AT&T isn’t the only company that’s starting to offer subsidized netbooks to customers who sign up for multi-year service plans. There’ve been rumors that Verizon would soon begin offering netbooks in stores and through the company’s web site. And now Engadget has published what appears to be an internal memo to Verizon employees inviting them to attend a webinar to explain the ins and outs of netbooks.
That would seem to indicate that Verizon is planning on adding the mini-laptops to its line of products pretty soon. Whether Psion will let Verizon get away with using the word netbook in an internal memo remains to be seen.
It is hard to see much advantage for the consumer. The cost of the service contract most likely will be considerable. Moreover, netbook technology is changing so rapidly that users probably will want to change their min-laptop for a more advanced computer before the end of the contract.
They are counting on, among other things, the consumer not
having a calculator that does interest calculations.
Or ones that can’t be bothered to do the numbers.
Run the numbers of
(netbook + data service plan + early termination fee) – (data service plan)
and you should get an effective interest rate that would make a lone shark smile. 😉
I, for one, certainly like to choose my own netbook. But I doubt that we’ll ever have an opportunity to get a reduced rate for the data plan by supplying our own netbook.
When times are tough, companies will look to any source of revenue – –
And for common carriers, this one has possibilities. 😉
Considering the simple case of POTS (delivered by a twisted pair of wires):
The voice communications (which might be in digital form)
are subject to rate and regulation approvals and controls – –
The data communications (which might be in analog form)
are **not** subject to rate and regulation approvals and controls.
Those are just subject to the market conditions of any “retail product”.
Translation: Hold onto your wallet.