AT&T would like to sell you a computer to go along with your phone.
But don't look for any really good deals. The carrier will be selling netbooks on contract, but the purchase price will remain close to what you'd pay for a netbook without a contract.
Unlike in Europe, where some netbooks are nearly free with data plans, AT&T says it does not intend to fully subsidize netbooks in the United States. Instead, it will introduce session-based prices, day-pass and weekly data-access plans for customers who prefer to buy their netbooks at full price. At the same time, it will continue partially subsidizing netbooks when combined with a two-year wireless-data contract.
"We want to give customers a choice in how they use their netbook," says Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T emerging devices. "But free netbooks from AT&T on contract is not part of the plan."
Netbooks have become one of the fastest-growing categories in the PC industry. They are largely used for social networking, surfing the internet and checking e-mail, so telecom carriers such as AT&T bet they can piggyback on netbooks to attract more customers to their data plans. AT&T, for instance, is offering netbooks with two-year data contracts, similar to how it sells cellphones.
Currently AT&T offers netbooks such as the newly launched Nokia Booklet 3G, Samsung GoTM Netbook and Acer Aspire One.
It's a strategy that has worked in Europe. In Germany, for instance, T-Mobile launched the Acer netbook for 1 euro plus a 35-euro-a-month, two-year data contract.
But U.S. consumers are unlikely to find such deals. Take the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 that AT&T offers for $150 with a two-year contract. Customers can pay $35 a month for 200 MB or $60 a month for a 5-GB data limit. That means a total cost of ownership of $990 to $1,590 over two years. By contrast, you can buy the same netbook without a data contract for $450 on Dell's website.
That comparison may not entirely be accurate, says Lurie. "This is not just about having a computer, it's about having a mobile computing device," he says.
For instance, subscribers who pay $35 a month or $60 a month on a two-year contract will also get free access to AT&T's 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide.
That's a deal that daily or weekly pass customers won't have, says Lurie.
See Also:
- The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time
- Nokia Reveals Netbook Pricing, Introduces New Handsets
- AT&T Offers Netbooks With Small Subsidy, Fat Contract
- The Next Netbook Trend: Cellphone-Like Contract Deals
Photo: Dell netbook Jon Snyder/Wired.com
