February 2nd, 2009
Would you buy a wireless plan with your Netbook?
Netbooks, everyone’s favorite diminutive, under-powered mobile whiz-kid device, continue to encroach on traditional laptop sales.
But should computer manufacturers be able to capitalize on Netbooks’ popularity by pushing them into the market occupied by smartphones?
Just how much of a “missing link” should a Netbook be, exactly?
Apparently, enough of one to have a mobile wireless plan attached to it: in one instance, Dell and Acer are offering Netbooks paired with wireless data plans from AT&T.
What’s the motivation? PC makers get to slash prices and sell cheap, trendy machines with differentiation: always on, always e-mail and Web-ready (oh, and several hundred dollars less than a normal laptop).
We may be entering into a new era: one where Internet connectivity is not a stroke of luck, but a near-right.
According to an article in BusinessWeek, Dell is exploring the possibility of selling printers and monitors bundled with 3G service, with the idea that you can quickly transfer photos from a camera or Web site, for example.
Netbooks started as a cheap computing solution for nations that needed such an infrastructure. Instead, they’re becoming second or third PCs for Americans, bridging the gap between a BlackBerry and the box at home.
But can manufacturers and wireless providers convince cash-strapped consumers that they need another mobile device, albeit a cheap one?
Isn’t a laptop, phone and MP3 player enough?
Convergence may render that question moot before it can be answered. The beautiful screens and Web browsing abilities of the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Storm, T-Mobile G1 and Palm Pre allow users to handle word processing and e-mail right from their phones.
But will consumers and business customers change their reading habits? Well they get used to reading the Wall Street Journal on a four-inch screen?
And with the growing embrace of cloud computing and software-as-a-service, is significant local storage no longer necessary?
It may just come down to affordability. I’ve argued in the past that smartphones are too expensive with regard to the question of value proposition, and with Netbooks it’s the same thing: AT&T’s netbook service costs $60 a month, or $1,440 over the life of a two-year contract.
With the way consumers currently have their lives set up, that means paying for a standard cell phone plan (perhaps with a data plan) for a mobile phone, a high-speed Internet plan for their home broadband service, and now perhaps a 3G plan for a Netbook.
Just what kind of a price are consumers willing to place on Internet access?
The BusinessWeek article lays out current offerings:
Dell sells its $450 Mini netbook for $99 online when consumers pair it with two years of cellular service from AT&T. RadioShack is knocking $250 off the price of a $350 netbook from Taiwanese computer maker Acer when shoppers buy two years of AT&T service. In Britain, retailer Carphone Warehouse and telco Vodafone are offering similar deals. Dell and RadioShack are able to discount the netbooks because of subsidies from AT&T, according to Glenn Lurie, president of AT&T’s emerging devices division.
And AT&T — still the biggest U.S. phone company — plans to pair its wireless calling plans with a widening range of electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and electronic book readers.
Moreover, with Google’s Android OS becoming the de rigueur open-source choice, the list of device options could grow even more.
One caveat with the current situation, however: With smartphones and 3G-enabled Netbooks battling it out in the same space, it’s possible that smartphone customers might abandon their uberphones for a simple “dumb” cell phone and a 3G-enabled Netbook.
ZDNet’s own Sam Diaz hinted at this when he wrote about the value proposition of smartphones (and how Apple’s iPod touch is worth every penny, but the iPhone isn’t). Will we see more iPod touch-Acer Aspire combinations on the way to work?
Would you buy a wireless plan with your Netbook?
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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