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Intel Developing Cellular Internet Chip

yoey writes "Brief article at The Marker states, "The chip will enable laptop users to connect directly to cellular networks without the need of a modem in the same way that PCs in a local network connect with each other. [The] solution will enable laptop users to use cellular communication networks as if they were a local communications network. Intel will thus be able to realize an old company dream - the development of a computer enabling users to be connected, any time and any place, to the Internet."

15 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. What kind of port? by cryptochrome · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Will this come with an Cat5-10bT ethernet adapter, or a usb connection, or what? Depending on your laptop you might have trouble hooking up.

    --

    ---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?

  2. Scale by SilentChris · · Score: 3, Insightful
    *Weighs scale*

    Always-on cellular connection at slow bandwidth, vs. always-on 802.11 connection, provided we have thousands of free nodes so we can roam city to city, always having an internet connection (and not having to pay by the minute). Hmm...

  3. Some Restrictions Apply. by saintlupus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Intel will thus be able to realize an old * company dream ** - the development of a computer enabling users to be connected, any time and any place, to the Internet. ***

    *by "old," we mean last quarter.

    **by "dream," we mean product.

    ***by "Internet," we mean AOL/TW Extra-Fun Super-Happy content network.

    --saint

  4. Come on by Wind_Walker · · Score: 3, Funny
    Who would want a cellular phone that you have to attach a heatsink to?

    Although I guess the open-air environment of cell phones would make air circulation a breeze (pun intended)

    (ok, one more) Would dropping my cell phone into a toilet be counted as "water-cooling"?

  5. Re:Somebody's afraid by SaDan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At least it will give people a choice between 802.11b networks and a fairly established cellular network.

    Some people might be able to function just fine with 802.11b, some might prefer using the cellular system. Some might need both.

    Choice is good.

  6. Can you say ..ScRIPZ Kid33z Dr3AM ? by CDWert · · Score: 3, Funny

    I know this is a technolgy implementation from a chip side. That said can you imagin what fun screwing with people would be at this level of connectivity, gives a whole new meaning to Ghost in the machine. Everyone connected everwhere.....I will change my Job Occupation to farmer and wait for the 50 megaton nuke in the atmosphere to create and EMP thatll take everyone offline. Can you Imagine how many more posers at Starbucks this'll create, if impleneted on a wide scale ?

    Not to mention all the Geniuses in Govt, thinking they have the most important job in the free world and insisting they need to be connected all the time, this is the Armageddon , I can see it now.

    This is pretty nifty , but until they integrate it directly to a proccesor an memory in the same package, ....Just Imagine you could have a Beowulf cluster in your pocket,...lol

    *Note, If you take me seriously you need more of some alkaloid, nicotene, caffiene, etc.

    --
    Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
  7. Always available by t0ph3rus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Intel will thus be able to realize an old * company dream ** - the development of a computer enabling users to be connected, any time and any place, to the Internet.

    Great!!! and now my company will realize an old dream of having me available 24X7. There is such a thing as being too connected. Even though it is a pretty cool and useful concept.

  8. cellular CPU's, huh? by cats-paw · · Score: 5, Informative

    By far the most complex part of a cell phone is the RF design. Saying you have a CPU which allows cell phone connections is meaningless marketing drivel. Intel will NOT be putting the RF into their CPU in our lifetimes.

    Look at how small cell phones are right now. It's completely conceivable that you could simply put everything you need in a PCMCIA card or a USB attachment widget. Especially for laptops what's so un-portable about that ?

    The problem with internet cellular connections is that the DSP's and operating firmware in cell phones are competely dedicated to moving voice-data. They expect voice-data at both ends. If you take an oldish cell phone (still digital) it is simply not aware, and cannot be made aware, that you just want to pass pure data.

    Wait it gets worse. The cell-site expects everything to be voice data too. You have to go in and replace the firmware in the DSP's and controllers in the phones AND the cell sites to make this all work.

    Now that we've had some hindsight on this issue, the correct design decision is to move data with QOS. Then you see how much BW you have available for voice data and design your codec appropriately.

    Basically that's why there is now something called 3G.

    This is the silliest press release I've seen in a long time.

    --
    Absolute statements are never true
  9. None by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Informative

    This seems to be a modem chip that will, though probably have an external option, will mainly be installed inside notebooks.

  10. outlawed before it gets started? by Em+Emalb · · Score: 3, Funny

    Some states have a hands free cell phone policy. I can see a bunch of techno-wannabees out there DRIVING and trying to IM each other. Can you say crash? And not just the blue screen kind...

    leet_loser_1: dude, hold up, I just got into an
    accident :(

    leet_loser_2: bummer :(

    One benefit I can see would be if people actually pulled over when they are lost, looking for a place to eat, etc. Other than that, I don't see much.

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
  11. But the upside is... by mblase · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...you can get on a cellular network almost anywhere, while 802.11 is still occasional at best. The idea isn't to deploy the best product, but the most useful one.

  12. Re:No modem? Come on, now. by geekoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    no no, the whole system will be analog, really. ;)

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  13. Oh great.. by jabber01 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You know, with GSM this might not be such a bad idea.. But as it is, I'd need a laptop for Sprint, another for Verizon, another still for Cingular... Boy! This is sure to be good for the economy..

    --

    The REAL jabber has the user id: 13196
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  14. Re:How much is the fun going to cost you? by darien · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would imagine it will be charged like GPRS, on a per-packet basis, since it looks like it will work exactly the same way. Obviously, though, you wouldn't be stuck having to run WAP micro-browsers on tiny screens: you'd be running a "real" computer, so you could run the real IE6 or whatever. Or, better still, Opera or Mozilla - cos if you think unrequested pop-ups are annoying now, wait until you're being charged per byte you receive!

    As for the actual rates, there's obviously no way of predicting, but I imagine they'll be very high at first, because businesses will be willing to pay serious money for this. Just imagine - the whole sales force out on the road being constantly connected (via VPN I imagine) to the company network. No more waiting until a sales rep can come into the office to pick up the latest 40Mb chunk of sales data; his computer could just suck it up in real time as he drives up the M6.

  15. Probably decently useless by kawaichan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yeah, it's kind of weird, but I doubt seeing the true usefulness of a intergrated cell unit in a CPU. I mean, is the chip going to support all the network or just one? so are yout tell me that instead of using those space for better performance or leaving it out to save power and cost, my laptop's cell would only work in NA.

    But they might ultimately intergrate 802.11 into the CPU that would really make this community WLAN thing fly, imagine every device has 802.11, oh yeah.

    --

    kawai