Posted 11/16/09 at 07:35:58 PM by Ryan Whitwam

AT&T has just started selling a handsome pair of 3G equipped netbooks running Windows 7 Starter. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with the Acer Aspire One, or the Samsung Go, the value proposition here isn’t the best.

Each unit will set you back $199 after a mail-in rebate and new two-year agreement. Factor in the cost of data, and things start looking bleak. AT&T offers a $35 per month plan with a laughable 200MB monthly data cap. The more expensive $60 per month plan has a more reasonable 5GB monthly limit. It works out to a total cost of $1,639 over the two years. Now consider that it’s only running Windows 7 Starter, meaning you’re missing some of the neat Windows 7 features like Media Center and well… changing the wallpaper.

The value may not be great, but if you need a netbook with built in 3G, these are fine machines. Alternatively, you could just opt for a USB data card and cheap netbook from elsewhere. Better yet, wait for Pine Trail based netbooks to make the scene. Is anyone planning on swinging by the local AT&T store to investigate further? Maybe take that Windows Anytime Upgrade for a spin?

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Posted 09/04/08 at 02:29:42 PM by Florence ion

Dell CEO Michael said Wednesday at the Citigroup Technology Conference that notebooks will eventually become subsidized by wireless telecom carriers, who will no doubt sell the devices with 3G service and capabilities in an effort to profit from the growing mobile market.

The prediction merely came off as an indication of the company’s strategy to stay afloat among the sea of competition infiltrating the notebook market, especially considering that the company has had less than expected profit margins. With the rising popularity of 3G, Dell expects that telecom carriers will take over the laptop market in order to sell the services and prepare for the eventual initiation of 4G. Notebooks will ultimately become netbooks.

At the conference, Citigroup said that netbooks will account for about a third of global notebook sales. Dell agreed, saying that “(Netbooks are) a market expansion,” according to ZDNet. Dell will no doubt follow this strategy as it attempts to reinitiate itself into the notebook market.

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