Free Laptop Offers

Free Laptop Deals Explained

Free computer offers from mobile broadband providers such as Vodaphone, T-Mobile and Orange tend to follow the same pattern. The cheaper the monthly subscription the less well specified the free computer is. However, in some respects several providers have decided to give away a netbook instead of a laptop with the lower priced packages. This is something quite useful for many internet users, especially those who already own a laptop. By signing up for the cheaper mobile internet package they will receive a netbook such as an ASUS EEE PC, Samsung NC10 or Dell Mini Inspiron. These small netbooks are entirely portable, much more portable than a standard laptop or even a sub-notebook and in many ways they are the most desirable sign up gift at the moment. The fact that the 3G provides are giving them away on the cheapest usage plans makes them even more desirable.

Moving up the scale, 3G networks such as Vodaphone are offering fully functioning high specification widescreen laptops with the more expensive monthly plans. Once again, these represent excellent value as the laptops bundled with the package are often worth several hundred pounds. If you currently do not own a laptop then this may be the best route to follow, as you will receive a top quality product at a fraction of the cost of purchase from a retail store.

Most mobile broadband companies offering a free laptop will present three different models across three different price plans, all of them seem to offer a similar specification of computer across equivalent plans, and currently the trend is thus:

Lowest priced plan - These plans usually provide a netbook such as an ASUS EEE PC, or with the better providers a Dell Mini Inspiron. Netbooks are very small, ultra portable notebook computers. They have much smaller screens than a standard laptop, usually 8" to 10" and have smaller keyboards. They also come without a hard disk drive in most cases; this means that they have very limited storage capacity. The CPU (processor) is also fairly low spec and there may only be as little as 512MB of RAM (memory) included in the machine. This makes them fairly limited for using for any application other than basic web browsing, email and chatting with friends via text messaging. They are ultimately the most portable machines around though, the lack of moving parts in their construction means they can take quite a bit of punishment and still keep ticking. If you already own a laptop then taking a free netbook offer gives you a way to avail yourself of a new useful toy, without ending up with a second laptop you don?t really need.

Mid price plan - The current trend seems to be to supply the new subscriber with a low end traditional notebook. This will usually be a 15.4" widescreen model, with 1GB of RAM and a low spec Intel Core Duo CPU (Processor). The operating system is usually Windows Vista Home Edition or Windows XP Home Edition. The laptops are fine for general business or home use such as email, web browsing, word processing and other lightweight tasks. They are not suitable for more demanding applications such as video editing, gaming or video encoding. If you do not have a laptop already and are concerned about the price of the monthly package then this would be the deal for you. Taking the lower priced netbook deal will leave you without a portable machine that you can really use effectively, whilst taking the higher end deal will cost you more each month.

Top price plan - Most 3G networks are offering some very nice notebooks in this category. Usually 3GB of RAM (memory) and fairly fast duel core processor. All of these machines will be good for normal business or home use including word processing, web browsing and email as well as for occasional use for more demanding applications such as video encoding and even gaming. If you really would like a well specified laptop then this is the deal for you, the extra cost each month will be outweighed by owning a much faster, better equipped laptop.

So with all this talk of free laptops and netbooks where is the catch? There is no real catch as you're getting a brand new laptop to use mobile broadband with, as well as the usb modem. Usually you will be paying a higher price for the monthly package than if you had just taken the free USB dongle offer. There are currently a wide range of mobile broadband free laptop deals from nearly all of the networks. The best way to view these free laptop deals is like an interest free loan, the mobile internet provider gives it to you and then you pay them back a little each month alongside your subscription price for mobile internet. If you stick to a 24 to 26 month contract then by the time it comes up for renewal you should have had good value from the laptop or netbook you chose to take as your sign up bonus.