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Nokia targets dongles, while Ericsson works with Intel on security

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 15 December, 2008

READ MORE: Ericsson | Intel | Nokia

Nokia has rather belatedly entered the laptop dongle market, but its serious sights are likely to be focused on embedded 3G as mobile broadband proves one of the few growth areas for operators, especially in its European heartland. A revived drive for the wireless laptop sector could pave the way for the Finnish giant to work with Qualcomm at last, but it will face fierce competition from more established vendors, including Ericsson, which has formed an alliance on notebook security with Intel.

The dongle market has been booming, but is dominated by Huawei, with the veterans of laptop wireless, Sierra and Novatel, trying to defend their territory. Like these three, Nokia plans to sell its dongles directly to mobile operators so that they can rebrand them and bundle them with data services. It will bank on its late start being negated by its efficient supply chain, which is well geared to the high volume economics of these devices, and by the high growth potential in all developed markets.

There is no word on whose components Nokia will use in its dongles, but the latest move is likely to herald a rejuvenated attack on the next likely area of mobile broadband expansion, notebooks with embedded 3G or WiMAX. With operators moving towards offering netbooks with the same subsidy model as phones, the Finn will not want to be left out of this sector. Having signed its patent truce with Qualcomm earlier in the year, it could even work with the CDMA giant on these devices - Qualcomm, along with Ericsson Mobile Platforms and UK start-up Icera, is an early mover in the area, and has produced its innovative multi-radio system Gobi for laptops.

Last time Nokia targeted notebooks, in 2006, it formed a joint venture with Intel, which foundered on conflicts of market interest. Intel is now working more closely with Ericsson's chip unit, which is soon to be merged into the ST-NXP Wireless joint venture. Intel and Ericsson have just announced a plan to use SMS messages to provide an extra layer of security for laptops that have been lost or stolen, and the Swedish giant will start offering mobile broadband modules that support Intel's anti-theft technology in the second half of 2009.

The modules will integrate Intel's Anti-Theft PC Protection technology within the Centrino 2 mobile platform. This is designed to disable the PC and protect stored data. The modules will also include GPS for locating the laptop.