Sprint first to offer a 99-cent netbook, but is it worth it?
By Nilay Patel 
posted July 6th 2009 12:22PM
posted July 6th 2009 12:22PM
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posted July 6th 2009 12:22PM
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I guess it's not that bad, but i'm almost certain i would be better off buying the netbook for its full price and using my phone as a modem.
$60 is a bit much, especially as people mostly have some kind of a data deal for their mobile phone which they pay for, but don't fully use.
radioshack has the Acer Aspire One for FREE when you sign with at&t :)
This is true, as an employee for the communistic radioshack (no one should work on the 4th), they do offer a free Aspire one netbook for free and have been so...sry Sprint you lose again
No, Sprint wins, because these people don't have to step foot in a RS.
I'd take the HP Mini over the Aspire any day.
Verizon offers one free with FiOS service.
Not trying to be funny but are these subsidised netbooks with 3G something new in the US? They're everywhere over here across the pond.
Yes. This is new. And like anything new, people are scared.
Josh, be sensitive. We're three years behind Europe in terms of cell tech.
Grab a phone from your carrier that can tether via USB or Bluetooth and just turn on/off data on a month-to-month basis (forget getting locked into a data contact)
Actually, the better option would be to buy the Gateway netbook (which has double the drive and RAM and a much better display) at Best Buy for $399 + the Virgin Mobile 3G USB for $149 and spend $30 per month for 30 hours of wireless access with Virgin. You can easily find enough free W-Fi access to make the 30 hours doable, if not, more is available. Cost for 2 years = $1268 AND NO CONTRACT!
why the title isnt about not worth it for very similar offer from verizon or ATT?
Ohhh, my brain.
Your mum's a what?
I hate the Atom processor and any product that uses it.
Also, I hate cellular broadband prices.
So nothing in this article is worth it.
sir, you need therapy
It's a Compaq, so no.
This would've been a decent deal if BBY had actually allocated inventory correctly. Ad minimum was two, and that's exactly what every store got. Two. Then, a POG came out to put one of these on an endcap, even though it's a burst SKU. So that brought every store down to one NIB, one OB.
BBY corp. failed big time with this one. This was just a ploy to get people into the store.
This reminds me of the deals at Best Buy for free computers when you sign up for AOL. Just as it was back then, people would be foolish to purchase a computer that was part of this bundle. They might hit one good spec (like HDD) but everything else is sorely lacking. Looks like this model is being refreshed w/ Sprint. They should be happy w/ the comparison to AOL ;-)
I might buy a phone from a computer company, but never a computer from a phone company.
HP? Sprint?
FAIL.
This will not take off.
Of, course, if you just rebranded the SAME setup (netbook, plan and all) with the logos of Apple, AT&T and offer it for $99 (vs $0.99), then it will sell like hotcakes.
Ahh, Monday morning jokes...
99cents is better than the fake subsidy ($199) that are offered by others.
YAWN. Wake me when one of these providers subsidizes a REAL laptop with a built-in connection. I have no use for netbooks.
HP already has them- Best Buy had one for $799 (C2 duo, 4gb, 250hd 14")
I don't understand HP/Compaq Mini anymore. It used to be Compaq Mini for European consumer market and HP Mini for the rest, now I'm confused.
Im pretty sure i saw one for free at at&t (it was the 9 inch aspire one)
The cell chip here is really just a mini pci-e card anyways. I would get this, then put the card into my dell and sell the netbook. Problem solved. It also happens to be the cheapest way to get a mini pci-e card (free is better than $300 from dell)
Well, i was one of the dumb a$$ that bought this special. Its a nice unit and handles HD 720p very well. I wondering after my 30 days is up, if i can cancel my contract and pay the 200 ETF fee and have me a cheap nice netbook without using the broadband card?
I still don't get netbooks, don't they have like a 40% return rate? Now, I may get one for my 6 year old, but it's only because I consider these things to be toys.
The AT&T equipped Acer books are worth it, and I will tell you why.
Go to your local RS and purchase any AT&T contracted netbook.. Any Acer, the HP, or Lenovo S10E. Take it home and keep it for a month or so. After you've had your fill of the AT&T wireless internet. You take the simcard out, and slam it in your old phone, or in a Go Phone or whatever. Then call AT&T and change the price plan on the netbook's phone number to... an actuall phone price plan. Shit you can even be cheap and do something like Data or text only if you wanted to. Bingo - get a netbook.
As far as Sprint's service - it rocks. Touch Pro, slightly massaged and you'll get a great mobile experience. Tether my jawn to my laptop via bluetooth after the massaging - no additional charge.
But sok, Engadget writers and most of their readers of blinder wearing hate breeders. Those of us with a little less techno-ego will reap the rewards. =)
Hate the Atom? The Neo is even worse.
