 
Madness
A flea circus at a dog show.
join:2000-01-05
Quincy, MA | That Makes Sense....Not! One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 notebook.  | |
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mikef1
Mike
join:2004-10-28
Littlestown, PA
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by Madness  :One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 notebook. If you are going to word it like that then you should also mention one will also get free 3g and att wifi internet access over the life of the contract. | |
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| | chemaupr
join:2005-06-06
Alexandria, VA
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by mikef1 :said by Madness :One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 notebook. If you are going to word it like that then you should also mention one will also get free 3g and att wifi internet access over the life of the contract. OR if you were planing to get the service anyways now they throw a notebook for $99.
I guess the OP miss the point. You can buy your cheap notebok anywhere without contract. But the idea here is that if you are going to get the service anyways now you have a good incentive... | |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by chemaupr :I guess the OP miss the point. You can buy your cheap notebok anywhere without contract. But the idea here is that if you are going to get the service anyways now you have a good incentive... And that is the incentive. You are going to sign up for a mobile data plan anyway, so why not take advantage of a discount on the hardware.
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk? | |
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| | | | jc100
join:2002-04-10
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! Agreed. If you were already looking for this, then you got reason to sign a contract. However, with any contract, one is always smart to ask for a month trial to make sure they like the service and it lives up to what's promised. Too many companies like locking users in to substandard offerings. Whenever I am about to sign one (which isn't often), I always tell them let me see the service first for a test drive. Most will let you do that at least for a short period. | |
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| | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| It makes no sense to make sense here. People are quick, with out thinking, to be the first to try and bash any and everything on the surface. Really, it makes me wonder if Darwinism is being discontinued as some people really never think. Makes me wonder how some people can survive in this world.
Let me say something else to the OP, in my reply to you..
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That makes sense... NOT!
One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 cell phone... as they have been now for a decade.
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This will make sense for more people and I see it as a great idea to stimulate a little excitement among people that are in the market looking for mobility. This really is no different that those that do it will cell phones already. | |
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Madness
A flea circus at a dog show.
join:2000-01-05
Quincy, MA | Re: That Makes Sense....Not! Even if this was posted early-morning, I still stand by my OP, so there! | |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by Matt :said by Madness :One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 notebook. It's a NETbook ... I still can't find a good use for these things. Even my Thinkpad with a 1024x768 screen is becoming obsolete. I have to scroll left and right on a good number of websites so web browsing on one of these (or the Acer) would be like pulling teeth. But netbooks become more viable as more and more web sites come out with mobile versions of their pages to lessen the amount of screen real estate they consume. All the major players(Google, MSN, Yahoo, NFL, MLB, etc) are all now providing pages designed for mobile use.
Here is a link I have that has 3 pgs of web sites set up for mobile use. It is only a sample, but it gives a taste of what was available over a year ago. There are many more being added all the time.
»delicious.com/tkjunkmail/mobile
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My BLOG .. .. Internet News .. .. My Web Page
Ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk? | |
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Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
 ·North State Commun..
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by GOLFnSUN :said by Matt :said by Madness :One's gonna pay $1500+ over the life of the contract for a $500 notebook. It's a NETbook ... I still can't find a good use for these things. Even my Thinkpad with a 1024x768 screen is becoming obsolete. I have to scroll left and right on a good number of websites so web browsing on one of these (or the Acer) would be like pulling teeth. But netbooks become more viable as more and more web sites come out with mobile versions of their pages to lessen the amount of screen real estate they consume. All the major players(Google, MSN, Yahoo, NFL, MLB, etc) are all now providing pages designed for mobile use. That is a good point. A Netbook may be more functional with a mobile page. Although I'd counter with the fact that I don't want to carry a 2lb device around with a 9" screen for a page with 6 text links.
»us.m.yahoo.com/
»wap.nfl.com/
»info.mobile.msn.com/en-us/default.aspx | |
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Matt
Gone playing Dragon Age Origins
Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
·North State Commun..
