Sharing a single data connection across multiple WiFi devices seems to be a growing trend these days, popularised by the MiFi mobile hotspots and then spreading to cellphones and now laptops. Sony has announced that their VAIO Z and Y series notebooks will have a “Share My Connection” (SMC) option, that when turned on allows up to five nearby devices to connect via WiFi.
The VAIO Z and Y Series notebooks will need to have an activated Verizon Wireless WWAN card in order to use SMC, which will be toggled on and off through the bundled SmartWi utility. As on other devices, there’ll be password protection and a unique ID so as to prevent other people leaching your data allowance.
The Sony VAIO Z series kicks off from $1,950 and the VAIO Y series from $770; obviously you’ll need to budget for a Verizon data plan too.