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Apr 12, 2001
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Computerworld has discovered an Apple job posting for a "Communications QA Engineer" position within the Mac Hardware Group that mentions among its duties the testing of "3G Wireless WAN".
The Comms Software QA team within the Mac Hardware Group is seeking a motivated QA engineer to perform quality assurance testing for new Apple CPU Products.

Duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

- Testing and reporting hardware, software, and device driver bugs for Communications technologies including AirPort (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth v2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and/or 3G Wireless WAN in a detailed, timely manner.
While it is possible that the job duties described in the listing may be referring to testing of third-party 3G cards, there has been speculation that built-in 3G connectivity could make an appearance in future notebook revisions.

Article Link: Apple Job Listing Suggests Possible Plans to Add 3G Wireless to Macs?
 

TheSlush

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2007
658
22
New York, NY
Any sort of netbook they're working on must be a lot further off than we thought.

Not necessarily. I'm sure Apple could have made plenty of progress on a 3G-connected tablet with their current personnel. Hiring someone specifically for this just means they intend to invest further in this area.
 

Beric

macrumors 68020
Jan 22, 2008
2,148
0
Bay Area
The problem is 3G is an additional cost beyond an ISP, and yet it's slower. Probably good for some, but I prefer to just connect to a LAN.
 

str1f3

macrumors 68000
Aug 24, 2008
1,859
0
How does this fit in for the MBP? They already have an ExpressCard slot for this. I'd rather they use the battery technology in the 17" to potentially double the battery life.

Why would I want the a card anyway when I could potentially tether the iphone and save $40/month. This has to be for another product otherwise it is wasting space and utterly useless.
 

sbrhwkp3

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2005
547
65
Lake George, NY
How does this fit in for the MBP? They already have an ExpressCard slot for this. I'd rather they use the battery technology in the 17" to potentially double the battery life.

Why would I want the a card anyway when I could potentially tether the iphone and save $40/month. This has to be for another product otherwise it is wasting space and utterly useless.

Teathering your phone ties your phone up.

I'd much rather have one account, and pay an extra 10 per month to have 3G or 4G on my laptop without teathering.
 

str1f3

macrumors 68000
Aug 24, 2008
1,859
0
Teathering your phone ties your phone up.

I'd much rather have one account, and pay an extra 10 per month to have 3G or 4G on my laptop without teathering.

I'm not sure that necessarily happens under OS 3.0. It's still early in development. The cost of monthly card payment is $60/month. An iPhone would cost at least half that much.

Also, like I said before the MBP already has the ExpressCard slot that can use a wireless card and a lot more.
 

The Samurai

macrumors 68020
Dec 29, 2007
2,043
733
Glasgow
I think this would be a really good idea. No more messing about with dongles and I hope its free if your an iPhone customer.

I'm actually quite impressed with 02's 3G connectivity.
 

DELLsFan

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2009
827
0
Apple Netbook iPad - coming soon to an AT&T or Verizon store near you ...

Exciting stuff ... but ... not really for me. Stop distracting me, Apple! I'm trying to save my cash for a Mac Pro!! :p
 

cswiger1

macrumors member
Feb 9, 2009
59
0
couldn't this just mean testing the capabilities of a mb to teather with the iphone on 3g or any other sort of device not specificly built in?
 

pika2000

Suspended
Jun 22, 2007
5,587
4,902
This is long overdue, especially for the Air. However, knowing how US wireless providers are, I'm afraid now we will see provider locked Apple laptops.
 

skellener

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2003
1,786
543
So. Cal.
Verizon is rolling 4G out beginning 2010. Less that 8 months away.
Any laptop with 3G would be outdated by then.
Yeah because 4G will be up and running, on time, perfectly, no hiccups, no issues - ready to go day one! :rolleyes:

3G will still be around for sometime afterwards. Expect 4G to have just as many growing pains as 3G did.
 
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