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by GOLFnSUN :I agree about some of the bigger netbooks. But I use a Nokia N810 and it is only a little bit bigger than an iPhone and fits easily in a pocket. Now something of that size I can see being carried around to be used for a quick internet search, or a quick check of email. | |
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ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| I have a Netbook plus ATT USB 3G. Perfectly useful and sites work just fine for me. I wish I could have gotten in on this $99 deal. I have a 10" netbook and also gave away the same one for Christmas. | |
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| | | | | rmdir
join:2003-03-13
Chicago, IL | Re: That Makes Sense....Not! The AA1 is NOT a $500 netbook, unless you get duped. I paid $249 for mine outright from BB last year. It might be a $300 netbook, but $500 will buy a real notebook with a big screen. | |
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| | | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Re: That Makes Sense....Not! said by rmdir :The AA1 is NOT a $500 netbook, unless you get duped. I paid $249 for mine outright from BB last year. It might be a $300 netbook, but $500 will buy a real notebook with a big screen. .. just the same as an iPhone isn't $599 but if you want to sign a contract, you can get one for $199..
In the end, it doesn't matter anyway. Take a $249 laptop and put it together with a $60 service that you have to sign a contract with anyway, you might as well take the $99 price on that $249 netbook anyway. | |
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| | stufried
Premium
join:2003-10-13
·Verizon BroadbandA..
| I went scuba diving in Florida this weekend and took a netbook with me (which I am on now). Even with its squished 1024 by 600 screen I'm doing ok. I can access most sites just fine, I was able to revise a Word document for a business meeting, and watch a film off Netflix's streaming site.
I may have taken the deal, but would need to know whether the SIM is removable and whether the computer could be unlocked. My SIM moves between different devices. For example, I have a Cradlepoint portable router that I regularly use with it. | |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000 | So they get 2 years of free 3G internet when they buy a $1500 laptop? I hear there is a deal on $30k keys that come with a free car. | |
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Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:
| Relying on a Dell Portable for 2 years? I see SO many dell laptops on the repair bench, there is no way I would lock myself into a 2 year contract on one. They just don't last that long, even under the best conditions.
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Intel Q6600 @3400Mhz/GA-EP35-DS3P/2x 2048Mb G.Skill/Seagate 750.10/EVGA 8800GT's SLI/Silverstone 850W/Custom water cooler | |
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vrp
vrp
Premium
join:2002-12-05
terra
·AT&T Southeast
| Re: Relying on a Dell Portable for 2 years? said by Camelot One :I see SO many dell laptops on the repair bench, there is no way I would lock myself into a 2 year contract on one. They just don't last that long, even under the best conditions. .
my last Dell laptop was purchased in 2004 ... still working ... wonder what is wrong with it !!! ...
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We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. - Aesop
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DrModem
Premium
join:2006-10-19
USA
·EarthLink
 ·1and1
 ·PeoplePC
2 edits | said by vrp :said by Camelot One :I see SO many dell laptops on the repair bench, there is no way I would lock myself into a 2 year contract on one. They just don't last that long, even under the best conditions. . my last Dell laptop was purchased in 2004 ... still working ... wonder what is wrong with it !!! ... . Same.
But I've had to replace the keyboard 4 times (keys kept falling off, even though I am not rough with my keys) and the F key fell off the current(5th) keyboard.
Had to get a new power supply since the original went bad.
Had to fully disassemble the laptop to solder the power supply socket back onto the motherboard, it somehow detached.
The LCD has some weird backlight issues.
The hard drive is dieing.
The mouse buttons under the touchpad don't work much anymore.
The laptop just turned 4 years old(bought it in late 2004). It's still working(barely), I'm tired of all the crap issues with it, but I unfortunately don't have the money to replace it at the moment. My parents recently got rid of a 10 year old Toshiba dinosaur, and it had none of those issues when it died(except for the hard drive, it just died one day).
