Heavyweights back mobile broadband sticker
New label shows laptops can connect anywhere
A host of IT and networking companies have decided the world needs more stickers, and has brought one that allows consumers to tell if a laptop has mobile broadband in or not.
The GSM Association (GSMA) wants to help consumers understand the difference between Wi-Fi enabled laptops, compared to those 'always-on' HSDPA connected devices.
Apparently, the likes of 3, Asus, Dell, Telefonica Europe, Telecom Italia, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba and Vodafone are spending over half a million pounds on this campaign, so consumers better listen.
Far better than putting that cash into making the mobile-broadband enabled laptops cheaper, eh?
Freedom... I won't let you down, I will not give you up
"Mobile Broadband is like a home or office broadband connection with one crucial difference: freedom. Freedom from hot spots, freedom from complexity and freedom from security concerns," said Michael O'Hara, CMO of the GSMA.
"17 of the world's largest technology companies have committed to change the way people get online forever.
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"This commitment is manifested in a service mark that we expect to see on several hundred thousand notebooks in the shops by the holiday season.
"The Mobile Broadband badge will assure consumers that the devices they buy will always connect -- wherever Mobile Broadband is available -- and that they can expect a high standard of simplicity and mobility."
Or they could just look at the specs of a laptop they're about to spend several hundred pounds on... no, they're right, a sticker works much better.
Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.