Gorgeous HP netbook running vista of all things with a Neo... reminds me of a P4.
$60 a month to access the Internet on a toy? No thanks.
We have the MiFi (Verizon flavor), and it is really great. Just used it on the way from Detroit to Chicago, and it didn't drop the signal once along the I-94 route. Even my venerable USB 727-B from Verizon wasn't able to hold the signal all the way through.
Kid
mmmmmm, where to start. As someone posted above me, probably not for the gadget crowd, but a good deal none the less. Why, well, while most of you guys sitting in the basement of the science building see the tech turds plopping out of the sphincter of gadget heaven, it takes a while for the smell to waft to mainstream everyone else.
WTF is he talking about you ask? Netbooks. And specifically, netbooks with anywhere connectivity. Ya see, seven months ago when I got my Mini9, no one else here where I live had even heard of them, except the few tech savy people who had or had seen the eeepc. Within 2 months of seeing mine at the local java shop(one of those rare times when I make a public appearance) there were 3 other people w/Mini9's. Now I'm lucky if I can find a coffee shop or cafe within 100 miles that doesn't have an army of netbooks inside. Shit, even my granny, who didn't know what an internet was back in october, has a Mini10 now.
What's my point? Well since ya asked. Netbooks may seem underpowered to some of you CPU-commandos, but for the other 100 million people out there, netbooks are the perfect way for mainstream everyone to get outside their house and display their tech prowess while they IM and Facebook their lives away.
My brother-in-law just picked up 3(yup three) HP's at AT&T last month for each of his youngsters. He could have saved about $300 with this deal, but his service is through AT&T anyway so I don't think that matters. Anyway, netbooks are here to stay, and as the desktop slowly slides into the has-been abyss, you'll see a lot more of these underpowered, hard to see, little 'gadgets' popping up everywhere. Contrary to the 'experts' belief that netbooks are a fad, never under-estimate mainstream everyone's desire to have the latest tech-turd.
It's a good deal for someone.
People do this everyday with contracts for data-capable phones.
I am SHOCKED to learn that a computer and wireless service together cost more than the computer alone.
SHOCKED, I tell you.
AT&T's been offering subsidized free netbooks for a while...
so people are complaining about the price in the long run, i swear about every carrier charges about 60 bucks average, so you could say your getting the netbook for free, you would be doing the same thing if you bought an air card.
Yeah, we've had these sort of deals for a few months in the UK. It makes more sense for the full size budget laptop deals as they're less likely to date.
Well I don't think somehow the netbook isn't worth it because you must pay a monthly fee. I mean you're paying for the internet service. The 2 year contract is what you trade for a subsidized unit. It's not like they are charging you more for the service. Some people would like flexibility that would go with a usb stick, but I also understand that some people would like a simple way to check their email and such and a "free" laptop would do the trick quite nicely. Let's say you don't have a laptop and need to get mobile internet service.
It may not be for you, but I'm sure for some people this is quite a deal.
Sprint could be giving it away free, and it still wouldn't do me any good to try to connect to their system at my home. I've lived here 10 years, with my Sprint wireless, and it continues to be a Sprint DEAD ZONE. Sprint says they have zero plans to improve it (its a fairly well populated area of Orlando). My workphone is an AT&T -- gets 5 X 5 signal, plus super-strong 3G.
I guess my days as a Sprint customer are very limited. I must say, I'll miss their nationwide coverage when I'm out in the rest of the U.S.
a Sprint Aircard might just be what you need. Call your local store or customer service to see if there are any plans for a future Aircard with RevA
I think everyone is looking at this wrong.
1. You get a decent netbook.
2. 3G data connection
3. You get a wifi hot spot(although a lot bigger than a mifi) with ICS for any other wifi enable devices
4. Free/cheap gadgets are always a plus.
Not a bad deal if you'd utilize the benefits or have spare money to waste/spend on toys.
The title of the article should read "Sprint first to offer a 99-cent netbook, for $1,440.99"
Uh... Paul b. Chapel? Where'd the A. guy go?
That is how much it cost for that service, whether it is a cell card or the premium on the phone service. If you trade stocks at work (not as your job), and do not/cannot use the corporate computer, having a light computer in which you can access the internet anywhere is a great deal. There are plenty of situations where access to a computer with internet is vital, just think about all the people who use their smart phones for business (as opposed to just playing around). $60 a month is not a bad deal considering what you use it for.
I rather do that than give att and apple 40 a month for there shitty online service...
Uhm.. definitely not worth it.
For $1,500 you can get a very nice laptop!
Or even better, for like $500 less you can get a good desktop.
This is just stupid.
What a rip-off. These carriers really think they can prey on the instant gratification needs of the public. Oh well, yes they probably can. People fell for those MSN "free computer" deals, they'll fall for this.
Boy I wish I were a cellular carrier.