SAN FRANCISCO—Qualcomm’s Gobi chipset, which promises multi-mode high-speed mobile Internet access globally, will appear in Panasonic’s line of Toughbook computers for the Verizon Wireless network.
Panasonic Computer Solutions said its Toughbook 19 and Toughbook 30 notebooks, both with Gobi chipsets, have been certified by Verizon Wireless for its EV-DO network. They’ll be available in October. Panasonic also said Gobi will be offered on all of its rugged laptops in the future.
Gobi’s software-defined modem allows laptops to access both CDMA2000 and W-CDMA networks. Panasonic couples that with its carrier selection application, a point-and-click interface that allows field workers to switch to a new network based on where they are.
Victoria Obenshain, director of wireless strategy for Panasonic Computers, said the company sees Gobi as a central part of the company’s future strategy.
“Adopting Gobi as the sole 3G mobile broadband technology for our new products allows Panasonic to provide our customers with reliable and innovative wireless connectivity,” she said. “In addition, the certification of our fully rugged Toughbook notebooks on the Verizon Wireless network reflects our successful integration of Qualcomm’s Gobi radio and our newly developed Carrier Selection Application designed to optimize the customer mobile broadband experience.”
Mike Concannon, senior vice president for product management with Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, said Qualcomm’s goal is to make Gobi the industry standard for laptops.
Panasonic also expects to get Gobi certification on Sprint’s network, Obenshain said.