Next laptop I get is going to be an ASUS. | |
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Anonuser
join:2003-01-03
Milwaukee, WI
| I've had my Inspiron B120 for just about 4 years, it's used 14 hours/day, taken home and to work daily, used in the car daily for gps, on 24/7/365, most of the letters are worn off the keys, has had 2 glasses of hot tea spilled directly on the keyboard on 2 seperate occasions now, touchpad is pretty much worn down but still works great!
NOT ONE SINGLE PROBLEM WITH THIS LAPTOP! Purchase price was under $400 new from dell.
My first computer, a Inspiron 7000, purchased October 21, 1998, used in the exact same way my B120 now is used, STILL WORKS GREAT! Not only did it use it as my main computer for 7 years, now it sits on top of my entertainment center being used as a media server for watching my movies on my TV!
Dell has permintly won my business. Not to mention We have 9 other Dell laptops and desktops, the worst we've had happen was worn out a few CD-Roms and DVD-Roms. Big deal ^_^
I've found, when most peoples laptops "break", it's because they did something stupid; and ya know what, YA CAN'T FIX STUPID!
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Chiyo
Save Me Konata-Chan
Premium
join:2003-02-20
Minneapolis, MN
clubs:
·Comcast
| Re: Relying on a Dell Portable for 2 years? I own an Inspire one net book and I Love it I don't get tons of use out of it right now but I Love knowing that its light and very portable and wifi penetration is everywhere or I can tether my PDA its not 3G speeds but it will work in a pinch.
I wouldn't do this though its cheaper in the long run to purchase the netbook in one chunk than shell out tons more over a long period of time. | |
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| sensualpoet
join:2004-09-19
Toronto, ON
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| I've been using the ASUS 901, cousin of the Acer, since July 2008. It's WinXP, wireless b/g/n, bluetooth enabled, 6-8 hr battery life, 2.2 lbs, crisp screen (and yes, 1024x600). I wanted the solid state version (no mechanical HD); an SDHC card adds tons of additional, secure storage.
Low-end netbooks aren't intended for "the only computer you own" but for what they do -- full computing power on the go with a tiny form factor -- they are terrific. Mine has travelled around the house and across the continent on three trips so far. It's a dream. Marry that with reasonable data plan and it's one powerful tool. | |
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joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null
 ·AT&T U-Verse
| said by Camelot One :I see SO many dell laptops on the repair bench, there is no way I would lock myself into a 2 year contract on one. They just don't last that long, even under the best conditions. I have a Dell D610 which is maybe 3 years old. Battery is totally shot and I had the replace the screen hinges because the screen would just fall back. The trackpad works, but the buttons sure could use a replacement... they are hard to press and many times you need to press them twice.
I also have an HP compaq nc6220 with the same exact specs (Pentium M 1.7ghz, Centrino 2200bg wireless, etc) purchased about the same time (actually a refurb). The battery isn't like new, but it still lasts a little over an hour. The trackpad left-click button has the rubber worn, but the buttons still click like new. On top of that, the HP is a little smaller than the Dell.
We are comparing apples-to-apples... both are middle range "business" laptops (I wonder how bad the Dell consumer machines are?).
Yea I'd say the Dell laptops are crap.
I have another one (Dell 8100 IIRC) a customer of mine sent me... figured just the hard drive is bad... no. The screen is all garbled due to a bad ribbon cable. A chunk of the hinge was just broken off so the screen falls back. The DVD drive stopped working. Yes, it was an old (approx 5 yrs) but it just sat on a desk in an office and was never moved.
Anyone know if the Lenovo Thinkpad T-series and X-series is still any good? The IBM ones were built like tanks. And I love the matte black, no-frills design. I've deployed quite a few last year and they seemed well built, but that was out-of-the-box.
