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hp mini sprintIt’s official: Netbooks are being sold the same way as cellphones in the US. Best Buy is teaming up with Sprint to offer a subsidized HP Mini 110 netbook for just under a dollar to customers who sign up for a 2-year service plan from Sprint. You can get the same netbook for $199.99 with a 2-year contract from Verizon or AT&T.

Technically, HP is calling the netbook a Compaq 1040DX, but it’s basically an HP Mini 110 with a 3 cell battery and a different name.

You’ll need to sign up in a Best Buy store to get the deal. The netbook will come with an integrated EVDO modem for connecting to Sprint’s network.

Now here’s the question: is it worth it? Because in order to get this nearly “free” netbook you’ll end up paying about $1440 over the next two years. Or you could just buy the HP Mini 110 for a one-time payment $389.99.

If you’re pretty sure you were going to sign up for a 3G contract anyway, and that you’re not going to want to get a new netbook in the next 24 months, this is one heck of a deal. But considering the first netbooks were introduced less than a year ago with 7 inch displays and Intel Celeron processors, are you certain you’re going to be happy with today’s technology 18 months from now?

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8 replies on “Sprint and Best Buy offer HP Mini 110 for $0.99 with 2 year contract”

  1. Maybe all of the “Free Phone” deals have been around long
    enough to teach consumers there is no thing as a “Free Lunch”.
    They need to team up with a retailer that serves a different
    market segment, one where people don’t read and can’t do numbers.

  2. I saw this “deal” at my local Best Buy. The had an entire pallet of them on the floor with their 99 cent sign on top. The pallet was completely full and nobody was showing any interest.

    1. BoloMKXXVII, you’re a liar or just wrong. There were under 6000 nation-wide, most stores (even in Dallas) had only 2-3 units at most. By thursday, (sale sun-sat) you couldn’t even buy a floor model in the Metroplex.

  3. How big is the penalty for canceling the contract? Do you get to keep the laptop? =)

  4. You can find the 110 for 339.99 regularly with the 6 cell battery at Costco

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