registers the "modem" T68i.
Voila, and no strings attached:)
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:2)
I admit that BT can give faster speeds, and doesn't require line of sight, but for simple "check your email from laptop" it's so easy and works just fine. I use my mobile from my laptop, Palm and sometimes PC (when my landline dies, which it does sometimes).
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:1)
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:2)
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth? BUT WE ARE. (Score:1)
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:1)
While in the land of cheap hardware (the US) I picked up a rather nice little USB Bluetooth adapter by those lovely Belkin chaps.
Slipping this into the USB port (yes THE USB port) of my Sony Vaio C1VE (now you see why I said THE USB port
From there I can then use my GPRS to connect to the web.
According to ZDNET's Bandwidth Testing script (UK site only I think) I was getting a better connection via BT/GPRS than I normally get coppered into the PSTN network - go figure.
Actually just re-read the article I am replying to and this is exactly what The Evil Twin was saying to do - so instead of being a "nah nah ne nah nah look what I can do" post its now a "Yeah man - I agree and its all cool"
I do know however that the T68i IS available in the US - I saw it in more than a few of your reasonably prices electronics outlets - Circuit City for example (where it came in a really funky dark blue colour as opposed to the silver/grey of the UK) mind you I was in to buy DVD's - £13 for Blade 2 when it hadn't even been released when I got home and was pre-ordering at its normal UK retail of £19.99 - long live DVD region disabling.
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:2)
Uhhhh, no. That is, I'm afriad, a bit of a fallacy. Yes, we have bluetooth phones here (and the odd headset - which costs a fortune and makes you look an idiot, hence low take up) but if you think we're all using these devices then I'm afriad you're wrong.
At the moment there are two Nokia phones (7650 and 6310i), one SonyEricsson and probably two others of other makes. This isn't much.
I actually have a theory that Bluetooh won't really start to take off in the UK until Nokia starts supporting it on every single phone.
At the moment they're only putting it into high end mobile phones. Out of the 9 phones they've announced 3 have bluetooth. Whilst this might not sound that bad, one of those is a 3G phone, one of those is a communicator and the other is their top of the range model.
Granted I don't expect the new budget 2110 [nokia.com] to have it, but considering the chips are cheap, available and low power - it would make more sense to stick them into all phones.
After all, text messaging didn't become popular by being put on only the most expensive phones. Yes, there was interoperability issues too, but if you want people to use new technology, you can't price it out of the range of the masses.
Re:Why arn't we using Bluetooth (Score:2)
You're not trying hard enough. I have T-Mobile in Boston. I have a Nokia 6310i phone. I have a 3800 series iPaq. I regularly read Slashdot from my iPaq while on the tram home from work.
I actually really like the idea of this PCMCIA card, as my thinkpad doesn't have bluetooth, and the Belkin USB-Bluetooth adapter I bought for it absolutely breaks Win2k. (or maybe I just need a new Thinkpad... hmm...)
I think the Nokia D211 is much cooler (Score:3, Informative)
(http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,1522,,00.html
Wonder if it's really Windows-only (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Wonder if it's really Windows-only (Score:2, Informative)
Check out this link [geocrawler.com] (and the followups to it)
Re:Wonder if it's really Windows-only (Score:2)
Probably not.
Moshe Bar (Of open Mosix fame) recetly wrote a byte column [byte.com] on how he got his GPRS phone talking to his laptop while on his honeymoon in the Italian alps.
What his new wife thought about it was not recorded.
I hope this helps.
Re:Wonder if it's really Windows-only (Score:2)
Anonymous Surfing? (Score:5, Interesting)
SealBeater
Re:Anonymous Surfing? (Score:4, Insightful)
provider/phonenumber locking per phone is medieval, something you hear horrorstories from nmt days.
and gprs doesnt do anything 'new' to this, not in this modem or anything. you could always use the 'data' mode of the gsm phone to post things with these. for hmm, 9 years already?
and as somebody mentioned, very few of these precharged providers provide gprs, but that is non issue anyways as long they provide some way to make data calls.
they could use the wap/gprs-modem portions of the phone itself even if the sim card was epoxied in every phone.