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| BooBooBear
join:2004-02-11
South Pasadena, CA | I have a Dell Inspiron (model number? ) going on 4 years and a another Inspiron 1505. They do last except for the battery which seems to go just after a year of use. | |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
·Comcast
·Qwest.net
 ·magicjack.com
·BeeCreek Communica..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Meh... My Inspiron e1505 is now my brother's...extended the warranty another three years for five total, wasn't terribly expensive to do so...
1. Speakers quit working correctly relatively quickly after purchase. Dell guycame to my schooland fixed them.
2. Dust under screen. After a bit of work, Dell guy ended up chasing me around town to fix that one.
3. Keyboard messed up. Dell guy came to my house to fix that one.
Gotta love onsite warranties...
4. After a year or so of heavy usage, the battery went from four hours of life to two hours. Dell sent me a new one.
I paid a bit over $600 for the computer. Has been reliable ever since the first three problems were fixed, all within the first month or two of purchase. I know plenty of people with Dells and they seem to work just fine, though my last two computer purchases were Lenovos.
If the Mini 9 was offered free with a Sprint or Verizon data plan, I'd probably take the offer. The carriers routinely discount phones by $350 i they're high-end smartphones, so why not a netbook? As it stands,You could think of the offer as getting AT&T's mobile broadband service for about $50 per month instead of $60, with purchase of a Dell Mini 9 and use of the service ONLY on the Mini 9. Sorry, not interested...AT&T still doesn't have incredibly widespread 3G coverage, whereas Sprint and Verizon, especially Verizon with their purchase of Alltel, do. Sprint has a smaller footprint than Mega-VZW but their service is faster. So I'd take either. But I want a $350 subsidy on my computer if I'm going to sign a 2-year contract on a service that's limited to 5GB of transfer per month, when I can do the exact same thing with Millenicom for a little more, with no cap. | |
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| BooBooBear
join:2004-02-11
South Pasadena, CA
| Re: Meh... If you happen to live in a town where the Dell parent company actually reside then you probably will get someone from DELL to fix your computer. I do know DELL uses a third party to repair your computer for ONSITE repairs. I called DELL for a replacement hard drive - computer was NEW. They sent a no name computer repair person to my residence to replace the hard drive. I wasn't home and I found the person wouldnt show ID proving they represent DELL and insisted to come in and replace my computer's hard drive when I wasnt home ( someone was home and was smart to NOT let the guy in when I was at work).
I called DELL and made a big complaint about this. Instead I had DELL just send me a new hard drive and I would replace it myself. Who knows what the so called repair guy would do to the computer unsupervised. | |
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| | iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO | Re: Meh... I know the Dell guy came from out of town, and was on rounds for some other repairs. Oh, and definitely not in Dell's hometown, though I was in TX at the time  | |
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| BooBooBear
join:2004-02-11
South Pasadena, CA
| You got a replacement battery? I called DELL about the battery which lasted just over a year and they wouldnt replace it. I got the extended warranty. If you read the fine line on warranty it does not cover battery. I think Dell knows this and specifically excluded battery on the extended warranty.
My other DELL only lasted about a year on the battery. | |
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ncbill
Premium
join:2007-01-23
Winston Salem, NC | No deal, service just keeps getting cheaper I can turn 3G data access on/off monthly on my cellphone & tether via Bluetooth with no contract required.
For those w/o a current cell plan locally, Cricket offers unlimited data for $40/month. | |
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| Lazlow
join:2006-08-07
Saint Louis, MO | Re: No deal, service just keeps getting cheaper ncbill
Read the fine print on Cricket. Their "unlimited" is pretty limted. | |
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joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null | I tether my AT&T 3G WinMo phone with the $15 MEdia Net plan. So what if I need a USB cable for it (still trying to figure out Bluetooth PAN on Linux).
