AT&T slashes Lenovo cost, considering Europe-style 'free' netbooks
AT&T may be poised to be the first US mobile operator to emulate the Europeans and offer a ‘free’ laptop with certain data plans
Published: 31 October, 2008
READ MORE: AT&T | Europe | Netbook
AT&T may be poised to be the first US mobile operator to emulate the Europeans and offer a 'free' laptop with certain data plans.
Operators like T-Mobile and Orange have seen huge uptake of their fully subsidized offers for netbooks - low cost notebooks geared to mobile broadband usage - and have run out of stock in some markets, driving a welcome rise in signing of high end broadband data contracts, at a time of intense pressure on conventional handset deals.
US carriers have been far more cautious about this approach, but AT&T is taking steps towards a European-style strategy with new low cost mobile laptop offers, and is expected to offer a 'free' netbook in 2009. It is working with Ericsson's modem division and PC maker Lenovo to knock $150 off the price of a 3G-capable Lenovo ThinkPad laptop. The deal includes three ThinkPad SL models and all the T and X Series.
AT&T has been providing wireless broadband in Lenovo laptops for two years, but as well as reducing the price point, it will now offer models sporting a new, Ericsson-built network card incorporating an AT&T 3G SIM card. So far, the price reduction brings such a device in line with the cost of a non-3G laptop, but rising interest in netbooks among US consumers may well drive the operator to be more aggressive on pricing next year, especially as it increases the coverage and capacity of its HSPA network.
Customers must still enroll in AT&T's monthly DataConnect plan, but as an extra incentive, the carrier will throw in 30 days of free service. DataConnect plan prices range from $20 to $60 a month. In Europe, carriers usually offer their fully subsidized netbooks with data plans at the high end of that range.
In another lure to mobile data users, AT&T is offering free Wi-Fi access at its network of hotspots for users of three RIM BlackBerry models - the Bold, 8820 and Pearl 8120 - and the iPhone 3G. Previously, AT&T wireless subscribers paid a fee to use a hotspot or forked out $20 a month for Wi-Fi subscriptions.
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