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Ah, those lucky Germans. Not only do they have the World Cup to look forward to this spring, but now comes word of a Germany-only, under-$120 Fujitsu-Siemens notebook that will offer scads of wireless goodies. For the full story of why we feel like humming “Edelweiss” today, check out John Blau’s report below.
German mobile phone operator T-Mobile plans to offer a low-cost notebook with three wireless connectivity options in a move to promote its high-speed mobile data services in Europe’s largest cellular market.
The notebooks, to be manufactured by Fujitsu Siemens, will be equipped with 3G, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) and WLAN technologies, T-Mobile said Thursday in a statement.
The computers will be available in the second quarter of 2006 to customers in Germany, according to a T-Mobile spokeswoman. “We can’t say right now whether or not the offer will be extended to T-Mobile customers outside the country,” she said.
The primary target group for the high-speed wireless notebooks are business users, the spokeswoman said.
Computer maker Fujitsu Siemens plans to install all three high-speed wireless technologies in its Lifebook series. “The notebooks will be designed to select the technology offering the best connection, but users will also be offered the option to choose manually,” the spokeswoman said.
However, in a first step, T-Mobile will begin offering in March the Amilo pro notebook from Fujitsu Siemens with an HSDPA card. The computer will be available at an “extraordinarily attractive price,” T-Mobile said in the statement.
A report in the German business magazine Capital, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the computers could cost as little as €100 (US$119). T-Mobile would subsidize the machines up to €500 per unit, but require customers to sign up for two years of service, according to the report.
The T-Mobile spokeswoman declined to comment on pricing, pointing to Germany’s CeBIT trade show in March, when the operator intends to announce terms and conditions of the new offering.
Fujitsu Siemens is a 50-50 joint venture of Germany’s Siemens and Japan’s Fujitsu.
— John Blau
(Via IDG News Service)
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11:17 PM 
Steve Trautlein •
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