MOST new laptops have wireless networking built in, allowing mobile workers to access the internet at wi-fi hotspots in cafйs, hotels, restaurants and airports, writes Matthew Wall. The problem is that only 17% of British business travellers log on this way, according to research from the technology analyst Gartner. This is largely because there are still few convenient hotspots.

So how do you log on to the internet when you are outside wi-fi range? Enter the 3G data card. You load some software and then simply slot the card into the side of your laptop and link up with the reasonably fast 3G mobile-phone network. This provides data download speeds of up to 384 kilobits per second — enough for most e-mail and web-browsing needs.

Now that the 3G network covers 65% to 70% of the country, data cards make sense. Vodafone made the mistake of launching its card before 3G was sufficiently widespread. Users often had to fall back on the slow GPRS network the card switches to when 3G isn’t available. This may be fast enough for mobile phones but is inadequate for data-hungry web-surfing laptops.

For example, a 10-page Powerpoint presentation of 400kb will download in about 20 seconds at 3G’s top speed, but it takes at least 90 seconds on GPRS.

Data cards also make sense now because there is welcome competition, with Orange, O2, and T-mobile offering their own versions. Most of the operators have adopted tiered pricing, based on how much data you use each month. The more you agree to pay per month, the cheaper the card.

One advantage of a laptop equipped with a data card is that you can send text messages to mobile phones far more easily, thanks to the full-size keyboard. Paying for data usage rather than time online should also encourage people to craft pithier e-mails — and that has to be a good thing in any business environment.

Article source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2095-1773964,00.html

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