Apple adding 3G to MacBooks?

Apple could be thinking about adding 3G networking to laptops like the MacBook Air.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

An Apple job posting suggests the company might be thinking about adding 3G wireless radios to future MacBooks.

Apple's Mac Hardware Group is looking for a quality-assurance engineer with experience in the various networking technologies popular in the personal computing market, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, "and/or 3G Wireless WAN," according to the job posting spotted by Computerworld. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet are the standard network interfaces on the Mac at the moment, while 3G Wireless WAN is a technology confined just to the iPhone inside Apple.

A few years ago, notebooks with embedded chips that could connect to cellular networks were thought to be the next big thing in mobile computing, but the concept didn't exactly pan out in the same way that Wi-Fi is now ubiquitous in notebook computing. But Apple may be considering a MacBook partnership with AT&T, given its close ties to the carrier through the iPhone.

Rumors to that effect have surfaced before, and it might make sense that Apple would want to have some sort of tweak available for its MacBook lineup heading into the second half of the year.

[websterphreaky]

[CNET editors' note: Personal attacks deleted.]

Here are some real-world facts - Mac sales are slacking compared to an INCREASE in Window PC sales - bwah ha ha ha ha .

The REAL Smart Phone, the Black Berry, has dethroned the all gadgety non-business acceptable iPhony. Another bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..

The iPud is sooooooo passe, sales are WAY OFF. he he he he he he

The Apple TV is so dead, for soooooo long, it's pathetic that Apple is still whipping a dead horse and Apple Kool Aid Drinkers are further in denial. ho ho ho ho ho ho ...

And the Mac vs Microsoft have gotten soooooo pathetically BS, that even the Hack Media is laughing at them as pathetic, while the public is digging the Microsoft vs crApple ads as accurate and believable. Yuk yuk yuk .....

[cvaldes1831]

As both an AAPL and MSFT shareholder and user of both companies' products and services, I will point out that Apple has the highest customer satisfaction rating in the industry. Also, Apple's stock performance over the past five years stomps all over Microsoft's tepid meandering (basically running flat with the S&P 500).

Just to let you know.

[ResinNation]

Yeah, looks like Microsoft is doing great!

How many people did they lay off today?

Here's a few facts for ya:

iTunes is still destroying all competition. iPod sales have fallen off, but they are still selling hotter than the Zune. Apple is still posting record profits.

And before you go calling me MacTard or some other really, really clever insult you've managed to think up between searching for 3 second porn clips in your mother's basement, try to remember that you were the first one to respond to this story, ya know, the rumor of the week one?

But I will admit, I drank the Kool Aid. And I liked it.

[AppleSuxLeo]

I agree. iPods ARE passe. My `09 Ford with SYNC is basically a voice-activated iPod. All I do is plug in a flash drive and SNC does the rest. Same with my BT phone. I never see or touch it. MSFT SYNC places my calls via voice commands and the sound quality is wonderful.
Post-crsh alert is also standard. It notifies 911in the event an airbag and/or the fuel shut-off is activated.
It also happens to be the safest full-size car on the road according to the NHTSA AND the IIHS.
Great job all around "F" and "MSFT"

[canberra_photographer]

Actually, only sales of iMacs have decline. Macbook, iPod and iPhone sales are growing as is the use of the Safari web browser,

[websterphreaky]

@ by ResinNation

Guess you were in a case of Denial when the new came out from Apple that they were LAYING OFF 1600 QApple store EMPLOYEES!! Quote: "Apple to Layoff 1,600 Retail Store Jobs" http://techfragments.com/news/710/Tech/Apple_to_Layoff_1600_Retail_Store_Jobs.html

Oh yeah, Apple is doing SO WELL in sales ..... 1600 EMPLYEES LAID OFF!

And @ by cvaldes - WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME APPLE PAID ANY STOCK DIVIDENDS?????

Answer ONCE in 1987. Microsoft has been paying STOCK DIVIDENDS and MS is paying "the annualized dividend yield was 3%" as of January 2009. If YOU are a MS Stock Holder, than I and Goldie Locks! Liar and Apple Kool Aid Drinker troll.

Lastly - MORE crAPPLE Troll LIES - REPORT as of Feb 2009, QUOTE "Past and next 90 days: Apple wiggles, HP holds ground, Dell down

Purchases of Mac desktops and notebooks in the past 90 days compared with January numbers reveal a sharper drop than aforementioned 1 percentage point dip of the overall computer market."

