I've been using my notebook as phone whilst travelling for ... years. With either skype or a SIP provider, the price point is so much better than some outdated GSM thing. And, erm, if I'm going somewhere there's no wifi access, then I'm not bloomin' well encumbering myself with a laptop ...

So Dom Joly had it correct with his huge mobile on the train?

Brings a whole new meaning to "clamshell" phones....

Thats all good and well, but my Fujitsu-Siemens has a spot under the battery pack where you plug your data-access simcard in, and hey presto! roaming access to the internet. Of course, the costs are high for out-of-country but thats package related not technology related.

I thought it was pretty clever myself.

It's so old hat that Expansys have been occasionally selling *obsolete* PCMCIA GSM cards in their "deal of the day" for as long as I can remember.

And of course they now sell the 3G equivalent, with or without a contract.

Other suppliers are available.

What are these "researchers" getting paid for?

It's not the availability of WiFi, but the lousy coverage of the networks. I've tested a few cellular network cards, and they vary in effectiveness depending on the region. One card works well here in NYC, but lousy in Boston. Another works well in the suburbs of CT but not in Florida. There are dead spots between NYC and Westchester where no one can get a signal.

Add to that the lackluster speed and high cost.

Another drawback is that you can't share the connection at home with the desktop, so it's yet another contract that you have to pay for. It's not going to replace your cell phone since you don't want to have to fire up the laptop every time you need to take a call.

You can use your existing cell phone to connect your laptop to the internet, but the rates are outrageous and the speed unspectacular.

We don't need GSM built in; they need to address coverage, speed and cost.

My Win 98 toughbook from work has GSM built in. It can't be that hard 9 years later.