4G connected laptops by Jio
After the huge success in the telecom industry, Reliance Jio is entering into a new platform of Laptops, to create a new history in the IT industry. There are lots of rumors going in the industry about Jio shaking hands with American chipmaker Qualcomm, to bring out the laptop powered by a 4-G sim. The laptop would be offering the advanced operating system of Windows 10 with AI-based Cortana in-built in it.
An Indian brand Smartron of Internet of Things is working with Qualcomm to bring laptops powered by with cellular connectivity. As Qualcomm is already associated with many big brands like HP, Asus, and Lenovo for “Always Connected PCs”. Smartron’s founder and the CEO, Mahesh Lingareddy said, “Since we already have taken a line of computing products, we are always exploring innovative form factors and devices where we can bring tronX experiences, services, solutions, and support to users.”
Neil Shah, research director, devices & ecosystems at Counterpoint Research, mentioned that cellular-connected laptops could be the next big ARPU device for operators beyond smartphones. According to the statistics of Counterpoint, there are 5 million laptops are sold in India every year which are connected to either enterprise or home or public WiFi spots. “So if these productivity-centric devices are connected to cellular networks, it will boost the value proposition, driving growth for this segment: first, by providing ubiquitous connectivity on the go and, second, in terms of privacy and security as the cellular connectivity is highly secure compared to WiFi hotspots,” Shah said.
As per Counterpoint, if operators can connect a million laptops — 20% of total sold in a year — to 4G networks by end of next year, and can charge close to Rs 300 (US$5) to Rs 1000 (US$15) per month, pricing depending upon the usage or QoS for a “premium grade” data connection, this could generate close to $5 million or Rs 30 crore revenue per month, or close to Rs 360 crore per year at a minimum to more than Rs 1000 crore a year from these users.
Qualcomm’s Nunes said, “We are trying to make sure that the operators understand the value. It’s new for the OEMs, new for the operators, and new for the channel.”
