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When Amazon first released the Kindle e-reader, it was widely predicted to be starting the revolution which would see the cost of cellular access bundled into the price of data devices. Although the embedded 3G model is still seen as the future of mobile data in many markets, carriers have been slow to respond because of the cost of including connectivity for gadgets, like tablets, which are more data-hungry than e-readers. Even Amazon's own Kindle Fire tablet is Wi-Fi only. But now tablet maker Datawind is showing the way, unveiling a £99 ($145) device called Ubislate in the UK, which comes with a year of free internet access (though the vendor has got round the risk of galloping usage by restricting this to Vodafone's GPRS network).

Despite the launch location for later this year, the concept is clearly targeted mainly at developing economies where 2.5G connectivity may be more acceptable, or the only thing available. "To get the next billion on the internet we need to not just give these people a device but give them access," Alia Khan, VP of UK operations for Datawind, told TotalTelecom. The agreement with Vodafone is global, covering Albania, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hungry, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, the UK and Turkey.

But this is not just about choosing 'best effort' connections - Khan says the firm can also keep internet costs low because it has patented data compression technologies, which he also sees as the future of efficient data pricing models. "Our users use a fraction of the amount of data that other devices use," he said in the interview. "Even if vendors wanted to go through the process of signing an operator relationship, and bundling on the cost of the data, they could never do it at the price we can do it at."

However, the Ubislate will also have restrictions on its 'unlimited' GPRS proposition - 30 hours per month and no audio or video streaming by the pre-installed browser.

In a contrasting example of a device maker turning into a wireless wholesaler, Japan's Panasonic has announced its 'WiMAX Service', which adds internet connectivity and networking capabilities to its home appliances, including TVs, audio equipment, refrigerators and future offerings in home energy, security and healthcare. Its mobile devices can also be connected to the home networks, and used as remote controls for the whole system.

Panasonic will act as the MVNO, using the WiMAX network of UQ Communications, which has been a major pioneer of the consumer electronics MVNO model. Panasonic said its service will offer 40Mbps download speeds at a cost of ¥3,880 ($50) per month on a one-year contract, the same price offered by UQ.

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