As the next twelve to twenty four months goes on there will come more and they will be even more commonplace in portable computing devices than they are now.  Windows 8 supports more types of sensor than ever before too with technologies such as Kinect, NFC and more being integrated directly into the platform.  But what is this going to do for the prices of the computers that we buy and is it even affordable to do so?

The latest rumour is that ASUS is testing Kinect sensors built into the bezel of laptops.  This type of integration won’t come as a surprise to many people and it’s only to be expected.  This type of technology isn’t cheap however and integrating it into a laptop will come at a cost penalty.  This is also at a time when PC makers are telling us that the profit margins on PCs and laptops are now so tight that they’re beginning to focus on the high-end computing devices such as ultrabooks in order to get us to part with more cash.

My own laptop contains a four-point capacitive touch screen, 3G SIM card slot, drop-sensing accelerometer, fingerprint reader, TPM chip and GPS.  It’s a high-end model yes, but when you think about where consumers are now with technology it’s likely that people will want to get these types of devices, along with Kinect, already integrated with their new computers, monitors and laptops, and that PC makers will capitalise on this fact to hike prices and push people towards buying even more expensive computers that improve their profit margins and balance sheets.

To be honest I firmly believe that some of these sensors are pretty much essential for work in the modern age.  3G/4G is one such example with mobile broadband now so ubiquitous.  GPS is also something that’s extremely useful in a mobile device and security systems such as biometric fingerprint readers and Trusted Platform Module chips are now essential for any business laptop.

Then we have to face the fact that by the time Windows 8 launches or at least early in 2013, over 80% of new laptops will ship with a multi-touch screen.  Next year’s consumer electronics show will be full of such devices and laptops packed with sensors and NFC readers of all description.  Each will have a use, every last one will be justifiable, and all will be more expensive than they are today.

So what is your attitude to sensors and extra tech on PCs?  Do you already have a laptop that includes some of these devices and do you use them?  I might not use my laptop’s GPS a lot but the 3G module is used several times a week.  Are you happy that the prices of laptops seems to be steadily rising, at the same time as many are predicting the death of the traditional desktop PC with a tower that’s easy to upgrade and cheap to build.  Why not let us know in the comments below.

Now Engadget are reportingthat AT&T’s “most valuable customers” in the US can get a free femtocell to help with their 3G signal coverage.

femtocell

Customers who receive an invitation letter can collect their femtocell, called a “3G MicroCell” from their local AT&T store.

Not all mobile phone companies are offering femtocells yet but there’s a great push for them to do so as this is an extremely valuable technology for those people who simply don’t get a good signal.

In the last couple of years AT&T has been heavily criticised for its 3G coverage, a problem highlighted by when Apple’s first iPhone came to the network.  These free femtocells are no doubt an attempt to smooth over relationships with some annoyed customers.

Let’s hope that other mobile phone companies follow suit and give femtocells to their customers who cannot get a decent mobile phone signal.

Amazon recently started exporting the Kindle to other countries, so I bought one. Amazon struggled to negotiate deals with European carriers, which was one reason why the Kindle was not already available to the European market, so instead, the Kindle roams from the AT&T network.

The features are fairly similar to those available to American customers. One can subscribe to and download newspapers, magazines and buy and and download books. One can’t, however, download the images inside the newspapers and magazines, browse the Web or subscribe to blogs. This is all down through a mobile internet connection, either 3G/GPRS.

The 3G coverage in my house is somewhat intermittent, although I still think it is just about tolerable. I find a 2G signal perfectly reasonable for downloading a book or browsing the Kindle store. I initially thought it strange that the Kindle lacks WiFi, unlike many of its competitors, but I have since realised that WiFi is unneeded.

As the mobile internet coverage is included in the purchase price of the Kindle, Amazon prevent users from browsing the web on it outside the US due to the high costs they would face. This would prove annoying to some users, although I imagine web browsing on the Kindle would prove clumsy, due to fact it’s black and white.

The Kindle can also play MP3s, so audiobooks, music and podcasts can be placed on it. I believe that you need to connect the Kindle to a computer to transfer them onto it. For books, magazines and newspapers, no computer is needed. Files can be coverted into Kindle format by emailing it to an address that will automatically send them to the Kindle (at 0.99USD/MB), by using a free Kindle email conversion service and transferring the files via USB, or by using software like Calibre. The Kindle handles the Mobipocket format, so you can get free public domain books from websites like Feedbooks and transfer them on.

The battery life is very good, due to the way text is displayed. E Ink, which the Kindle employs, has extremely low energy consumption. If you turn the wireless off, it can keep going for weeks without being charged. Charging takes a couple of hours, although the charger supplied is a US socket. It does charge via USB so this isn’t an issue.

It has a couple of other nice touches, too. One can annotate texts, have them read aloud via a text-to-speech feature (although this doesn’t work very well) and has a very attractive standby screen which rotates between different images of different writers and writing-related objects.

The International Kindle costs $260, plus postage and import tax. Altogether, mine cost around $340. This is equivalent to about £210 or €225; roughly the same as its competitors. The mobile internet is a big selling point which many competitors lack. They are only purchasable from Amazon.com, so any discounts or vouchers you may have for other Amazon sites won’t work. Also, books are only available from Amazon.com, so you pay notice the absence of the work of your country’s authors. I hope that eventually we will be able to relink our Kindles to our own national Amazon sites, although there is no certainty (or even indication) that Amazon will permit this.