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Subsidized Nexus One pricing not available to existing T-Mobile customers
Remember when you ran out to buy a T-Mobile G1 right away when it was launched 14 months ago? Google apparently doesn't -- it's only extending the $179 subsidized price for the Nexus One to new T-Mobile customers, meaning existing customers are being told they have to pay the full sticker of $529 for the Snapdragon device. As you can imagine, that's got quite a few T-Mobile customers pretty angry -- especially since Google's systems aren't even allowing upgrade-eligible T-Mo subscribers to purchase at a discount, and there's no customer service line to call and complain. We're hoping this is just a glitch while Google takes its first steps into direct phone sales, but we'll keep an eye on the situation. [Thanks, Mike]
LG X120 netbook comes to the US with 2-year AT&T contract
If you've been aching to get your hands on the 10.1-inch, matte white LG X120 netbook that's been thrilling the trendy Euro jet-set elite for the last 6 months or so, now is your chance! Available at RadioShack.com and select brick and mortar The Shack locations, it can be yours for $179.99 with a 2-year $60/month AT&T contract. We'll let you do the math -- but believe us, you're probably better off shelling out the cash for the Levis Special Edition. Available at some unspecified near future date. For more info, peep the PR after the break.
China Mobile to offer subsidized e-ink reader
We don't know how well a subsidized e-reader would fly in the States, but it looks like we're soon to find out how well it does in China. The AirPaper50T e-book reader sports a 6-inch (800 x 600) e-ink display up top, another 3.7-inch display below for navigation (we guess), and allows you to purchase books for between 3 and 5 yuan (between $0.43 and $1.02) from China Mobile's store, over its TD-SCDMA and GSM networks. This bad boy also sports a USB interface for transferring files from our PC (which is good, 'cos it has no WiFi) and a SIM card slot, and a single charge can last some 30,000 page views or sit in standby mode for 7 days. Let us know how this one works out for you, eh?%Gallery-72482%[Via Engadget Chinese]
Sprint first to offer a 99-cent netbook, but is it worth it?
We knew we'd see cheap / free subsidized netbooks eventually, and here we are: Best Buy and Sprint are offering up a Compaq-branded HP Mini 110c for just 99 cents when you sign a two-year data contract. Yeah, it looks good on paper, especially since AT&T and Verizon will ding you $199 for the same machine, but we just don't think it's worth it: at $60 a month for service, you'll be spending $1,440 for two years of pain with that 1.6GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and three-cell battery. We'd say you're way better off grabbing a 3G USB stick you can use with multiple machines, or, if you're feeling particularly baller, throwing down for a MiFi and kicking it mobile hotspot style -- it'll cost the same $60 a month from Sprint, but you'll be able to get five machines online at once. But that's just us -- any of you particularly hot for this almost-free netbook?[Via jkOnTheRun]
Counterpoint: AT&T isn't cheating iPhone 3G customers
In my youth, I sold cell phones for Verizon. It was not a rare occurrence to have a customer sign up for a new account and get their free phone, only to come back a week later and tell me they dropped it in a toilet and wanted another one. They were shocked when the phone they got for free just a few days before now cost them close to $200. To a lesser extent, the same thing is happening with iPhone 3G owners wishing to upgrade to the 3G S for the subsidized price. A year ago, 3G owners bought a $600 cell phone (assuming we're talking about the 8GB model) for just shy of $200. The 2-year contract guarantees that AT&T makes their $400 back over the length of your contract. So far, 3G owners are only about 1 year into their contract, so they've really only paid off about half of their subsidy to AT&T. Most carriers would stop there, and offer no additional incentives until you've come close to reaching the end of your contract. AT&T is being about as generous as they can be by offering 3G owners half of the subsidy after completing half of their contract. Once 3G owners have fulfilled a year of their contract, they can get the 3G S for the base price ($199) plus half the subsidy ($200) for a grand total of $399. Read on for some fun cell phone contract math.
