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The Asus Eee is truly mobile
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Free laptop with Orange mobile broadband
Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
Orange has become the latest ISP to offer a free laptop to new mobile broadband customers (18-08-08).
From Saturday, customers signing up to Orange's (www.Orange.co.uk) Internet Everywhere mobile broadband package have had the option to get a free laptop from its “connected” range.
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"In the long run it’s definitely more economical to save up and buy your laptop outright"
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The first laptop on offer is the ultra-portable Asus Eee PC which has a compact 8.9” screen, 16GB of solid-state storage and weighs less than 1kg.
Francois Mahieu, director of devices, Orange UK said: “It is Orange’s aim to be at the forefront of serving today’s 21st century customers, so we’re pleased to bring to market our first connected laptop offer with Asus.”
The free laptop comes as part of the Internet Everywhere package for £25 a month over two years, with a 3GB download allowance and a free dongle enabled for speeds of up to 7.2Mb.
However, Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, pointed out that Orange’s free laptop package costs £10 a month more than its standalone mobile broadband and the contract also lasts six months longer.
“If you’re looking to sign up to mobile broadband and want a free laptop that’s truly portable, then this could be the deal for you. However, the Asus Eee laptops start from only £179.99 in stores, and you’ll be paying a total of £600 over the life of your contract if you take a ‘free’ laptop, compared to £270 over 18 months if you go for Orange’s standalone broadband.
“Although some people will simply find it easier to pay for their laptop in monthly instalments like this, in the long run it’s definitely more economical to save up and buy your laptop outright,” he advised.
Related article - Hidden costs of mobile broadband.
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