Good Laptop Gains Little From Built-In Cell Receiver

Unfortunately, when the wireless signal dropped to three or fewer bars of coverage, a different personality emerged in this laptop. Downloads slowed down precipitously, and sites loaded haltingly or not at all. I'd get the header graphic of a page, then have the connection time out on me. Browsing the Web under these conditions was a relentlessly miserable experience.

Sony designed this compact machine for extended use away from any sort of outlet, for power or data. The review model weighed under 3.1 pounds, with the power adapter adding almost 0.9 pounds. Battery life while on Cingular's network (but with WiFi switched off) ran to about 4 hours and 40 minutes in two tests.

Aside from the high cost -- $2,299 for the tested configuration -- the T350 is a good portable computer in general. Despite its compact dimensions (the wide-format screen measures just 10.6 inches diagonally) its keyboard was comfortable to use.

With a 50-gigabyte hard drive, combination CD-DVD drive that burns both types of discs, two USB and one four-pin FireWire (labeled "i.Link" by Sony) expansion ports, Bluetooth wireless and an open PC Card slot, it offers more utility and expandability than some far heftier laptops.

But I'd still rather add cellular data access to a laptop in the old-fashioned way, by popping in a PC Card receiver.

Cingular's EDGE service may cover more territory than any other carrier's data offering, as the company says in its marketing materials, but in many major cities it's far slower than the evolution data only wireless service (known as EvDO) sold by Verizon and, soon, Sprint.

Instead of merely doubling dial-up's speeds, EvDO offers downloads of 600 kbps or more, almost as fast as basic DSL service. Verizon's EvDO service, called BroadbandAccess, costs no more than Cingular's EDGE connection, even though it's about five times as fast. (It's a real accomplishment to make Verizon's data charges look like a bargain.)

But the EDGE receiver in the T350 can't ever tap into an EvDO connection.

Then again, a laptop with EvDO built in would simply put me in a different set of handcuffs; EvDO will itself eventually fall behind other wireless technologies.

What I want is a technology that companies such as Intel are working on -- "software-defined radio," in which a computer-driven receiver can adapt itself to different frequencies and systems as needed.

When that becomes a commercial reality, you'll be able to buy a laptop that can get on anybody's network.

Better yet, a software-defined radio will be something that, unlike current cell phones, wireless carriers can't own or control. It will let customers switch from one connection to another as they wish, taking their hardware as they go. That's going to drive these companies nuts. I can't wait.

Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro atrob@twp.com.