We’ve already seen this happening — mobile operators have started to sell laptops. The trend is steadily going to the east and now Russia’s MTS, Microsoft and Fujitsu Siemens partnered to launch the first integrated 3G notebook solution in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). The three companies collaborated to deliver a 3G-enabled Fujitsu Siemens notebook running Windows Vista with an embedded SIM card and a special data tariff plan from MTS.
The new notebook from Fujitsu Siemens Computers features a 3G modem that supports both the HSDPA mobile communications technology with data speeds up to 3.6 Mbit/s and the widely available GPRS/EDGE data networks. The notebook will be available from August 1, 2008, and all customers that buy the notebook in August will receive 100Mb data packages for free on a monthly basis for the following four months.
The Fujistu-Siemens notebook computer will be initially sold in Moscow, followed by the four cities where MTS already launched its 3G network – St. Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Sochi.