If people want evidence that Apple may want to take advantage of the halo-effect generated by its mobile platform, Apple should offer at the minimum the Macbook Air with a wireless plan.
Would some of you executive mobile warriors like that? I’m not an executive and I would. But I’m not so sure this would make economic sense for Apple. And Apple is out to make money.
Unless, Apple can take that iPhone revenue-sharing model and apply it to their Macbook lines, specifically the Air. Or, as Onxo has advocated previously, have the wireless providers shell out money upfront to subsidize part of the cost of the laptop and recoup the expense through multi-year contracts.
Right now, the costs of laptop with wireless broadband are passed along to the consumer and that is just plain stupid if you think about it. Wireless broadband should not be a privilege for only those who truly need it. Instead, wireless providers should be advocates and entice more businesses, educational institutions, or high net worth individuals to adopt mobile broadband as a new way to work and play. And over time, that may drive costs down.
Vodafone will soon start selling Dell’s new netbook. At this time, pricing is not available. For full size laptops, HP offers a pretty comprehensive package from Verizon, ATT, and Sprint. Not bad. But consider the premium and the need for a voice plan, this is not exactly what I’m talking about here. This is not what's needed to drive demand.
But I do sense a move for laptop brands to work with wireless providers to eventually offer services to regular consumers. After all, there already are broadband providers that include desktops with multi-year contracts. So, why not wireless access and laptops?
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