Ummm... (Score:4, Informative)
The Nokia 7xxx and 8xxx, plus the Ericsson R520, T28 and T68. By using either IR or Bluetooth, you can attach these phones to a laptop, and can then use an anonymous Internet account (like Freeserve in the UK.)
Indeed, I have been using this method (except for the Freeserve bit) for about four years now to access the web when I am travelling. It's not quick, but it's super useful.
Contrary to this posters' opinion, most criminals won't use stolen cell phones for Internet access. It's slow and clunky, and there are still ways to find who posted the hypothetical email message...
(1) Trace email message to ISP.
(2) Dredge ISP log to find phone number and time, duration of call.
(3) Contact cell phone company that carried the call, discover IMEI number of the cell-phone.
Now if anyone uses that cell phone again... you will know. You can track which cell they are in, etc. Complicated, but theoretically possible to catch the person you want.
Thx,
Robert
Re:Ummm... NO (Score:1)
Re:Anonymous Surfing? (Score:1)
When people steal phones, they try and re-flash it to change the IMEI, but this is getting more difficult, and probably very difficult on a PCMCIA based dealy.
Plus, they know where you were when you made the call
Re:Anonymous Surfing? (Score:1)
Re:Anonymous Surfing? (Score:1)
cell phone theft is a problem in Europe
In the UK, there are a few main providers, who have a communal database of stolen phones' IMEI numbers (Individual serial numbers). They can be automatically banned.
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.
Or you could put it on a floppy and post it from a cybercafe. Unless it was more than a 1.44Mb, in which case it would cost a bloody fortune with the amount most providers charge for data services.
Just my $0.02,
Michael
Nokia Cardphone (Score:5, Informative)
Not so new... (Score:4, Interesting)
So What? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:So What? (Score:1)
It won't fly in europe. (Score:5, Interesting)
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:It won't fly in europe. (Score:1)
The 2.5G technology available in Korea is CDMA 1X RTT, and one carrier has deployed a 1X EV-DO network, which can be legitimately called 3G. There is no GSM in Korea; hence there is no GPRS.
The killer data application for cellular carriers in Korea is the same as it is in Europe - SMS. The audience is the same, too - those under 30.
Always on? (Score:1)
I would tend to not worry about the actual cost of the card but rather the cost of having an "always on" wireless connection. Is there some kind of pricing plan out there for the actual service? I know if I spoke on my cell phone 24/7 it might cost a little bit of money. I don't see how this is any different.
Re:Always on? (Score:4, Informative)
In praise of smarter markets (Score:3, Insightful)
The reasonable thing to do is refuse to purchase these products until a reasonable selection of drivers is available for them.
Also, try not to by new boxes incorporating inflexible hardware.
Smarter markets are the key to a better future.
Sneaky! (Score:1)
Re:Sneaky! (Score:1)
Already Been Done (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.shoppingpda.com/product/rtm8000/rtm8
GSM/GPRS, Tri-band, data, earphone jack for voice calls, supports PDAs & Windows - oh, and it's only $283 USD. Cheaper too.
Wow - thats a deal! (Score:1)
I can't wait until this tech is invisible. (Score:3, Interesting)
cdma 1x cards already available (Score:2, Informative)
Re:cdma 1x cards already available (Score:2)
the point is that it's triband, and even though it's not the first one.
Motorola P280 (Score:3, Informative)
It also handles GPRS modem, which does require special "iStream" software ( dunno what voicestream calls it now that they rebanded to t-mobile) and only runs on Windows.
It has all the same features of the above mentioned modem, but it also is a phone.
I paid about $300 for it in January, so it's probably more affordable now.
They have an i280 now also that is same phone PLUS bluetooth.
I love the Motorola bluetooth car kit....
