VAIO SA series.. is it possible to add 3G functionality/simcard slot later?

I plan to order a Sony VAIO SA this week and would greatly like to purchase it cheaper/not from Sony. (base price is $120 less elsewhere) Unfortunately it seems about impossible to find with a simcard slot from anybody else though, so I was wondering if this happens to be something I could add later? I realize the chassis likely wouldn't have the little door built into the bottom, for easy card access, but could possibly deal with that. I wasn't sure if 3G functionality is actually built into the board though, or just an additional piece of hardware that could be plugged in? As always, any help is highly appreciated! (and the sooner the better, as I'll be headed for surgery soon & need a lightweight ultraportable)

 

I was going to ask something related, however.

It seems to be an additional board for the SIM, and another additional board for the 3G. In addition, of course, the antennas. One of the boards, I know, are connected via a long ribbon cable.

 

Great, it'd be equally appreciated if anybody could shed light on exact part numbers & suggested prices. I'm guessing purchasing a system with it already included would actually be cheaper. Unfortunately I don't have $1050 up front, plus shipping, nor do I think I can really wait for Sony's build/ship time. Somehow I'm surprised you can't find this system with that option, anywhere but from the manufacturer, as I'd expect it to be a pretty popular one.

How do you like yours Jeremy? Ideally I'd like something a tad smaller & lighter, though the tradeoff of graphic power to size/weight ratio seems to make this system about my best bet, in terms of something really portable that can still game & do pretty much anything else I could need.

 

I own a Sony Vaio SA3 laptop. And I would highly recommend that if you want a WWAN card, just buy it with the laptop.

The big problem with trying to do a buy-it-yourself and install-it-yourself WWAN card is that you also need to buy and install the WWAN 3G antennas. On most notebooks, this is simply an inconvenience. On the Sony Vaio SA3, it is a huge pain in the butt.

The Sony Vaio SA3 is not easy to disassemble and re-assemble. Once you go beyond the basics of removing the bottom panel to install RAM, storage, battery, and WiFi, you need to go DEEP into the system. That involves removing several dozen small screws and delicate ribbon cables in very tight spaces.

Furthermore, you will be hard-pressed to find full disassembly documentation for the Sony Vaio SA3 (the only disassembly documentation that I have found was listed on the Sony Vaio SA3 owner's thread here on NBR, and that only covers the basics of RAM, storage, battery, optical drive, etc). And even if you do manage to completely disassemble the laptop, good luck figuring out how to route the WWAN 3G antennas without documentation.

I am someone who has built my own computers for the past 20 years, and have disassembled every single laptop I have ever owned just to see the internals. And I can say that by far, the Sony Vaio SA3 is the biggest pain-in-the-butt to work with out of all of the laptops I have owned. If the price of a WWAN 3G card is $120, then I would gladly pay that just so that I don't have to do the antenna installation work myself.

 

Thanks for the in-depth info & from somebody who's been there. I guess I need to decide whether I really want the extra feature or would be Ok tethering to another device. (something I've never tried, as I've always used a junk, flip-phone, lol)

 

I like the way you are thinking. If it were me, I would not get a WWAN card for my laptop.

You could get internet access on your laptop either by using a USB-based WWAN modem, or by configuring an Android smartphone as a WiFi hotspot and getting data access that way. Both USB WWAN modems and Android Smartphones an be used to provide internet access to any computer, not just the one Sony Vaio SA3 laptop that you own. And both methods give you access to 4G networks, which are a significant bump in network performance speed over 3G (6MBps downstream on 4G vs 300kbps on 3G).

Unless you have a very specific need to have a WWAN card, I would skip it and get your internet access through a USB modem or Android smartphone WiFi tethering instead.

 

I guess that seals the deal then, as I don't.. plus can get the SA in 3 days from NewEgg, with free shipping & use a $20 off code I've been holding onto, haha. Thanks again!

 

Ordered today for $879 with free shipping.. should be here Monday. (unfortunately it seems I misplaced the aforementioned $20 off coupon tho, heh) Now, if only I can find a buyer for the Gateway in my sig, I'd be even happier/not broke.

EDIT - thanks again for the help guys, much appreciated! (oh, and if ya happen to know anybody looking for a budget 17" gamer, send 'em my way, haha)