Sprint Offers $0.99 Netbook With 2-Yr. Data Plan
While AT&T and Verizon Wireless currently offer the HP-Compaq Mini 110c for $199 with a 2-year data plan, Sprint has teamed up with Best Buy in order to sell the machine for just $0.99 with a 2-year agreement on the company's "Now Network." If one were to buy this machine straight-out, you'd pay $389.99, but before you whip out the credit card for that sub-$1 charge, take a look at the full costs.
The 2-year agreement means that you'll be paying $60 per month to Sprint for mobile data on the netbook, and you'll be capped at 5GB per month. Also, the 3G card is built-in to the netbook, meaning that you can't transfer service to any other machine. All told, you'll spend over $1440 for the netbook + data, and while it's certainly a good way to get this combination, we'd prefer buying a free-after-rebate 3G data card that can be used on any machine. Not to mention that netbooks should get a lot more powerful as soon as Windows 7 and Chrome OS come out.
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Via: Bizjournals | News Archive
| Tags:
Netbook,
HP,
Sprint,
3G,
Best Buy,
WWAN,
Mobile Data,
Compaq,
Mini 110c
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Comments
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I am on the fence about this -- I have seem them at my BBY and they are so-so selling; people are mighty cautious about having to sign a contract to buy a computer. You mention that it'd end up costing $1440 for the netbook plus the data plan, but what would be the cost of buying a laptop + paying your ISP for internet? Some quick MN math shows me that buying a higher powered laptop ($800 we'll say) + $30 a month for internet will end up costing you about $1520 over 2 years -- IMO the extra hundred bucks would be worth the performance and not being capped at 5GB a month....if I were a business man that traveled constantly, maybe the tides would shift None-the-less, I think it just comes down to: people HATE signing contracts -- now a pay-as-you-go might be a little hotter selling **AHEM, T-MOBILE** |
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Yeah I agree Ice. I would rather pay for the netbook outright than be stuck with a internal 3G card for the next 2 years. |
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$60.00 per month for two years really adds up, considering a good Net Book sells for $300.00 or less these days. The data plans cost far too much for mainstream America to seriously consider in today's declining revenue, rising costs environment. We're still trying to figure out why, when prices for EVERYTHING rose with gasoline prices not too long ago, they never came down when said gasoline prices plunged. Big business thinks that most of us are brainless, but that is not the case. |
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