3G laptop hybrids

Using laptops even during after-office-hours can be cumbersome. And your mobile phones may not help you prepare the power point presentation for your next day���s meeting. Many companies are at present working towards hybrid solutions which are capable of harnessing the features of both 3G mobile phones and laptops. Research has revealed that people rely on their laptops during officehours and on mobile phones during after-officehours. Various hybrids are being tried out which will accommodate the features of both.

Sources say that since the hybrid gadgets which will be 3G-enabled, are expected to have additional features that a 3G phone would offer ��� like extensive data usage, higher processing speeds, facility to watch videos, access social networking sites, send high quality MMS and play games as well. With its ability to download large files quickly due to the high network speeds expected, emails and internet experience would also be faster.

���Testing being the necessary evil which all manufacturers have to take up, our engineers are at present analysing the different risks involved in rolling out such applications,��� says CP Gangadharaiah, senior vice-president, (testing services) Wipro Technologies. Incidentally, the onus of ensuring that there are no rollbacks of applications also rests on this team.

And to help out mobile vendors and manufacturers test how efficacious their latest 3G phones are, a new concept of ���labs on hire��� is gaining popularity. ���Mobile vendors no longer have to set up costly testing equipment to test their handsets,��� explains Kumudha Sridharan, vice-president, (telecom media), Wipro. ���They are allowed to test their equipment at these labs where they work on an hourly basis. With about 10-12 engagements now, this is one of the first mobile labs which offers 3G testing facilities,��� she says.

���We provide them with 3G cards for which we have received government approval,��� explains Kumudha. And these are the sites where handset vendors check video streaming, high definition picture quality, gaming quality etc.

With the global meltdown and IT spends being cut by major companies, virtual testing through these ���labs-on-hire��� is growing to be popular concept. ���It works out to be 10-fold cheaper than having the entire equipment installed at the company's own sites,��� explains Gangadharaiah. ���It will enable companies gain carbon credits if they resort to virtual testing of their gadgets. The combination of hardware consolidation, optimising the resources and going green is gaining a lot of traction with companies,��� he says.