MacTards are liars.

[GarCorp]

wow, too much time on your hands? You constantly ***** about everything Apple. And come back for more.

Why? an MS tool?

No girlfriends? No job? Too much caffeine?

Use your intellect to get a purpose, and quit blabbing about what you obviously don't care about. You're not adding anything to this forum.

... Just my thoughts... enough said

[BogusBasin]

c:\ongrat.ulations websterphreaky! Don't you have a registry to edit? Too busy downloading those virus definitions? Have fun saving money on those less expensive PCs! Whatever you do, don't look at consumer reports! Amen

[monkeyfun14]

Does the Church of Job's require you to post Amen in every FUD spreading post you make?

[vmlenigma]

I love it when there is a NEW virus in the Windows Community

[Vegaman_Dan]

@BogusBasin

Wow... any chance of you gaining the respect of readers on CNET just got flushed down the proverbial toilet with your post right there.

If that was your intent- excellent job. If not, then that's just sad.

[websterphreaky]

Hey BogusBasin --- Don't you have your constant Spinning Beach Ball of Wait n Wait n Wait n Wait to watch and fall asleep waiting for OS X to actually DO SOMETHING????

When was the last time you defragged your VERY Fragmented OS X HD with the Built-in Defrag tool ??? Oh yeah, Apple never GAVE YOU ONE!! Bwah ha ha ha ha ha, but a you can BUY one of a DOZEN service companies offer since OS X REALLY FRAGS worse than Windows! ... MacTard.

Mac Trojan Horse OSX.Trojan.iServices.A Found
New Variant of Mac Trojan Horse iServices Found
both found in pirated software ... because MacTards STEAL software, instead of BUYING IT.

[bensobel]

That's very innovative.

[SIGHUP]

Thanks for the laugh, I need that.

[monkeyfun14]

Lol what?

PC makers have been doing this for a while now.

[nopinktoday]

Can't tell if this is sarcasm... O_o

[Seaspray0]

@bensobel. It's not new. Toshiba has offered integrated mobile data service in some of their laptops in the past. It's a nice idea, but I liked the usb plug in better. The integrated mobile was not nice to the battery. If apple does this, they should include some sort of on/off switch to conserve power.

[sting7k]

I don't really get why 3G in laptops hasn't really gone any where. I was surprised to find a SIM card slot under the battery of my Dell Vostro 1400 after I got it a year ago. But from what I understand it doesn't function.

[Random_Walk]

Perhaps it is because no one really feels like buying a multi-year contract for a provider, when there are so many wifi hotspots around that let you online for free (or close enough to free that you don't mind the chump change that it otherwise costs)?

I have a Dell laptop with a SIM slot sitting in it, I travel frequently (though not as a sales person), and yet I have never felt the need to get online with the machine, but not have a handy WiFi signal around with which to do so. It sits in there empty and unused.

[kcotham]

Exactly 3G speeds pale in comparison to WiFi, and wireless carriers charge obscene rates for data. It'll never take off.

[Seaspray0]

true, kcotham. I've had issues keeping a remote desktop session open through a mobile data link while it worked great on a wifi. The speed seemed to be fine, but the latency and connectivity was not so good. I get similar stories from others. I've seen providers give you an unlimited time connection for about $40/month. There's no point in me saying which one I think is better... that's up to each individual to decide if something like this is best for them. I just wanted to relate some of my observations so people are aware of what to expect.

[ittesi259]

Well, not that I can't say its a nice feature for any notebook from any maker...but the iPhone has shown AT&T's 3G network leaves much to be desired....the last thing they need on their seemingly fragile network is a bunch of data hungry notebook users.

[Perry_Clease]

Yeah, it works, but just that. Email is okay and webpages that are not too big, otherwise I look for a WiFi hotspot.

[twitchin2021]

I don't have many complaints about the Rogers Data Network in Canada. I don't know how a company in little ol' Canada, with such an inhospitable environment in which to develop a wireless network, managed to do it better than AT&T.

[BigGuns149]

The only reason that 3G being build into notebooks hasn't gotten as much success as Wifi has been cost. A 3G card costs a lot more than 802.11N nevermind 802.11G, which are so cheap that it is possible to put it on a <$300 laptop.

