As handsets turn into computers, laptops are becoming more like mobile phones. Even industry veterans have been surprised by the rapid take-up of mobile broadband-using built-in receivers or plug-in "dongles" to provide internet access to laptops via high-speed mobile networks. The advantage of this is that it works any where-unlike short-range Wi-Fi technology, it is not limited to a few hotspots. In Western Europe alone, the number of mobile-broadband users will grow by 50% to 27m this year, according to me, an analyst firm. Worldwide, there are thought to be around 100m.rnWhat explains this unexpected boom in such troubled times? Operators have been cutting their prices for data-only connections: in Britain, 3, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, charges as little as ￡10 ($14) per month for one gigabyte of data. Prices for dongles are falling, too.
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