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Netbooks have gone from near-obscurity to wide familiarity among consumers over the past year. Wireless carriers are beginning to transform the computer distribution landscape, trying to get an edge over competitors by offering subsidized netbooks to customers who sign multi-year contracts for mobile broadband or residential DSL broadband. AT&T has recently begun selling subsidized netbooks in Atlanta and Philadelphia for as little as US$50 to people who sign two-year broadband contracts. Verizon also plans to begin offering netbooks under service contracts toward the end of this quarter.

AT&T and Verizon are looking to expand beyond the increasingly saturated cell phone market. The Atlanta and Philadelphia AT&T stores are also selling more expensive laptops, such as the Lenovo X200 for US$850 with a contract, which normally sells for US$1,120 without a contract. Last year, Dallas AT&T started subsidizing Acer Aspire One netbooks sold at Radioshack, bringing the price to US$100 – down from US$500 – for buyers who signed up for a two-year wireless broadband plan. AT&T’s promotion of these “mini-laptops” has appealed to consumers looking to cutback spending in the current economic crisis.

Internet service providers have subsidized computers before. In 2000, many service providers offered US$400 discounts for people who signed up for dial-up service. A number of European phone companies already subsidize computers with wireless access. With mobile phone sales expected to decrease this year, it is a logical step for wireless carriers to offer netbooks and the accompanying data plans to recoup some of that lost revenue.

But whether this move makes sense for consumers will depends on their needs. If users need more constant and reliable mobile broadband connectivity than Wi-Fi hot spots can provide, then this seems like an ideal solution. But with monthly data limits, this can be an expensive proposition for users who like to download music and video, rather than just surf the net and check their e-mail.

If netbooks using mobile broadband really take off, this trend will call for some interesting adjustments for the still nascent mobile marketing industry. Not only would this open a new revenue stream for carriers, but open up new dimensions of mobile marketing as well. Instead of having a small cell phone or smartphone screen on which to display messages, marketers have a whole computer as a potential marketing platform. It will be very interesting to monitor the developments in this area over the next year or so.