Ericsson has launched a mobile broadband 3G module in a move to adapt high-speed broadband to its new generation of handsets.
The C3607w is Ericsson's smallest, lightest and fastest mobile broadband module, consuming 40 per cent less power than previous generation models. It will be commercially available from early 2010.
The device, which was unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, can be integrated into media player devices and durable goods, independently of the device processor. Ericsson predicts that there will be more than 50 billion connected devices by the year 2020.
“The vast majority of the growth will come from machine-to-machine communications, such as smart metres, eBook readers, navigation devices, in-car entertainment systems, gaming devices, cameras, TVs and more,” said multimedia strategy manager for Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, Kursten Leins.
“These consumer electronic and mobile Internet devices will drive the third wave of mobile broadband. The first wave was mainly comprised of data cards and USB dongles, with the second wave driven by laptops and netbooks with embedded mobile broadband.”
Leins said mobile broadband should already be considered mainstream in Australia, since it makes up almost one quarter of internet connections based on figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
“Out of the estimated 3 billion people who will have broadband globally by 2014, some 80% will be mobile broadband subscribers."
Intel is working with Ericsson to integrate PC features and virtual internet experiences into the next generation of handhelds and netbooks.