Discuss:
What will be popular information communication devices in 5 years time and why?
Will the telephone (both personal, mobile, desktop and corporate models and/or working methods) be replaced and if so by what?
If you're jonesing for a netbook and you live in the States, Sprint and Best Buy will sell you one for the low, low price of 99¢. But you'll still have to fork out around $1,500. The catch is that the netbook - a Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX - must be purchased with a two-year Sprint 3G wireless-broadband service contract that …
If you plan on (ab)using the 5GB/month plan and wanted a machine to go with it (instead of a mobile phone), not a bad way to go about it. The $60/month is a bit high for general usage, but that's the cost of mobile data.
WTF because the language in the story makes it seem like $1440 was the sales tax.
When I can get an unlimited tethering plan for most phones for $40 (potentially $25 with an iPhone plan if the proposed $55 includes the 30 people already pay) then why would i pay $60 for only 5GB? And 250MB... crap, just the windows patch alone on the netbook would exceed that most months, let alone some casual brosing and a little internet radio. My PHONE exceeds that most months just with push enabled and a few apps downloaded. I'm not even streaming music on it... (i realized on the 2G iPhone the use of edge blocked all other edge traffic, including calls, texts, and email, so i got out of the habit of using it. It actually works fine on the 3g, i just don't use it).
Besides, it;s a crap machine. tiny keyboard, no real power... For a few hundred bucks more I can get a Mac 13" that's far more useful, only a ound heavier, and it can actually run 3D, edit music, and more. If I really need it, I can get a cell card for it's expresscard slot... or a USB equiovalent (and then use that on nearly ANY notebook, not just the cheapo one...)
I'm interested in getting this deal with Verizon (since I already have their service, and it works well..) It sounds expensive, but if you already have a data plan on an aircard (I do) then you're just getting a subsidized netbook for extended the contract on service you already have. (My current notebook is getting pretty loose so I intend to get a netbook soon anyway.) BUT:
1) I don't want one with Windows. This was the dealbreaker with the one Verizon has -- I won't be counted as a Microsoft sale when I intend to immediately wipe it and put functional software on there. (Plus I realize the $200 netbook would be $150-175 if the windows tax wasn't tacked on.)
2) I would want to extend my current plan. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon *used* to have $60 unlimited plans, and I have one grandfathered in -- I don't want it reduced to 5GB. I use mine pretty heavily and have hit 6 or 7GB -- the lowest overage rate I've heard of is Verizon's, and it's 5 cents a meg overage -- that's a bit over $51 a gig. Ouch. (It used to be 25 cents a meg overage until a few months ago though, pentuple-ouch.)
I've never paid sales tax on an amount larger than the subsidized price for a cell phone - I would certainly have noticed that when I bought my iPhone 3GS a few weeks back. So why does Sprint want to charge sales tax on $389.99 instead of $0.99? Maybe some states like CA with huge budget deficits to fill have found a way to extract a bit of extra money from their citizens?
Sales tax is based on the final selling price. If you buy something for $400 and have a $200 mail-in rebate then the selling price is $400, and that's what you're taxed on. If it's $400 with a $200 instant rebate then the selling price is $200, and that's what you're taxed on. If it's discounted to $1 with a 2 year contract (no rebate) then that $1 is the amount you're taxed on.
Sprint tend to do combined mail-in and discount combinations, just to make life complicated!
Yanktards!
FFS, I 'bought' my 3G modem for €9/month - 2 year contract, but... as much data as I can eat. OK,so at 384kB, it takes all night to download a nice pr0n film, but with the missus snoring, a "grumbleflick a day keeps prostrate cancer at bay". (Beats* Mars bars, Murray Walker)
Why bother - being musical, she's an accomplished player of the 'pink piccolo'.
* What's the difference between an egg and a wanK? You can beat an egg but...