Contract-laden 3G Acer Aspire One hitting US at just $99?

These days most people wouldn't think of buying a new phone without getting a couple hundies off in exchange for their wireless free will. But netbooks? Internationally such deals aren't altogether uncommon, but we haven't seen one here yet. That changes next week if the above image turns out to be legit (and we kinda think it is), with Radio Shack set to offer an Acer Aspire One for just $99 so long as you sign up for a $60/month (or more) data plan through AT&T. (If you squint you can see it's a rather less enticing $499 without.) That comes to something north of $1,500 over the life of the contract, which is hardly a steal -- but then again your average sub-$200 smartphone doesn't seem like such a bargain after two years of $35/month, either.

[Thanks, A RadioShack Guy]

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 9:08PM]

so whats the catch on this one?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2008 2:21AM]

i work for RS and this IS true.

[stridermt2k Posted Dec 8th 2008 9:41PM]

We've got two at my store.

Ask for Mike.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 11:39PM]

...Hunt?

[nytrojen Posted Dec 9th 2008 7:11AM]

Nope. Litoris

[stridermt2k Posted Dec 9th 2008 1:03PM]

Close:

Rotch

[hikanae Posted Dec 8th 2008 9:47PM]

Some last minute shoppers that wont look at the overall price coming to a total of $1440 will most likely sign up for this plan just to get the netbook because it seems like its sorta the "in" thing like the iphone. We all know the iphone is not really $199 after 2 years. If they could have an actual spec-decent 15 inch or more laptop deal like this then I'd gladly sign up because the overall price would justify the hardware itself. My contract with ATT is up next week and after seeing the current selection of phones the only one they have I'm only willing to retire my Razr V3xx for is the Samsung eternity. Apple must have Att in a choke-hold and by the balls preventing them from getting the very awesomatic HTC touch HD because IMO this IS the true ipod killer. If ATT had this phone the iphone would be viewed as just another Razr and with Walmart soon to carry the iphone everybody, and their baby momma gonna have that phone. 2009 will be the over-saturation of the iphone. Apple knows they could have made the latest gen of the damn iphone right. Its like their holding back other most requested features and tossing them into each generation of the iphone just like the ipod. And no iphone fanboys... just adding more apps to the apple store doesnt count for hardware. Still love the iphone though...just not enough to warrant the purchase of one. Maybe from ebay next year where it will be a dime a dozen.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 11:33PM]

the musicplayer on that blows hard and the browser on it is medoicre at best. ive used that phone at att store,many times . now when reps say its not worth 150$ just get the iphone instead u know it sucks. sounds like ur wasting the very little money that u have or dont. u clearly know the iphone has the best browser ever released besides pc that is. best widescreen video ipod ever ,touchscreen is ages ahead of the competition.30 pin connector technoogy ,worlwide ipod docks/adapters etc etc .the iphone is not only innovative,but is now officially the standard by which all smartphones are measured against. still continues to be the top dawg almost 2 years after it was first introduced.scary thing is apple only been making phones for 1+ year. amazing to think whats in store for the future.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 7:44AM]

If I could afford a damn 2 year broadband internet agreement, why would I want t on a $99 laptop.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 10:06PM]

Honestly though, if I was planning on purchasing a mobile broadband card ANYWAYS (trust me, I would) why not save a few hundred in buying the laptop for it? Think about it, if I'm buying both a faptop and a wireless card, (which usually come with two year agreements anyways) I'd still spend at least 1500 for the fees of the wireless card, and another 500 at least for the above laptop! why not save the 400 and get them bundled?

[linuxamp Posted Dec 9th 2008 6:29AM]

Some stores in Japan will be offering 100Yen (~$1) netbooks with Emobile (data only 3G provider) service contracts.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 8th 2008 11:50PM]

To the Engadget community:
First of all, I wanted to confirm that that is REALLY the deal for the netbook... as Me as a RadioShack employee Had to take a sort of training (we need one for all most every products that we sell) to better assist the customer with the netbook. It is well known that this is first of its kind in United States. But I changed my mind on the confirmation after reading all the off-track/on track comments here. there are some comments here that has nothing really to do with the product or its price. I mean its like saying FIRST type of thing.. I just want to tell those of you (who has no idea/care what the topic really is).. YO D!cX HEAD NERDS.... GROW UP..... GET A LIFE....

and thanks to the rest of you.....

[albundy Posted Dec 8th 2008 11:52PM]

considering that you will be paying 4 to 5 times its worth, you might as well just buy it retail. its not like you can do much with it besides surf the web and email, and watch a 420x240 video, if thats even possible. can it even handle mp3's? LOL!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 12:32AM]

That's assuming that you weren't going to buy an air card to begin with that you're paying 3 times it's worth (1500, 500x3, not 4 or 5) Yes you can watch video on it, and yes it can handle mp3s, it's just like what the 'decent' laptops of two years ago are, that's all, just because it's a netbook and not as powerful as the laptops out now doesn't mean it's terrible.

People who buy this with the contract are probably the ones who want to have wireless broadband ANYWAYS, and no one's going to buy this solely for the netbook.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 12:06AM]

i can confirm, I was playing with it at work today. I like the book, it's decent.

[FyreFlareon Posted Dec 9th 2008 11:32AM]

MicroCenter has been offering an Acer netbook, normally $350, for $99 if you sign up with Vonage. Pretty much the same kinda deal.

[charlie x Posted Dec 9th 2008 12:29AM]

i prefer the option of the tmobile data plan for $40 with a usb modem then it works on any laptop, in a cheap bluetooth phone and dun tether , or the ux380 which has a sim slot.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 12:52AM]

I'd rather tether.

