Netbooks might be diminutive in size, but are big in buzz these days. So big, in fact, that Ericsson has decided to engineer an embedded 3G connectivity module specific to the device category, geared at optimizing the user experience and encouraging carriers and handset-makers to embrace the small Web-focused mini-laptops.
The HSPA module is meant to be embedded into the connected devices, eliminating the need for dongles. Other 3G-embedded netbooks contain modules made for smartphones or for laptops, but Ericsson’s is specifically optimized for the sub-notebook species.
“This is a very important milestone for us,” Mats Norin, vice president and head of Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules, told xchange. “We are a company with a mission of an all-connected world, all devices anywhere we are. And key to making that vision reality is to provide a superior user experience on devices like netbooks.”
The netbook-specififc module has been engineered to conserve battery power and for component affordability for device manufacturers, and is pre-certified in 75 countries with major operators’ networks. Ericsson also worked closely with Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp. to ensure seamless interaction with Intel’s next-gen netbook platform, Pine Trail-M, and with the upcoming Windows 7.
“All of these efforts lower the barriers for everyone involved – a faster time to market for manufacturers and operators, and a better experience for users,” Norin noted. “We are clearly closer to the vision of mobile broadband everywhere than we were two years ago – this is a very important step as is our efforts to build a strong netbook ecosystem.”
That ecosystem will of course include operators. Ericsson estimates that more than 300 million netbooks will be sold between 2009 and 2014 with a majority having mobile broadband capabilities. Many operators, including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless are already offering mobile broadband-bundled notebooks and by 2011, more than 30 percent of netbooks will be sold through operator channels, Norin said.
“It’s a combination of an attractive price point, the ease of use and embedded broadband in netbooks that we believe is creating an exploding opportunity,” he said
The Ericsson F3307 embedded mobile broadband module will be available to device manufacturers in August. Norin declined to say if any of them have committed to building a netbook around the module, but noted that Ericsson has relationships with Dell, Lenovo, LG, Toshiba and of course Sony-Ericsson.
