News flash! A laptop is not a mobile phone

Stan Beer
Thursday, 22 May 2008 15:08

Opinion and Analysis

A major reason why laptops aren't being marketed by carriers using mobile data plans is because, unlike mobile phones and voice, laptops and mobile data are not inextricably entwined.

Without a voice plan, a mobile phone is a useless paperweight. There is simply no reason to buy a mobile phone unless you buy a voice plan - the purchases are synonomous. Many consumers spend more time choosing their voice plan than the phone. After the purchase, in most cases the mobile phone becomes as indispensable to the owner as the house keys and wallet. The phone goes wherever the owner goes.

Without a mobile data plan, a laptop is still a laptop. It can be connected to the Internet via cable, DSL, a dial-up service or a wireless network. Even without the Internet, a laptop is still a computer that can be used to do wordprocessing, book-keeping, play games or watch movies on a plane.

Unlike the mobile phone, however, a laptop is not an indispensable accessory. It can be taken to work and taken home but it is often not used in between. It is sometimes taken away on trips and connected to the Internet in hotel rooms. Sales reps and and other types of road warriors may need to do work from their laptop on the road using a mobile data service but they're in the minority.

Many, if not most, laptop users have not even considered getting a mobile data plan - they're still comparatively expensive and often they're only used sporadically. Now that laptops are dropping in price dramatically, the idea of committing yourself to an expensive three year mobile data plan for the sake of not having to part with a few hundred dollars up front seems nonsensical.

Of course, mobile data services will get cheaper, faster and more reliable. One day they may even become a viable alternative to fixed line broadband services. Maybe in time the desktop will become obsolete and all the computing we ever do will done online in the cloud. Then maybe it will make sense to bundle laptops with mobile data plans. Until then, however, any carriers who think they can make a success out of selling laptops for nothing up front are dreaming.