Research firm In-Stat says ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) manufacturers should add support for wide-area wireless networks in order for their devices to fulfill their full market potential.
But the firm acknowledges that supporting multiple cellular protocols is difficult and costly. “The challenge is which of the broadband options: WiMAX, EV-DO, HSPA or LTE will be most successful in a UMPC,” says Frank Dickson, vice president of the Mobile Internet group, via a press release. “Each has pros and cons. There is no ‘best’ wide-area wireless technology.”
Embedding a wide-area wireless modem into devices addresses the frustration many end-users have with the spotty coverage of Wi-Fi, the research firm says. In-Stat’s end-user survey revealed that 44 percent of notebook PC users express frustration with coverage when using Wi-Fi compared with just 15 percent using a cellular broadband service.