4 ms·

honestly ridiculous that cellular modems weren't already ubiquitous on laptops ten years ago

tmccrary55 5y ago
I've never used the cellular stuff in my laptops because it's easy enough to use my phone's connection. No need to pay for two connections.
- petschge 5y ago
  Enough providers in Europe are willing to sell you a second SIM card for a one time fee ($5 to $15) that shares the data budget with the sim card in your phone. Only trick is to configure which of the two SIM cards gets SMS for your number. (Yes you can pick the one in your laptop and yes you can pull the SMS from the cellular modem using AT commands. But it get's annoying after a about a day of nerd glee.)
- Lammy 5y ago
  It's really nice to only have to worry about one battery, and the physically-larger size of the device gives way more wiggle room to play with Antenna Diversity. I have this setup myself and am not trying to be a luddite: https://i.imgur.com/rUKf33K.png https://i.imgur.com/rUKf33K.png All the replies are missing my point though since this is currently a niche feature that will eventually be standard for everyone, everywhere. General-purpose computing loses the expectation of spatial privacy, and an individual opting out will just draw the Eye Of Providence's gaze toward them, like how using Tor or reading LKM.net puts you on a list today.
rapind 5y ago
Why? Was there much of a market for it? At least where I am cellular data is stupid expensive compared with curb internet. As it becomes more affordable though I might be willing to pay an extra $50 for a cellular chip. Not until then though for my use case at least. Keep in mind that a lot of iPads are sold without cellular as a cheaper option.
- antifa 5y ago
  I've been wanting it in every tablet/laptop for at least a decade, but I've never bought one since the monthly data is priced as if made of solid gold. The cost is just too impractical over just using USB/wifi tethering.
reaperducer 5y ago
Maybe because we keep changing specifications and modems and antenna designs every few years. Just the devices I've owned: AMPS → GSM → PCS → 3G → VOCsomethingverizon → LTE → WiMAX → 4GLTE → 5G

I've never used the cellular stuff in my laptops because it's easy enough to use my phone's connection. No need to pay for two connections.

petschge 5y ago
Enough providers in Europe are willing to sell you a second SIM card for a one time fee ($5 to $15) that shares the data budget with the sim card in your phone. Only trick is to configure which of the two SIM cards gets SMS for your number. (Yes you can pick the one in your laptop and yes you can pull the SMS from the cellular modem using AT commands. But it get's annoying after a about a day of nerd glee.)
Lammy 5y ago
It's really nice to only have to worry about one battery, and the physically-larger size of the device gives way more wiggle room to play with Antenna Diversity. I have this setup myself and am not trying to be a luddite: https://i.imgur.com/rUKf33K.png https://i.imgur.com/rUKf33K.png All the replies are missing my point though since this is currently a niche feature that will eventually be standard for everyone, everywhere. General-purpose computing loses the expectation of spatial privacy, and an individual opting out will just draw the Eye Of Providence's gaze toward them, like how using Tor or reading LKM.net puts you on a list today.

rapind 5y ago

Why? Was there much of a market for it? At least where I am cellular data is stupid expensive compared with curb internet. As it becomes more affordable though I might be willing to pay an extra $50 for a cellular chip. Not until then though for my use case at least. Keep in mind that a lot of iPads are sold without cellular as a cheaper option.

antifa 5y ago
I've been wanting it in every tablet/laptop for at least a decade, but I've never bought one since the monthly data is priced as if made of solid gold. The cost is just too impractical over just using USB/wifi tethering.

reaperducer 5y ago

Maybe because we keep changing specifications and modems and antenna designs every few years. Just the devices I've owned: AMPS → GSM → PCS → 3G → VOCsomethingverizon → LTE → WiMAX → 4GLTE → 5G