Hardware

Microsoft, Qualcomm Team with Vendors to Launch Always-On PCs

At CES 2018, Qualcomm announced partnerships with wireless carriers to provide LTE connectivity to these new PCs, giving users more mobility and productivity.

Phil Goldstein

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Phil Goldstein is a former web editor of the CDW family of tech magazines and a veteran technology journalist.

One of the key themes of CES 2018 has been the announcement of new PCs with LTE wireless connectivity built in, which gives users access to always-on connections.

Earlier this week, Microsoft and chipset giant Qualcomm announced that leading wireless carriers from around the world will support the “Always Connected PC” category, and that operators in some countries will also stock Always Connected PCs in their owned retail locations.

Asus, HP and Lenovo unveiled new Windows 10 devices powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile PC chipset platform. Through the first half of 2018 and continuing through the year, the devices will be able to run on LTE networks from carriers in the United States, China, Italy and the United Kingdom.

In the U.S., Verizon and Sprint support the devices, as does China Telecom in China, Telecom Italia in Italy and EE in the U.K.

The new devices combine “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," Matt Barlow, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and devices, says in a statement.