$99.99? Acer Aspire One netbook, But Read the Fine Print

Sort of because this price is subsidized by AT&T, and as with cell phone subsidies, the true cost includes the service contract. You have to sign a two-year contract with AT&T. Now, considering the cost of the cheapest AT&T DataConnect mobile broadband service is $60, what you have is basically a true cost of $1,440 for the contract, and a total cost of $1539.99.

Netbooks have been subsidized by carriers overseas, but not in the U.S. until now.

Much as I said about the iPhone 3G's supposed "half the price" slogan, a bargain the Acer Aspire ain't. Now, it's true that if you were going to get the 3G service anyway, this does "add up." But if not, it's not really a good deal.

As I said, if you were planning to get wireless broadband anyway, it's a deal. If not, you need to consider if it's worth it. If you live in a major metropolitan area, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, free wi-fi is easily found. If not, a service like Boingo can provide you with wi-fi in thousands of places across the country for $9.95 / month.

Way cheaper (and faster) than AT&T's 3G service. Remember, sans this promotion, this laptop is about $450 (or less). Specs on this model: 2.44-pound netbook, 1 GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP.

According to the press release, the promotion is only good until Dec. 24th.