E-readers set to contain mobile broadband modems

Third and fourth-generation mobile broadband modems are likely to become a commonplace feature of e-readers and tablet computers, according to In-Stat.

In a newly published report, the analyst explains that users of portable computing systems - primarily tablet computers, but also including e-readers - want round-the-clock access to the internet.

As such, 3G and 4G modems offer them a way to connect to mobile broadband services wherever they have cellular network coverage, rather than having to find a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Stephanie Ethier, senior analyst at In-Stat, says: "By 2015, 65 per cent of e-readers worldwide will ship with an embedded 3G or 4G modem."

However, this contrasts with recent figures published by ABI Research which saw external dongles, rather than internal modems, driving the market for connectivity options in early 2011.

The analyst predicted that some manufacturers at the cheaper end of the tablet computers market could leave integrated modems out of their designs entirely as a means of keeping costs down.