The Wall Street Journal’s reporting HP are considering bundling netbooks with 3G phone plans.
This is a good idea and following the mobile phone business model makes sense, particularly given netbooks are cheaper than most smartphones and 3G data plans are more expensive than most standard talk plans.
However it has been tried before in Australia by both Telstra and Optus and both plans have sunk like a stone. Probably because the marketing was poor, the dealer commissions non-existant and the plans didn’t offer real value.
If HP are going to make this work they will need to partner with a number of telcos in each market and make sure there is enough margin in the product for dealer commissions while offering a good value product to the customer.
I think it’s doable but the product needs to be bundled properly with the 3G plan and services.
I suspect we may see these products start to be marketed as dealers start to look for alternatives to their traditional mobile phone revenues as spending falls.
Paul Wallbank is a speaker and writer charting how technology is changing society and business. Paul has three regular technology advice radio programs on ABC, a weekly column on the smartcompany.com.au website and has published six computer books.
Since 1995 Paul has setup and run four business including PC Rescue which he grew to be a national IT support business. Paul currently works with government and businesses to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities of the new digital economy. 