As some of you know, I work for AT&T as a technical support rep.

Recently laptop computers, most notably Dell, has started integrating 3G data cards into their devices. Since that time I have begun thinking about how this will effect the consumer and what transitions they will have to make.

At first glance I thought this was an elegant solution, but now I think it is a poor choice for most users. Ericsson predicts about a 50% penetration of embedded 3G laptops in 3-4 years. Now if the price comes down (say, close to zero) then I could see most PCs having it, but that doesn’t mean people will use it. I mean, how many of you use Fire Wire, or any number of the unused capabilities in a typical computer?

For the companies to make money it will need to be used by a decent amount of customers, but here’s the thing. I don’t think people will buy a computer that is tied to a monthly subscription, especially to one carrier, for its lifetime. People are used to buying computing devices and owning them outright, not having them tied to a service provider that might interfere with your use of it.

Stand alone USB modems make much more sense, people can make a separate decision about computing and connectivity, just the same as they do with their home broadband. Recent trends towards openness in the smart phone would seem to suggest that some currently locked parts of the handset market are moving towards device/access separation there as well.

So what needs to happen to make people want to use the integrated 3G?

1. People buy laptops for a lot of reasons – power, screen, keyboard feel, brand, and so on. Let them select the one they want, not one of a handful supported by a specific operator. Let them select the operator AFTER they buy the PC.

2. Make sure the SIM is fully “Hot Swappable”.

3. Supply SIM-only data plans, ideally both prepay and subscription. Make sure that these are true ‘plug and play’, SIMs that contain all the necessary driver software, special applications and so on.

4. Make sure the modem module is easily upgradeable (software and/or hardware). If people buy a laptop now and expect it to last for 4 years, they’ll be upset when they can’t get whatever is the best/fastest/cheapest/coolest in 2012.

If these things happen, then maybe embedded 3G laptops will take off, but otherwise, I wouldn’t buy one.

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Embedded 3G Laptops