Acer adds embedded 3G wireless capability to its notebook range

TravelMate and Aspire notebooks get 3G connectivity

19 January 2006 10:06 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Acer has announced that it will be adding integrated 3G wireless network capability to its TravelMate and Aspire notebooks.

The TravelMate 4260 and Aspire 5650 series are among the first notebooks to feature embedded 3G wireless technology.

The computers will sport the latest Intel Centrino Mobile Technology Duo platform, codenamed ‘NAPA' featuring Intel Core processor Duo, Intel 945PM Express chipset and the Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection chipset.

The TravelMate 4260 and Aspire 5650 will come with full WWAN connectivity through three-band GPRS/EDGE capability at 900/1800/1900 MHz and at 2100 MHz through integrated 3G Wideband CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access).

As mobile technology is under constant development, the integrated 3G capability of the TravelMate and Aspire notebooks is also upgradeable to the next-generation HSDPA standard.

HSDPA, a migration technology for the UMTS wireless standard used by wireless operators across Europe, Japan and North America, was recently trialled in the UK by O2. The new protocol promises to deliver voice and data services up to five times as much data traffic and up to twice as many wireless users per cell site compared to today's UMTS networks.

“The introduction of UMTS communications capability in mobile devices signals a shift from simple communication-centric applications to multimedia-oriented applications like voice, data, fax and entertainment services”, says Gianfranco Lanci, President Acer Inc.