Sprint not interested in the ultrabooks mania

LAS VEGAS, USA: Ultrabooks may have seemed like the latest buzz-word at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, but executives at several U.S. wireless carriers sounded less than excited by the new category of super-slim computers championed by chip maker Intel Corp.

Asked whether Sprint Nextel Corp would embed its wireless service in Ultrabooks coming this year, David Owens, a device vice president for Sprint, listed more important priorities.

He said the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider would look at all types of devices from laptops and tablets with wireless connections to wireless data cards and hotspot devices that act as tiny modems to connect several computers.

But he noted hotspots were in much higher demand than data cards or wireless services embedded in portable computers and that tablets were growing fastest of all.

"The carriers' focus is on the tablet. In the near term, that's the most logical," he said. "We're looking for areas where there's high growth."

Sprint's bigger rival AT&T Inc also snubbed the Ultrabook in its announcement of an eight-strong product portfolio the day before the annual technology showcase in Las Vegas.

For 2012, Owens is charged with securing 15 new devices for a high-speed wireless network Sprint is building based on a technology known as Long Term Evolution.

The company announced plans for three specific LTE devices at the show, including a hotspot that supports three different network technologies and a high-end smartphone, as well as a mid-priced phone.