It is not only the cost of the chipset, but also the cost of the service. I know a lot of people who balk at the cost of the service, but most of the people that I have known that have gotten the service have kept with it. Despite all the hype about Wifi, the reality is that it is pretty easy to find places where there are no public hotspots or in some cases there are no hotspots at all. With a data card you can get access virually anywhere where the provider has coverage and in most major metro areas you will get pretty good 3G coverage. For people who do a lot of business outside of an office the cost of a data card isn't so bad.

The big thing is that a lot of people don't really travel much so they wouldn't get much use out of the a data card. I know a lot of people where the only reason they bought a laptop instead of a desktop is merely to be able to have their computer in any room in their house that they want at the moment. Except for an occasional vacation they don't really take it anywhere.

Honestly, I would be really surprised to see Apple include any type of datacard in their notebooks and even if they did I have a feeling that it would be a CTO option like it is on a lot of Windows laptops. Some high end business notebooks will include it standard, but making it CTO allows them to sell the same unit to a lot of people who aren't interested in buying the build in data card that they aren't going to use.

[Seaspray0]

Nice post, BigGuns149. You've got some useful information and ideas there.

[discern]

What about my "an idiot?" I wasn't aware that I had an "an idiot." Oh! Did you mean, "you're an idiot?" (as in "you are" an idiot).

[Seaspray0]

I'm an idiot, you're an idiot... whatever. Who cares. Will all the children please stop the stupid name calling?

[AppleSuxLeo]

I don`t care...WinBooks have had this for many years ! Copy Kats !!

[Vegaman_Dan]

3G in notebooks has been around for nearly five years now. It just hasn't taken off. With the high costs of data plans, it isn't worth the slow speeds when compared to wifi. It is handy if you are out in the field like a contractor or other similar position, but it's not going to be a business model to target for.

If Apple wants to add it, there will be a few who swear by it, but far more that swear at it and the needless extra costs it will add to the laptop.

[frankwick]

I really despise Dell but... Apple, welcome to Dell 1999.

[ralfthedog]

Why? If you put it in the laptop it can't be upgraded. I much prefer my USB stick.

[Seaspray0]

Good point, ralfthedog! We just replaced all the corporate mobil cards recently. That would be hard to do if it's integrated. But, how often have the mobile circuits been upgraded over the last couple of years? How long will 3G be around? If it's the mainstay of mobile data over the next several years, then would an upgrade be necessary? I can't say. I don't know what the future will hold. But your post is something we should consider.

[twitchin2021]

This is an extremely valid point. And like Seaspray0 says, it would be hard (I'd say impossible for all intensive purposes) to upgrade if integrated. As someone who's been in the telecommunications industry for years I can safely say that, while 3G will be with us for a little while yet, it's by no means going to be a "mainstay of mobile data". The company I work for has already jumped over the 3G hurdle into what is commonly called 3.5G (runs at a purported 7.2Mbits/second) which is about 2.5 times the advertised speeds of regular 3G. And this change is hardware specific, devices like the iPhone don't get to make use of it because they don't have the hardware to support it. The mobile data card we now sell was upgraded to be able to support it though. Long story short, the networks we use to access data are in a constant state of change. I think that we're better off sticking to external hardware for laptop access, at least for the time being. Data is something that's only been taking flight for a handful of years now (at the regular consumer level), we're best to wait until it plateaus before we start looking at standard integrated hardware. Look at WiFi for example. It wasn't built into laptops as a standard for a long time. Why start jumping the gun now?

[smoothdzion]

I use to tether my blackberry to my mac through bluetooth. If my data connection would have been faster it would have worked great. What's up with the separate internet cards and having to have a separate sim card to surf. What's up with Mac partnering with AT&T. Why don't carriers just make it easier and build it in to their phones to tether to phones with 3G and to keep the integrity of the speed of the network through bluetooth.

[yoyodyne]

Ah, Hello?? You can thether 3G with a BB Storm !!

[twitchin2021]

Carriers don't have control over the localized access that you may have with bluetooth. Also, as with anything, the more in/out connection points you have, the slower and less reliable it gets. I'd prefer a hardwire connection between my phone and my laptop via USB to tether.

[BogusBasin]

monkeyfun14 = Steve Ballmer

Amen

[Seaspray0]

BogusBasin. See above post about the children stoping the name calling.

[kierannn]

In New Zealand, they are on an advert for Telecom's new 3G network...