Lenovo to supply built-in 3G with ThinkPads

Laptop maker Lenovo has teamed up with Vodafone to deliver built-in 3G broadband with its ThinkPad range of notebooks.

Customers previously had to buy a separate 3G datacard for their laptops but will now receive a 30-day free trial from Vodafone after which they can opt to continue or stop the service.

Lenovo has used built-in 3G modules from Ericsson which will first be deployed in computers in the ThinkPad T and X series as well as the entire SL series.

"With this kind of technology seamlessly integrated into Lenovo’s latest portfolio as standard, and Ericsson’s module taking advantage of the recent upgrade to our network, customers can enjoy simple, fast, and reliable connectivity with no more than click of the mouse," Mark Bond, Vodafone UK’s director of enterprise told PC Pro.

Toshiba has also enlisted Ericsson to provide built-in broadband support for its business laptop range.

Ericsson’s High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) mobile broadband modules offer data rates of up to 7.2 megabytes per second (Mb/s) in the downlink and up to 2.0 Mb/s in the uplink, the company said in a statement.