Netbooks on sale for free, give or take $1,400 or so

Two big electronics chains are offering a pair of lightweight, Windows XP-powered netbooks for nothin', or next-to-nothin'—that is, as long as you don't mind paying for two years of wireless broadband service.

PC World reports that Best Buy is serving up the Hewlett-Packard Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX—a Windows XP netbook with a 10.1-inch display—for just 99 cents, while Radio Shack is giving away the 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One for the low, low price of free.

Naturally, the devil's in the details. Best Buy will only sell you the HP Compaq Mini for 99 cents if you sign a two-year contract with Sprint, while Radio Shack requires a two-year agreement with AT&T, according to PC World.

Both the Sprint and AT&T 3G data plans will run you about $60 a month, so … multiply $60 by 24 months, and now we're talking about $1,440 for the life of the contract.

You can also buy the netbooks without a contract, but you can kiss those carrier subsidies goodbye (to the tune of $390 for the HP Compaq Mini at Best Buy, or $350 for the Acer at Radio Shack).

OK, so are these Intel Atom-powered netbooks worth two years of service fees? Well that depends on how you feel about a couple of things: netbooks in general and wireless 3G broadband service in particular.

As I've written before (about the HP Mini 1151 netbook on Verizon Wireless, which now looks relatively expensive at $199 with a two-year contract), a netbook should by no means be considered a viable replacement for a full-sized desktop or laptop.

Sure, they're super small and light (often weighing less than three pounds), but they don't pack near the processing power of even a budget Intel Core 2 Duo-packing laptop, and the undersized screens and keyboards aren't well suited for, say, working on a big Excel spreadsheet. (And don't forget the lack of an optical drive.)

And then there's the matter of the $60 monthly wireless fees, which add up when you consider the 24-month term of the required contract; then again, $60 a month is pretty much the going rate for a wireless 3G card, and the whole point of a netbook is to be as mobile as possible (or at least, it should be).

Also, consider this: While you'll have to pay an early termination fee if you want to bail on the contract early, the $175-$200 charge (prorated depending on how much time is left in your agreement) is still $150-$190 less than the cost of the unsubsidized netbooks.

In any case, think carefully before you jump for a 99-cent—or free—netbook offer (and I'm sure we'll be seeing more in the coming months). Consider your needs, do the math, and ask yourself if you're really ready for (possibly) another two-year service commitment.

So, show of hands: Who's willing to sign up for a free (but strings-attached) netbooks?

Related:
Netbooks Offered Virtually Free With Mobile Contracts [PC World]