O2 is launching a mobile-broadband bundle that includes a 'free' netbook — making it the last UK mobile operator to start doing so.
The Spanish-owned operator announced on Wednesday that it will start selling Samsung's NC10 netbook (pictured) to British buyers on 27 February. It will also provide Samsung's R510 full-sized laptop on the same terms.
Those terms include a 24-month contract, in which a 3GB monthly data allowance will cost £29.38 per month, and a 10GB allowance will cost £39.15 per month. Going over the allowance will incur a charge of 19.6p per megabyte.
The 1.3kg NC10 has a 10.2-inch screen and uses Intel's 1.6GHz N270 Atom chipset. It runs Windows XP and includes a gigabyte of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
All the other major UK operators already offer netbooks as part of mobile-broadband bundles. Larger laptops are available from most providers in similar deals; however, netbooks have always been pitched as ideal for mobile broadband, due to their light weight and small size.
The following pages show which netbooks are being offered by which operators, and on which terms. The common thread is that every deal is based on a 24-month contract.
Talkback
These are such a false ecconomy, looking at the O2 deal with 3GB allowance you're going to end up paying £705 over the course of the contract. If you just bought the netbook (around £290 online) and a dongle from 3 (at £10 a month with only a 18 month contract) then you'll only spend £470!