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Sprint sells Netbook for a buck
If you thought a $99 Netbook was a bargain, Sprint Nextel's plan to sell Netbooks for a buck is a real steal.
Sprint has teamed up with mega-retailer Best Buy to sell the Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX Netbook for 99 cents with a two-year service contract. The offer is good at participating Best Buy stores.
Best Buy plans to sell the same Netbook for Verizon Wireless and AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Without any service contract, the Netbook costs $389.99, according to Best Buy's Web site.
Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX Netbook
(Credit: Compaq)The Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX Netbook features a 1.6GHz processor and 160GB hard drive.
Sprint's 3G wireless service is $60 a month for 5GB of data monthly, making the true cost of the Netbook with two years of service $1,440.
Verizon offers two tiers of data service. The $40 a month plan offers 250MB of data monthly. And the $60 a month plan offers a maximum of 5GB of data. With the current pricing, Verizon Netbook users can expect to spend $1,160 to $1,640 during the life of the contract for the service and Netbook, depending on which plan they choose.
AT&T offers similar pricing for its data service. For up to 5GB of data per month, the service is $60 a month, plus it offers free access to AT&T's 20,000 nationwide Wi-Fi hot spots. A service that offers 200MB of data per month costs $40 a month. In addition to the current offering for the Compaq Mini, AT&T also offers other Netbook deals. The subsidy price on a variety of Netbooks, including the Acer Aspire One, Dell Inspiron Mini 9 and Mini 12, and LG Xenia, ranges from $50 to $250.
Netbooks are becoming a hot business for carriers that are looking to get consumers using their wireless data services. The wireless operators are taking a page out of their old playbooks by subsidizing the devices to spur adoption.
But it's unclear so far if the plan will work. Already consumers are being asked to pay more per month for regular cell phone service. And the expensive data plans could deter some consumers who do the math and realize they don't actually need to be spending over a $1,000 for one of these mini-laptops when these devices and laptops can be used for a very low cost or even free when using Wi-Fi hot spots.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
The 5 gig plan should be the barebones one, and the other option should either be unlimited or some value high enough that it's effectively unlimited unless you're using the service drastically differently than intended. Say 50+ gigs.
I know they're networks are congested, but the problem is that the only people who would by the baseline plan are the ones who don't realize how little 250MB is.
I don't have a problem with price discrimination, but the base plan is there just to catch fools.
thats a dozen youtube videos...
There are too many free WiFi hotspots in my area (including PDX airport). Also, if I'm away from a wifi hookup, I can't think of anything at all that I need online that I can't already get with my Crackberry... certainly nothing worth shelling out an additional $$$ per month for.
The Verizon version has an 80Gb SATA drive. You really want to make sure you get the 6 cell batteries and not the standard 3 cell (8.5hrs versus 3hrs is huge), especially if you are running the 3G service and Bluetooth at the same time...ouch!
- by chuck_whealton July 7, 2009 8:13 PM PDT
- Absolutely incredible. What a bad deal.
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(29 Comments)How is Sprint still in business? I'm sorry, but I had these guys years back. Towards the end of my 2 year contract, the hinge on my flip phone died. I asked them if they would give my wife and I a deal on two new phones IF I SIGNED ON FOR ANOTHER 2 YEARS. They were more intent on screwing me over for the cost of a new phone then having me for another two years. Somebody needs to explain the lifetime value of a customer to them.
5GB of data? That's absurd - whether it's AT&T, Sprint or any other carrier. I'm using T-Mobile with a G1 now and so far, I'm VERY happy.