... bring prototype HSDPA handsets to the show. Nortel has said it will demonstrate HSDPA alongside other high-speed wireless technologies, and Sony Ericsson will be showing HSDPA data cards in action. "HSPA was kind of there last year in terms of a couple of demos but I think this time round it will be a case of, 'It's here, it's real, it's commercial, here are the products,'" says Ovum's Garner.
Operators have also been focusing their efforts on putting the mobile broadband technology into laptops. Dell recently signed a deal with Vodafone to include internal HSDPA modems, while Lenovo also revealed it had similar plans to include the technology in its hardware.
However HSDPA has its limits. Because it was designed as a broadcast medium it has a much faster downlink than uplink capability. This means that mobile workers looking to upload information may not find the technology flexible enough. HSUPA increases the amount of data a base station can handle to around 4Mbps, under ideal conditions. "Whoever came up with the idea of asymmetric connections missed quite a big aspect of what is needed. Enterprises will probably need HSUPA consumers probably less so but maybe not," says Garner.
More on this issue from across ZDNet:
Super 3G handsets on the way
It's not just laptops that are going to have integrated HSDPA
Dell to deliver Super 3G with Vodafone
Dell is the first major systems vendor to back Super 3G in Europe as it signs a deal with Vodafone to offer HSDPA as an integrated option on some notebooks
Nortel pushes Super 3G to new heights
Tests in France have shown that HSDPA can run at speeds up to 3.6Mbps, and that's only the start, says Nortel
Pushing email beyond the RIM
For business customers, the rise of the BlackBerry has probably been the single biggest innovation in mobility since the mobile phone itself. Being able to access email as easily as SMS messages seems such as obvious and necessary application but was almost completely missed by much of the industry which allowed a relatively small Canadian firm called Research in Motion (RIM) to steal a substantial lead. But things have not all gone RIM's way; recently it has become mired in a patent dispute with NTP which could culminate in the email provider's entire US service being shut down.
Whatever the result in the RIM case, so-called push email — literally pushing email out from an server to a mobile device — will continue to be an important development with players such as Symbian, Nokia/ Intellisync and Microsoft all keen to steal back some of RIM's lead. According to analyst...
For more, click here...
Talkback
I love this time of year! First CES, then 3GSM, CeBIT next month. Nothing like a super-sized trade show to get the gadget juices flowing through the long winter months.
This is a good preview of what's coming at 3GSM. You can find another round-up of what's to be expected, culled from across the web, here:
http://mobilementalism.com/2006/02/10/sneak-preview-of-the-3gsm-world-congress-mobile-phone-showcase/