Best Buy lists unsubsidized "regular price" for Palm Pre at $850; punch in the face is no extra charge
While subsidies, long-term contracts and unbecoming groveling are all part of the game when it comes to getting a hot new phone for a reasonable price, we'd say Best Buy's listed "regular price" for the Palm Pre is a little extreme: $849.99 will buy you a lot of Palm shares these days. That's miles away from Sprint's supposed $550 off-contract price, and it sounds like somebody along the chain doesn't want just anyone walking out of a Best Buy with Pre in their pocket and no "Simply Everything" plan hanging around their neck.[Thanks, Fredrick C]
AT&T announces plans to expand netbook sales nationwide
It wasn't exactly hard to see this one coming, but AT&T has now officially announced that it'll soon be making 3G-equipped netbooks available at AT&T stores throughout the US (and on its website), following what the carrier has deemed to be a "successful" trial run in Atlanta and Philadelphia back in April. While complete details are still a bit light, AT&T will apparently be offering most if not all of the same netbooks that were available during that trial period, including various models from Acer, Dell and Lenovo. Unfortunately, AT&T also isn't getting any more specific than "this summer" in terms of a rollout date, and it's not ready to announce any pricing either, although the netbooks sold for as little as $49 in Atlanta and $99 in Philly (where AT&T wasn't able to rely on its residential DSL to further defer the costs).
Acer's AT&T 3G Aspire One landing at Costco on May 11?
Hot on the heels of Radio Shack's $79.99 AT&T-subsidized Acer netbook incident, it looks like the folks at Costco are looking to get in on the action their own self. According to Boy Genius Report, the 3G-ified, 10.1-inch Aspire One will be available at the box store from May 11th. Employees are currently undergoing intense, military-style training, which will culminate on May 8th, and the netbooks should be hitting electronics kiosks on May 11. Pricing yet to be sussed out, but you'll know as soon as we do. Promise.
Orange to offer subsidized MacBooks on contract?
This one's not a done deal just yet, but reports are starting to surface out of the UK that Orange and Apple are in the "final stages" of discussions about offering subsidized MacBooks to folks willing to sign a two-year mobile broadband contract. Of course, unlike some netbooks offered by the carrier, the MacBooks wouldn't be free, but some are speculating that the MacBooks could go for as little as £369 (or about $560), which is backed up somewhat by the £350 price Orange is currently asking for a Toshiba laptop on a similar contract. According to Mobile Today, the two companies have even gone so far as to test Orange's mobile broadband dongles with the MacBooks, and Orange has reportedly already made a "volume commitment" with Apple. Not surprisingly, the speculation only takes off further from there, with word circulating that Orange execs supposedly hope that this is only the beginning of a relationship with Apple, which could eventually lead to MacBooks with built-in SIM cards.[Via The Register]
Sony's VAIO P going for €599.95 with T-Mobile Germany data contract
Thinking of picking up a VAIO P for your left rear pocket? Do you call Deutschland home? In need a mobile data plan? If you've somehow managed to answer yes (or "ja," as it were) to all three of those inquiries, T-Mobile Germany has a deal for you. Sony's WWAN-packin' VAIO P -- which has seen itself subsidized in America on Verizon Wireless -- is currently being offered for just €599.95 (VAT included) with a web'n'walk Connect L data plan. For those too uninspired to search, that's a €400 discount from what it costs to buy outright over there. Tempting, nein?[Via Pocketables]
Congress bellyaches about contracts, termination fees
We don't like paying a couple bills to slide out from under a bunk two-year contract any more than the next guy, but at least we're cognizant of the tradeoff: subsidized hardware. Congress this week appears to have taken a special session to discuss state regulation of the wireless industry and turned it into a rant session, with several reps chiming in that termination fees and exclusivity deals (you can probably guess the device in question here) suck. We don't disagree, folks -- really, we don't -- but we hope these lawmakers (mostly rich people, we might add) realize the tradeoff of enforcing any sort of anti-contract, anti-exclusivity legislation will be higher prices on handsets. Naturally, carriers were quick to chime in that they're plenty competitive with one another and there's absolutely no need for any sort of government meddling. Let's start with significantly expanded carrier-subsidized lineups and greater manufacturer-direct unlocked presence before we start worrying about getting rid of contracts, shall we?[Via AppleInsider, thanks Warren J.]
