Cell phone built into Powerbooks(true wireless)

[SpinCycle]

Originally posted by fryke
I'm actively using GPRS connections with my T68i and TiBook, and I WISH my TiBook had Bluetooth built in, because the stick sticks out and I have to disconnect it when bagging the 'book.

It's time I buy that 12" PowerBook, I guess.

Originally posted by dave17lax
Fryke, then you'll have to disconnect the airport card every time you bag it. Airport is seperate on the 12inch.

dave

He is not talking about airport, 802.11b/g, he is talking about Bluetooth, the short range wireless communication method.

With the new 12" PowerBook, the bluetooth is build in, instead of having a dongle hanging off the back of his TiBook.

As for Airport, what you were thinking of, although Airport is sold separately, it still is installed inside of the PowerBook, hence you wont see it, and not have to worry about it catching on anything either.

BOY AM I LATE!!

 

[chevy]

Originally posted by ScottW
That would be a huge mistake.

The reason is that all many carriers use completely different systems. You'd have to subscribe to the "service" that Apple endorsed. If your a Sprint PCS CDMA user, you could be stuck with TDMA or GSM technologies, making your choice of carrier, mute.

Sprint and other companies have PCMCIA phones which work just fine and well supported by the PCMCIA slot in the Powerbook.

Scott

I don't see any problem here... roaming is made for that. I have a Swiss provider, 3 bands cell phone, and it operates nicely in all European countries and most US states. The only places where I had problems were Japan and Pittsburgh.

 

[moav]

Pittsburgh = ) My Eriksson one world phone went all over the world with me and 90% of the countries i visited in the major cities had no problems with service... and actually for some strange reason worked best in Europe. If they can make a phone that small that includes a keyboard, screen, antenna, battery and all I think they can easily fit a cellular chip or cellular software emulation into our powerbooks. With a bluetooth enabled headset to talk all signals would go through the powerbook and if I wanted to see the individual I was talking to or use a white board to get my point across i could with out having to hook my stupid phone into the computer. Truthfully, I don't even want to talk to anyone if I do, I'll just use voice of IP or iChat. I want a true wireless laptop for once.

 

[pyroboy]

If the antenna was tuned to the correct network for PCS or Cellular, then you would have a great idea. But I do not believe the Airport anntenna is properly tuned for 900 MHz or PCS. I could be wrong.

As far as competing networks go, someone could design a PC card that plugs into the PowerBook that is engineered for AT&T, Sprint, or any other major carrier. You could even program it for GSM.

However, the end result is that you have a 5-10 lb cell phone instead of a cute pocket sized one.

Personally, I am very annoyed with the crappy state of data throughput on cell phones. They are stuck at 9.6 KB, while most of the rest of the dial-up world is up to 33.6 or 56 KB. I would dearly love to be able to plug in my cell modem and check e-mail, update Web sites or check movie times.

I really do not think that is going to happen for a very long time. If for no other reason, corporate greed. The cell companies charge for sending and sometimes recieving text messages. They use less resources than calling on the phone, but they get charged a higher rate in almost every plan. The cost of surfing the Web from a cell phone is ridiculous. It seems companies see this connectivity as a way to jack the customers for more cash, not to expand their services for the same flat fees. This slows down adoption to people who can afford a $100.00 a month fee for surfing the Web on their Nokia.