Wed. October 14, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nokia said on Tuesday that Best Buy would sell its first netbook computer for $299 to customers who sign up for a $60-a-month mobile service plan with AT&T Inc.
Best Buy, the only U.S. retailer to sell the Booklet 3G branded computer for the upcoming holiday shopping season, said the mini-laptop would cost $599 for consumers who do not opt for the AT&T wireless plan and instead just connect to the Web using Wi-Fi, a short-range wireless technology.
U.S. consumers will be able to order the Booklet on October 22, the launch date for Microsoft Windows 7 software, the operating system for the device. It will be in Best Buy stores around November 15.
With computer makers such as Apple Inc and Dell delving into the phone market, No. 1 phone maker Nokia is expanding its horizons into computing. It announced its plans to launch the netbook early last month. AT&T is also looking to expand beyond phones to maintain subscriber growth.
Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart said that while the device is about twice the price of some rival netbooks it could attract consumers who are looking for improved battery life.
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Ok...let's do some math...299 for the notebook plus 720 dollars a year ($1440 actually for 2 years) for a data plan...hmmm...what can you buy instead?
Get a mifi instead and use it with ANY wireless device!