Old netbooks don’t ever die. They just end up getting promoted by wireless broadband providers. The latest case in point? WiMAX service provider Clear is offering a Samsung NC10 netbook with an integrated 4G WiMAX modem. The NC10 was released in 2008 and Samsung had largely replaced it with the Samsung N110/N120 series. This month, the company launched its even newer line of netbooks with Intel Atom Pineview processors, making the NC10 seem even more dated.
That said, the NC10 is a nice little 10 inch laptop, and with up to 6 hours of run time on a charge, it was one of the top contender for netbook battery champ of 2008.
The laptop has a 10.2 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU. If you sign up for a 2 year plan with Clear, you can pick up the NC10 for $199.99 plus tax.
Clear service runs $45/month with no data caps, although the first six months are just $30/month. That means that over the course of the 2 year contract, this Samsung NC10 would end up costing you about $1190. That’s not cheap, but it’s actually a pretty good deal compared to most of the subsidized, 3G-enabled netbooks out there. Of course, you’re taking a slight gamble in betting that Clear and/or WiMAX will still be around in two years… but what’s the worst that could happen? You get out of your contract early?
And they are primarily a re-seller although they also are in part facilities based.
https://www.puc.state.tx.us/telecomm/directories/clec/searchclecresult.cfm?co_key=CLSQL01DB1245392200002
Why become a Telecommunications company in Texas when there are 50 states to choose from?
It is easy – you too can be a Texas Telecommunications company at the cost of filing a single sided, single page, letter with the PUC.
Been there, done that, and I am here to tell you, you don’t even need one warm and breathing employee, just (at least) a post office box number, telephone number optional. 😉
That is what we here in Texas call a clear separation between Utilities and Utility Regulators.
Like in, what regulation? You don’t even have to own your own telephone. 😉
I’ve always been leery of subsidized netbooks. If they made it so that you get a USB modem instead of having it built in, it wouldn’t be so bad. The fact that they try to tie you in with just their service makes it a deal breaker. Sadly Wimax isn’t everywhere and in the places where it is speed isn’t always the best.
The real value would be to get the DataJack service you’ve mentioned before for $40. You can easily find a cheap netbook for under $250. Then you won’t have to worry about contracts and you’ll have 3G service you can actually use when you travel.