The era of 3G-equipped laptops has taken off really well. But the broadband support becomes somewhat useless once owners leave the country and out of the coverage zone of their chosen carrier. Hence, in an attempt to provide uninterrupted internet service to its customers, China-based PC vendor Lenovo has introduced an integrated no-contract mobile broadband service for its particular ThinkPad models.
The service, dubbed Lenovo Mobile Access, is available for purchase starting from Monday (June 11) and is being sold by Lenovo, but is powered by Austin-based Macheen.
The facility will be currently available in the ThinkPad Classic and ThinkPad Edge product lines in the United States and nine European countries - the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands.
According to the company's press release, Lenovo expects download speeds to be able to hit 21 megabits per second. The PC maker will be offering the mobile broadband option from approximately $2 for a half hour of access - and less than 30mb of data transfers - or $9 for a day with a cap of 200mb.
2GB and 6GB capped deals will also be available from $45 - $85 per month for users who prefer monthly plans.
The service will be launched July 1, but the manufacturer is already shipping laptops equipped with the required internal hardware to facilitate the mobile broadband option, which does not require a dongle.
In the past, Lenovo has sold laptops with built-in cellular modems, but offered only the option to connect via traditional service providers such as Verizon, Sprint and AT&T. Reports have informed that Lenovo still would offer customers the option to connect to those carriers.
Commenting on the development, Dilip Bhatia, vice president and general manager, ThinkPad Business Unit, Lenovo said, "We live in world where it's not only undesirable to be without online access, it's often disruptive to businesses. For that reason we wanted to create a flexible mobile broadband solution that would be unparalleled in its ability to help business users stay connected and working. Fundamentally, Lenovo Mobile Access gives individual and corporate customers options to determine how, when and where they want to connect with online applications and services, all at a price that fits their budget."
