Asus To Offer Two-For-One 3G Device

A new netbook from Asus is reportedly in the works, complete with a slot-in mobile phone that can act as a 3G dongle and provide Internet access on the go, according to the Inquirer.

Two devices on one account

The main advantage of the arrangement is that it allows users to take out a single SIM card and data account which covers both their phone and a portable computer.

The phone part of the duo will be manufactured and designed by an Israeli company called Modu – a modular phone specialist – and comes complete with an array of coloured “shells”, allowing users to customise their handsets to match their outfits.

Andrew Tse, head of UK distributor Purely Gadgets, praised the idea. “If you don’t want to take the netbook out for the evening you just pull out the phone and take that,” he told the Inquirer.

The idea of having a “3G communications module”, which includes both a smartphone and a netbook on a single data contract, overcomes many of the problems associated with running the two devices independently. For example, people who own both an iPhone and an iPad tablet have to synchronise data between the two via a separate computer, and also pay for two individual 3G contracts.

Earlier this month, chip maker Intel launched the next generation of its Atom processor range – known as Moorestown – which is designed for smartphones. Atom processors have done well in netbooks, and this latest move suggests that other PC and phone manufacturers could end up looking at a similar business model to Asus.