High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Broadband

Not sure what’s the best way to access the Internet with mobile broadband?

There are some great choices in smartphones, netbooks and ultra-portable laptops and of course it’s all a compromise. The more compact and light the device, the less space there is for the screen, keyboard and features.

Dell have bridged the gap between netbooks and ultra-portable laptops like the Macbook Air with their latest product, the Inspiron Mini 12. It’s thin and light but with a 12” screen instead of the typical 10” screen of the popular netbooks and a larger keyboard. It’s also much cheaper than the more fully featured ultra-portable laptops at an online price of $749.

If you want something stylish and very usable to browse the web, check emails and use an entertainment device then the Inspiron Mini 12 might just be the ideal option. Dell have more information and full specs.

The trend towards mini netbooks for mobile computing is continuing and in fact hotting up with the entry of Dell into this growing market.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is now available. It’s very similar in all respects to the competition such as the Asus Eee PC 900, the MSI Wind and the Acer Aspire One. The size is on par 6.8 x 9.2 x1. The keyboard is slightly smaller than the MSI Wind but is well designed and easy to use.

One difference is that there are more options to customise the spec. For example there is a choice of hard drive size and add-ons can be purchased such as an internal Bluetooth antenna.

Reviews have been good. David Flynn from SMH.com.au gives it 4.5 out of 5 and says “If you’re in the market for a netbook, this should be near the top of your list”

Buy directly from Dell at an online price of $599.

See our previous coverage of mini-netbooks.

I’ve been using skype a couple of times a day in recent weeks speaking to family members in the UK who are shortly arriving for a visit to Australia. I make the calls on the PC using a headset and microphone but I’ve been reading with interest about the Skypephone from 3 Mobile.

It integrates standard mobile phone calls with skype calls or chat to other skype users. There is a  monthly allocation of 4000 skype-to-skype minutes plus 10,000 chat messages. That’s pretty good, it’s over 2 hours a day of free calls. The skypephone is free on the $29 Cap plan with a $29 minimum monthly spend over 12 months. More details are available on the 3 mobile website.

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The launch of the Google Phone, Android Phone or G1, whatever you prefer to call it, was the biggest mobile broadband news over the last couple of days.

However it doesn’t like we’ll see the latest smartphone any time soon in Australia. It’s doubtful whether any of the carriers will carry the Android phone this year. It’s looking more like first quarter next year. ZDNet called Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and 3 Mobile as well as the top handset makers and received no news of any impending arrival in Australia.

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The HTC Touch Pro smartphone will be available in Australia at the end of September. 3 Mobile are the sole carriers until mid October and the phone can be purchased with their $69 plan on a two year contract. Outright the phone will cost $1,099.

The pre-cursor to the Touch Pro, the Touch Diamond, has been hugely popular. The Touch Pro looks almost identical but is slightly thicker.  The reason for the extra thickness is that the smartphone incorporates a slide out qwerty keyboard. One of the drawbacks with the Touch Diamond is the lack of keyboard functionality especially for business users. The Touch Pro also has an increase in memory compared with the Touch Diamond and better battery life. Business users will be pleased with the TV-OUT functionality enabling data projection and presentation.

Dell have launched their much awaited offering in the tiny notebook space. It looks great and has had excellent reviews.

It’s just over 1kg in weight, 9.13 inches wide and a bit thinner than the Asus Eee PC.  It’s available in Australia in black, looks very stylish and most importantly stacks up well against other offerings in terms of usability.

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Tiny laptops, mini-notebooks, ultra-portable laptops, netbooks: These are some of the names given to small, cheap laptops that are all the rage at the moment. We compared three of the leading mini notebooks and the news is that there is soon to be a new offering from Lenovo to add to the list.

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Etrade have launched a new application, Etrade Mobile Pro, for mobile share trading via a Blackberry smartphone.

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The Blackberry Bold will be launched in Australia on July 29 and will be available to the public probably in September although there is talk of technical issues so it’s possible these dates may change. It will be available with Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Three.

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The hype surrounding the iPhone launch has been fascinating. It will be interesting to see whether it was primarily a great marketing success or whether the iPhone filled a gap in the market and will be a catalyst for much broader take up of mobile broadband services.

A couple of surveys in the UK and the US have been conducted recently to see how many people are using mobile broadband and to get some indication of future usage by asking how many people have an interest in mobile broadband. I’m not aware of any similar studies in Australia.

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