Deutsche Telekom is a German Telecommunications Company and is the largest Telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Telekom is one among the partners that Qualcomm announced recently which would support Windows 10 ARM.
Telekom already announced that they will support Windows 10 ARM but they recently told that they will not be selling these devices in their stores. The company told that:
“Telekom is working closely with device and silicon partners on this issue but is unlikely to include the devices in its German portfolio. However, we will offer the users appropriate tariffs, which we will inform in good time.”
This means that the company is not interested in selling these devices directly from their stores but they will provide the necessary carrier support and probably good tariff plans for the customers. This is not much of a problem because the users can buy the devices elsewhere without compromising on network service support.
At the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) this year, Microsoft has announced 5 partners which would provide LTE support for their Always Connected PCs. Later Microsoft and Qualcomm joined hands with more high profile carriers like Telstra, CMCC (China Mobile Communications Corporation), Transatel, Deutsche Telekom, Cubic, Telefónica, Swisscom, T-Mobile, and AT&T.
The first five carriers were EE, Telecom Italia, Sprint, Verizon, and China Telecom. So now Microsoft and Qualcomm have 14 partners in total. This is great news as it is a win-win situation for everyone. including the customers. The more the carrier support the higher the competition and hopefully cheaper the tariff plan.
Matt Barlow, Corporate Vice President of Windows and Devices at Microsoft said:
“The Always Connected PC combines the connectivity and the simplicity of the smartphone with the power and creative capability of the Windows 10 PC, transforming how we work and play,” said “In collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and with the support of these mobile operators, consumers will be able to enjoy up to gigabit 4G/LTE connectivity and stay connected to the things that are most important to them.”
Only a few Always connected PCs were announced at CES,2018. Those being the Acer Swift 7, the Lenovo Miix 630 and the HP Envy X2.
The HP Envy X2 is currently available for pre-order and shipments of the Always Connected PC will begin from the 9th of March,2018. This was the first device of its category which was announced at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology summit last month. It runs on Windows 10 S and is powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4GB RAM and 128GB of storage. It features a 12.3″ Full HD panel, a USB Type-C port, micro SD slot, a SIM card slot and an audio jack with dual Bang & Olufsen speakers. It also comes with a stylus for Windows Inking. The device has a starting price of 999$.
The Asus NovaGo or Lenovo Miix 630 Always Connected PCs will be cheaper at 699$ and 799$ respectively. We can expect to see more devices in the coming months as Always Connected PCs are of high priority to Microsoft since they are trying to make the PC more mobile.
Similarly, we can expect good carrier support from well-known Telecommunication Providers and hopefully see more carriers being added to the list.
