The netbook/3G combo has become more alluring, if you are willing to make a two-year commitment to a cellular carrier. Last week, Best Buy and Sprintunveiled an eye-opening deal – buy a Compaq netbook for 99 cents with a two-year commitment to Sprint. Yes, 99 cents. This week, Vodafone (News - Alert) UK is offering a free Samsung netbook for a two-year signup. Everyone likes something for free, but how should this affect IT planning for mobile broadband?
The 99 cent deal is now gone, according to my local Best Buy store, but if a netbook is to be one of the company's mobile IT device of choice (along with smartphones and laptops) and if the Compaq netbook is a device users feel comfortable with, organizations might want to make a phone call to a Sprint (News - Alert) business representative and play "Let's make a deal." And if Best Buy and Sprint have broken the ice with a one-off deal to consumers, you can expect Sprint to be prepared to offer something sweet to the business community – if not quite 99 cents for a netbook.
At $390 list price, the Compaq netbook costs less than the list price on a Palm Pre – ignore the fact it doesn't have seamless voice for a moment. What does the Best Buy offer say about the potential to get "free" phones through in with a two-year service commitment? How much leverage might this give you to get "free" gear thrown in if you are working with AT&T or Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless? Yes, of course, business customers are different (they are charged more), but it never hurts to ask about the latest specials if you are shopping around.
Another key takeaway here: Sprint wants your business. Selling a bunch of netbooks at 99 cents to consumers is a fine attention-getter, but it’s the two-year service contracts that Sprint really wants. If you have five 3G broadband accounts for your business to bring to the table that's good news to a Sprint rep; 50 or more, even better. Sprint knows it is in a highly competitive situation with AT&T (News - Alert) and Verizon and AT&T has iPhone eye candy/ego candy to offer.
Why else should Sprint be the first stop for 3G broadband shopping at this point in time? PC World found Sprint's 3G network the most reliable over AT&T and Verizon in 13 cities, with Sprint "besting" AT&T for reliability. It’s no big surprise given the pounding AT&T has taken in the trade press and overall proved more reliable over Verizon. In most markets, Sprint was "competitive" on download speeds and "notably faster with better reliability" in the cities of Seattle, San Francisco, Portland and San Diego.
Doug Mohney is a contributing editor for TMCnet and a 20-year veteran of the ICT space. To read more of his articles, please visit columnist page.Edited by Amy Tierney
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