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Nokia-Intel 'super 3G' laptop module romance over

Intel and Nokia will not now produce an add-in module for laptops to provided connectivity to 3G cellular networks, the Finnish phone giant admitted today, less than six months after the product was announced.

Neither firm could work out who'd pay for the gadget, a Nokia spokeswoman said, according to the Reuters newsagency. "We both saw that there was not an adequate business case," she said.

The two technology companies announced the device in September 2006, promising to ship it in time for inclusion in Intel's upcoming Centrino update, 'Santa Rosa'. The add-in card would incorporate the HSDPA speed-boost technology for 3G.

Santa Rosa will incorporate pre-standard 802.11n wireless networking via an add-in card Intel has already begun shipping. Presumably, that's sufficient next-gen networking bandwidth for anyone, Intel and Nokia reckon. And if it isn't users can always pick up one of a number of HSDPA-enabled PC Card and ExpressCard add-ins already available, such as the new one from Sony Ericsson.

Indeed, it's probably that availability that persuaded Intel and Nokia to knock the WAN module on the head. If anyone knows different, we'd love to hear about it.