Re:Motorola P280 (Score:2)
Re:Motorola P280 (Score:2)
Re:Motorola P280 (Score:1)
Re:Motorola P280 (Score:1)
Questions.. (Score:1)
- Most laptops come with only 2 pcmcia card slots, and frequently you can only get one card in at one time. No big deal, just a little bit of hassle factor if I have a pcmcia hardrive/usb 2.0 adaptor etc in there already.
- If I already have a GPRS/GSM account with a provider, I don't want to have to transfer the sim card from my phone into the card every time I want to use it, since then I won't be able to receive or return calls!
Range (Score:2)
Great idea (Score:1)
Yaawwhhnnn.. My T68 does it already. (Score:1)
I use ICQ, web, email, connecting to it thru a bluetooth memory stick and a sony clié. I also have a bluetooth dongle on the PC. Folks, it's really nice to access the Net using the GPRS modem. It's not for everyday use, but if my ISDN link goes down, now I have a backup.
For now speed is below 56K, but it will increase (we hope so).
Cost? For free until Jan 1st. After that, people are talking about R$0,40/MB. Since the Dollar is around R$3,70, it will be really cheap.
this is not news. (Score:1)
Nokia 6310i (Score:2)
6310i is tri-band, has GPRS, Bluetooth, and all the standard phone stuff. And works perfecly with Linux. I'm quite happy with it, except when I have to reboot it occasionally to get the GPRS working.
With Bluetooth, any Bluetooth-cabable system can use the cell phone as a GPRS modem right from your pocket. For example, I have a Sony TRV-50 video camera that has Bluetooth, web browser, and e-mail client. Theoretically, I could use my cell phone as a modem for the camera. Ok, not in practice, I haven't gotten it to work yet.
Don't use this with Cingular (Score:1)
Go over your allotted data and you're looking at $0.03/KB. If you are able to get that 57.6 Kbps out of this modem, that's about 7KB/s, or $0.21/s.
Want to download a 5MB MP3? $153.6 please.
I don't understand how they expect people to use this service, given the alternatives. [slashdot.org]
Re:But why.. (Score:1)
Re:But why.. (Score:2, Insightful)
This is seriosly cool stuff. I wish (WISH!) that GPRS (or even good GSM coverage) was available in the USA at large. I'm still stuck with my TDMA phone until they get better coverage.
Re:One more thing... (Score:2)
What si the security like with this thing, it works in the 900Mhz range, I know alot of 900Mhz phones that are easily tapped with cheap equiptment. I hope Sony has thought this through.
Personally, I hope they haven't. Maybe that's bad, but it's true.
SealBeater
Re:One more thing... (Score:4, Informative)
Also note, when they are talking about triband, they mean 900/1800/1900 MHz, GSM only.
Re:One more thing... (Score:2)
Also note, when they are talking about triband, they mean 900/1800/1900 MHz, GSM only.****
i'd mod you up, gsm, not nmt/whatever.
Re:One more thing... (Score:2)
GSM has encryription, a REAL high level of encyription.
Re:One more thing... (Score:1)
Can anybody out there confirm or deny this?
Re:One more thing... (Score:1, Informative)
While it is true that GSM encryption is not especially strong, the paraniod can, of course, run SSL to encrypt at the IP packet level. You'd also have to say that GPRS encryption and encryption procedures are some way beyond, say, 802.11 - and the encryption is more than adequate to deter all but the most determined.
Re:One more thing... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Missing country option, again?!?! (Score:3, Funny)
Missing options:
I'm from Ecuador, you insensitive clod!
CowboyNealia
No. Actually GPRS+roaming is cool and FREE... (Score:1)
YES! Your are right, free "broaddband" when you travel!
Re:No. Actually GPRS+roaming is cool and FREE... (Score:1)
Even if it's nice to know that your GPRS modem works in 160 countries, it's not half as fun carrying those 160 SIMs with you when you travel
Re:No. Actually GPRS+roaming is cool and FREE... (Score:1)
Mmmmm. loopholes.
(Don't chastise me for not reading one2free's site yet. I just thought of this...)
Re:only works with Windows? who cares? (Score:1)
Do you have a link to that deal?