Report: AT&T to sell slightly cheaper netbooks with long service contracts
AT&T is about to launch a broad subsidy program for netbooks, offering cheap laptops with always-on internet at rock-bottom prices--so long as you agree to long-term service agreements.
Among the "deals," uncovered by Gizmodo, are Asus's Aspire One for $200, or HP's Mini 1000 for $400. In short, you save about $100, in return for agreeing to a contract that will cost you $1,000 or more over the life of a data plan.
There are choices: $60 for the 5GB, but light 'net users can opt for $40 a month, so long as they use less than 200MB. The pre-paid option is a silly token offering, providing a useless 50MB for $20 a month. More interesting is a $70 plan that includes a basic DSL plan for your home, and gets another chunk discounted from the netbook.
As with cellphone subsidies, AT&T's scheme is fine if you know what you want and will be spending the money on 3G anyway. The problem with 'phone subsidies, however, is that they allow cellular carriers to control the hardware market: congress considered regulating the cellular industry to stop the abusive practices that result, such as punitive early termination fees.
If they gain a similar position with netbooks, a similar situation could result: a limited selection of devices, manufacturers who design them for the carriers instead of for customers, and a debt-like contract-subscription model that lets carriers get away with the worst customer service standards in America.
Since we want 3G, though, it's pretty much inevitable that netbooks will end up the same way. But it'll be hard not to complain when high-end unlocked models end up saddled with artificially bloated prices. [Gizmodo]
the latest
latest episodes
Someone let me know when I can buy my own netbook for $400, put a SIM card in it, and get unlimited 3G for $50/month.
Umm...
They don't advertise it on their website, but Radio Shack is currently selling the 160Gb Acer Aspire One with cell card built into it for $99 with 2 year data contract with AT&T. It's the standard AT&T contract that you'd have to sign up for to get their USB or PCMCIA cards.
I learned a few years ago, you will always get screwed if you buy your phone equipment at an actual provider's store. You can almost always find a better deal at Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc. Oh, and the service is a heck of a lot better than the "put your name in the system, and we'll eventually get to you" system that every AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc store uses.