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grumpy3b
join:2001-12-11
Lompoc, CA
·DSL EXTREME
·Millenicom
1 edit | What sense does this make? I already have 3G service via Millenicom for $59.95/mo with NO CONTRACT and free device. I can cancel anytime at no cost to me. It was over Sprint's EVDO but after some spat they apparently had where Sprint got their knickers in a twist, we are now over Verizon (I think? But does it really matter? they all stink on ice...). After a rough start my service is for the most part just fine...
So, I guess I could toss $1500 to AT&T for a device they decide is best for me or spend a bit less over the same period for a device that suits my needs perfectly. In fact I can take my connectivity with me wherever I go simply by dragging the USB EVDO device along if I know there will be a laptop/desktop around for my needs.
No thanks, I don't by into the corporate double-speak for today's cell phone market and will not ever do it for what amounts to a bigger cell phone. Better to buy a slate or tablet PC and have a fully functional PC is just slightly more space and remain completely free of forced compliance to the AT&T's of the world.
I also did not catch it but what does this mean in terms of these bandwidth caps which render a Netbook all but pointless for more than a few hrs a month is many cases.
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Using Millenicom? Come visit the Unofficial Millenicom forum here on BBR »Millenicom | |
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| ydoucare
join:2003-03-12
Rensselaer, IN
·Embarq
·Millenicom
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Re: What sense does this make? said by grumpy3b :I already have 3G service via Millenicom for $59.95/mo with NO CONTRACT and free device. I can cancel anytime at no cost to me. It was over Sprint's EVDO but after some spat they apparently had where Sprint got their knickers in a twist, we are now over Verizon (I think? But does it really matter? they all stink on ice...). After a rough start my service is for the most part just fine... So, I guess I could toss $1500 to AT&T for a device they decide is best for me or spend a bit less over the same period for a device that suits my needs perfectly. In fact I can take my connectivity with me wherever I go simply by dragging the USB EVDO device along if I know there will be a laptop/desktop around for my needs. No thanks, I don't by into the corporate double-speak for today's cell phone market and will not ever do it for what amounts to a bigger cell phone. Better to buy a slate or tablet PC and have a fully functional PC is just slightly more space and remain completely free of forced compliance to the AT&T's of the world. I also did not catch it but what does this mean in terms of these bandwidth caps which render a Netbook all but pointless for more than a few hrs a month is many cases. There are plenty of Millenicom customers still on Sprint, myself included.
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Asus P5N-E SLI|E4500|2 GB DDR2 800|8800GT|Audigy + Front Bay|Hauppauge PVR-150MCE|Vista Ultimate + XP Pro SP2 dual boot|Sony Vaio VGN-CR290|Sprint Mobile Broadband|Netgear WGR614v8 | |
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tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY
| be wary of wireless data plans Try as they may, wireless companies are having a hard time trying to get subscribers to their wireless data plans (because they suck, are limited use, and cost too much). Do you really think you could pay $60 a month and use it for VOIP, hah! try again... There is saturation in the cell phone market as it is too, that's why they've introduced UNLIMITED calling into the mix to get more money out of your pockets. If I were you, I'd let them squirm much more before paying for wireless internet in a 2 year contract deal. AT&T and Sprint are evil when it comes to 2-year contract deals, so be very careful when you sign on the dotted line & know what your getting yourself into, first. | |
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Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-01
IA | Aspire One I think it's $350 retail and not $500?
Anyway ATT has a $175 ETF so even if you don't care about the wireless service you can cancel and pay the fee and still save some money. | |
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Dan8080
@comcast.net
| There are MUCH cheaper alternatives Get a cheap notebook, from ebay, walmart, or best buy, during those seasonal specials... Get a 3g usb adapter OR an expresscard, OR better yet a mini-pci express 3g card for the laptop. It of course takes careful planning & research ahead of time. Those long contracts horrible. I can connect to my laptop through my cell phone via usb OR bluetooth. | |
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guntherphx
@cox.net | my question My question is that can you only use the service on that netbook they give you or do you get a card as well that you can use in any computer? | |
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Here Comes The Subsidized 3G Netbooks
