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ThinkPads to Embed Cingular HSDPA

By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews

January 4, 2006, 3:25 PM

Lenovo announced on Wednesday plans to integrate Cingular's high-speed UMTS/HSDPA service into upcoming ThinkPad laptops. The feature would enable users to access Cingular's BroadbandConnect without purchasing an additional wireless PC card. The service offers speeds of 400-700Kbps without requiring a Wi-Fi hotspot.

The first notebooks with the technology will launch in the second quarter of 2006. "Our new Access Connections 4.1 software works with Cingular BroadbandConnect, enabling users to move seamlessly from one available network connection to the next without downtime or costly help desk calls," said Marc Godin, vice president of notebook marketing for Lenovo.

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By PC_Tool

edited Jan 4, 2006 - 5:05 PM

400-700Kbps? Really? You mean I can get a whopping download speed from this service of 50-88K/sec?

That...sucks.

Now, if you just mistyped, and meant 400-700KBps...

Big B means bytes, little b means bits...8 bits in a byte....get it?

Common mistake, but a pain in the a** when comparison shopping....especially back when DSL used to lie about it.

Probably just easier to say 8-10 Mbps. Which is the speed of this service listed on http://www.umtsworld.com. (still just megabits, not megabytes, but easier to decipher nowadays.)

I'm not being too pedantic, am I?

Score: 0

By Alexq

posted Jan 5, 2006 - 5:59 AM

No one mistyped anything. It is a wireless service available anywhere for stationary or moving client. 400-700Kbps is pretty good.

Score: 0

By Kramy

edited Jan 4, 2006 - 5:29 PM

Probably 512kbit average, *anywhere*.

Still not that bad. I mean sure, faster is always better for downloads, but for site viewing, IM, email, etc...

If we keep offering faster speeds, people will keep getting more sloppy with how they design sites. We'll probably hit megabyte sized sites soon(there's already a couple) and then the dialup users all over the world will be screwed.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Jan 4, 2006 - 6:47 PM

Doubtful. The UMTS site claims 8-10 Mbit, is faster than most cable connections nowadays.

60KB/sec would be a horrible average for those speeds.

Score: 0

By OafyC

posted Jan 5, 2006 - 3:42 AM

This implementation of HSDPA will in fact be 400-700 KiloBITS per second. The 8-10 Mbit is most likely a theoretical number. Samsung just unveiled the world's fastest HSDPA phone at CES which was 3.6 Mbit. I have heard of people getting over 1 Mbit with Cingular's HSDPA but that is only because there aren't many people using the network yet. 400-700 is a safe bet.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jan 5, 2006 - 8:49 AM

Ouch.

That sucks.

Score: 0

By rijp

posted Jan 5, 2006 - 1:20 PM

The bandwidth is limited by the technology. It was never designed to handle these speeds, so they are playing catchup. Verizon is working on similar technology, and it will be 2Mbps ultizing their 3G.

Score: 0

By fipple

edited Jan 5, 2006 - 2:59 AM

BroadbandConnect was launched in December and provides data download speeds of between 400 kilobits per second and 700kbps.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

edited Jan 5, 2006 - 11:01 AM

By the time Cingular's high-speed UMTS/HSDPA became self-aware it had spread into millions of computer servers across the planet. Ordinary computers in office buildings, dorm rooms; everywhere. It was software; in cyberspace. There was no system core; it could not be shutdown. The attack began at 6:18 PM, just as he said it would. Judgment Day, the day the human race was almost destroyed by the software they'd built to IM with their d00dz.

(was that too over-the-top?)

Score: 0

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