[jamafia83 Posted Dec 9th 2008 1:03PM]

I would want to sit on his laps and ask for netbook on xmas day!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 2:49AM]

Because we are rich! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$4

[bebop Posted Dec 9th 2008 3:36AM]

"on plans costing $60/mo or more"

Is this a data+voice thing, so you get the 3G enabled netbook, and a phone, or is it just data only. $60 a month seems a lot* if you need to pay again for you mobile phone voice service.

* admittedly I'm clueless about these things...

[bebop Posted Dec 9th 2008 6:25AM]

There are far to many "radioshack employees" posting this info to this and other forums, all in the same basic format: "I can confirm the deal, I'm an RS employee, by the way the Aspire One is a great notebook."

hmm?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 10th 2008 2:57AM]

Well seeing as to how there are around 6000 RS stores throughout the US, you're bound to have many employees who frequent this site.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 8:48AM]

$60/month is still too high a price point for the limited (compared to Verizon's) 3G coverage offered by AT&T.

As others have pointed out, if you have a AT&T voice plan you can simply add unlimited MediaNet and tether (on certain phones) for a fraction of the price.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 9:11AM]

@All ... food for thought.

I have the Tilt + $59 'unlimited' plan
I have the Aspire One matching this one's specs (minus 3G) but including the **6-cell battery**
I have WMWiFiRouter and tether via wifi with it as needed with decent performance, just like I did with my old laptop.

As long as my Tilt is somehow charging and has screen off, I can tether almost indefinitely for routine browsing/email/etc. Done it on my 15" Toshiba for many months. The Toshiba's battery would go before I'd hit bottom on the Tilt charge/battery.

Which leads to my point, which I didn't see anywhere in the above 60 posts: The 3-cell basic battery in most Aspire One's seems to rate out 2.5 hrs of use on average from online reading I saw before I got mine w/6-cell ($379 Amazon after yelling at them about messing up the shipping). How much power is the 3G data going to suck down (as it does on my Tilt) if this RadioShack AAO has only a 3-cell battery on it? Does that mean you're reduced to online time of 1.5-2hrs tops? That = no-go IMHO.

[bebop Posted Dec 10th 2008 3:42AM]

Does that mean you're reduced to online time of 1.5-2hrs tops?

Yes, that's exactly what it means, give or take a few minutes depending on the power draw of the 3G radio vs. say, the built in wifi.

Buy a 6-cell battery, bring along your power adapter ... but remember that 5GB data cap!

[ramchagol Posted Dec 9th 2008 12:02PM]

So, you can get a netbook for $99, keep it for one month ($60), then cancel and pay penalty $175, total = $335
I heard if you cancel within the first month, you don't pay the penalty.

[bebop Posted Dec 10th 2008 3:55AM]

Is it worth the hassle for a netbook which normally sells for $349? There are probably some hidden extra fees you've forgotten about... my bet is that you lose money, though if 1 month of 3G data access is worth $60 to you then by all means be my guest.

[johnkzin Posted Dec 9th 2008 6:19PM]

Hm. Is the 3G card Ubuntu compatible? the rest of it? I mean, even if they're not selling it with ubuntu pre-installed... what works/doesn't-work if you install Ubuntu after-market?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 9th 2008 11:15PM]

We've had deals like this for a while in London, only there is no initial payment and you can get a fully featured notebook for $50 a month including a 3g dongle and 5gb allowance... i think the best deal i saw was a dell netbook with a modem built in for $40pm, the US always seems to get scammed on mobile data.....

[Gikero Posted Dec 10th 2008 2:09AM]

Honestly, I was just bummed when I saw this. I work at a Radioshack and I can't believe that I didn't think about informing Engadget myself. Oh well, too late now.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 10th 2008 2:23PM]

so is this a good deal or not?

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 11th 2008 1:25AM]

For $350 i bought a 10" inch msi wind@ best buy.com.. Im planning on getting a tmobile curve 1 for $0.00 after i sign up for instant $99 rebate(most tmobile stores honor instant rebates depending on personal) ...then is was offered another $99 rebate If im willing to try out one of their data plans. I planning on using the data for one month the canceling (which the tmobile rep says is fine ??). after that ill just tether the msi with the curve if i need to @ wifi spot. for an extra 10 bucks i can use the tmobile @ home service uma something or other...So all in all F the $1500.. theres other options...

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 16th 2008 9:46AM]

Funny, I've seen people mentioning wmwifi but nobody's mentioned June Fabric's PDANet software as an alternative -- a neat thing about it is it doesn't just support usb, but other tethering methods including bluetooth and wifi, and while having a 'mobile hotspot' might be useful for certain purposes, it could also be problematic if you're more interested in security; plus, tethering via usb means you don't need to drain your phone's battery (winmobile or iphone are currently supported, i believe).

That said, I have a Sprint Everything plan (I pay around $100 for *everything*, I'm sure you've seen the deal; frankly I just wanna know what my bill is gonna be every month so I can budget for it). Anyway, that said, technically one cannot tether with it but even if I paid for phone as modem (I think it's around $40) I'd *still* be saving money over ATT and getting EvDO speed (which is, let's face it, fast enough for most things). Yes, it's not 3G, but it's comparable to some home networks and faster than a lot of the wifi hotspots I've come across (and pretty reliable in my experience, but that might be because I'm in a metro area). No data cap, either. Yay!

Also (and it took me til this page to see someone finally did bring it up): A 3 cell battery? With a 3G connection? Yeah, that won't die quickly. Not at all. Heh. :D

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 25th 2009 5:13PM]

Got the Acer Aspire One for Christmas, it won't connect to internet. Can someone help?