Contract Netbooks

• Pay monthly
• Pay as you go
• Free laptop
• Mobile Wi-Fi
• iPad SIMs

		Pay Now	Monthly price	Contract	Speed	Downloads
1	Acer Aspire One D260»398 reviews	FREE Worth £239	£25/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	15 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Netbook with 1GB memory, 160GB hard drive, Windows 7 Starter and ZTE MF112 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
2	Acer Aspire One D260»398 reviews	FREE Worth £239	£17.50/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	1 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Netbook with 1GB memory, 160GB hard drive, Windows 7 Starter and ZTE MF112 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
3	Acer Aspire 4741»192 reviews	FREE Worth £471	£47/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Laptop with HD widescreen, 3GB memory, 320 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Home Premium. Advanced PC protection and online backup.
4	Samsung N150»86 reviews	FREE Worth £280	£21.28+ VAT /mth	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras 10.1" netbook with 1GB memory and 250GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Starter and built-in mobile broadband. McAfee Internet Protection. Unlimited Wi-Fi, 300 texts. 24-month warranty plus free 30-day support and 30 day Happiness Guarantee.
5	Samsung N230»398 reviews	FREE Worth £338	£35/mth	18 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Portable netbook with 1GB memory, 250 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Starter. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
6	Asus UL30A netbook»86 reviews	FREE Worth £539	£25.53+ VAT /mth Limited time offer	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras High spec netbook with 3GB memory and 320GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium and built-in mobile broadband, 300 texts/mth, McAfee Internet Protection, unlimited Wi-Fi, 24-month warranty and 30-day support
7	Samsung N150»86 reviews	FREE Worth £280	£25/mth	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras 10.1" netbook with 1GB memory and 250GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Starter and built-in mobile broadband. McAfee Internet Protection. 500MB Wi-Fi, 300 texts. 24-month warranty plus free 30-day support and 30 day Happiness Guarantee.
8	Samsung N150»192 reviews	FREE Worth £280	£30/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Samsung N150 netbook with built-in mobile broadband, 1GB memory, 160 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Starter. Free basic PC protection and online backup.
9	Samsung N150»398 reviews	FREE Worth £280	£30/mth	18 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Netbook with built-in mobile broadband, 1GB memory, 160 GB hard drive and Windows 7 Starter. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
10	Asus UL30A netbook»86 reviews	FREE Worth £539	£30/mth Limited time offer	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras High spec netbook with 3GB memory and 320GB hard drive, Windows 7 Home Premium and built-in mobile broadband, 300 texts/mth, McAfee Internet Protection, 750MB Wi-Fi, 24-month warranty and 30-day support

Buyers' guide: contract netbook

Mobile broadband is the perfect solution for anyone who wants online access while they're on the go, and this can be even better with netbooks on contract. Thanks to a continually improving mobile network across the country, as well as Wi-Fi hotspots, it's now possible to get onto the internet in loads of places thanks to wireless connectivity. Traditionally, this has been done using a laptop computer, which is all well and good, but many of them tend to be a tad on the bulky side.

In the last few years, however, the introduction of the netbook has convinced many computer users to swap their laptop for a much smaller machine. Netbooks on a contract are now relatively cheap and surprisingly plentiful when you take a look across our contract netbook deals (like those laid out in the tables above). Thanks to increased competition, contract netbook deals are now a great idea cost wise and they're also much more convenient than lugging around a slab-like laptop.

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Netbooks on contract deals

UK Providers (such as Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, 3 Mobile and Orange) offering mobile 3G broadband services have been quick to see the value of adding contract netbooks to the ranks of their many and varied deals. Our comparison table above shows you the sort of thing you can expect if you’re looking into acquiring a contract netbook, and many of the newer machines now have specifications that will prove more than adequate for most online uses, from browsing the web through to checking emails.

Contract netbook deals are ideal if you’re looking to get yourself a new machine, and want to downsize to the much more handy to carry computer. These little machines have been around since around 2007 and most of the mobile providers offer netbook contract deals with a variety of package options. Their appeal is obvious, because a contract netbook weighs much less than a traditional laptop machine and getting hooked up to your mobile supply can be done simply by plugging in a USB dongle.

Many of the contract netbook deals come with a dongle as part of the package, while a few machines now also have the mobile internet connectivity built-in to them. Of course, netbooks on contract are no different to any other small laptop-style computer and have a few features that aren't best suited to everyone.

For starters, the screen area is smaller than a normal laptop, which means that your viewing area is diminished somewhat. Similarly, contract netbooks can have slightly smaller keys on them. If you've got large hands or chunky fingers then you may find that a contract netbook might not be ideal if you spend large amounts of your time typing.

You'll also need to keep an eye on what sort of battery life the contract netbook you're interested in offers. Some models can have a fairly short charge period available once you've unplugged from the mains. This can be very frustrating, so check and compare reviews of the machines in our comparison tables and it may be a good idea to spend a little bit more for a netbook on contract if it means you'll get a machine with a slightly more impressive technical specification.

That said, there are plenty of portable charging solutions on the market now, which may still work out the cheapest, lighter and more convenient.

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Comparing contract netbooks

Our comparison chart allows you to sort through what's on offer while weighing up the key deciding factors. So, when looking into contract netbooks, lookout for factors including pay now prices, the monthly price of the contract, the contract duration along with speed and download allowances. UK mobile broadband providers have an array of different machines on offer, and netbooks on contract need to be carefully considered before you sign up for a deal.

Free contract netbooks are a good solution for a lot of people, despite the fact that they're not actually 'free'. Despite some of the advertising, you will pay the cost of the netbook during the contract period - it's more like hire purchase than actually being 'free'. Netbooks contract options can span various periods of time, although 18 and 24 months is generally the sort of time span that you'll need to sign up for.

Free netbook contract deals will hopefully give you a machine with a decent specification, although netbooks for contract shouldn’t be seen as a complete replacement for the more powerful computer that you may have at home. A contract netbook is perfect for web browsing and email correspondence, but they’re not really armed with enough computing power for carrying out more intensive tasks, such as running large software applications or gaming.

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Free contract netbooks: the finer points

Try and pick a machine with a decent processor. Many of the current contract netbooks utilize an Intel Atom or AMD Neo to run the machine. You'll also want a decent bit of RAM, anything over 1GB is ideal, while the hard disk that comes on all of the contract netbooks on offer will generally be more than adequate for your needs over the next couple of years or so.

Free netbook contract deals should come with everything needed to get up and running, and this should hopefully include the dongle, cables and all of the other stuff needed to start accessing mobile 3G internet. These contract netbooks are handy for printing out documents on the go too, because they have additional USB ports, which allows printers plus cameras and other peripheral devices to be attached, no matter what your location.

Pay close attention to the contract netbook deals that have unusual operating systems (OS). You may prefer using a Windows based system, but some contract netbooks come with a more unorthothodox OS such as Linux. There's actually nothing wrong with an operating system like this and many people prefer using it - they tend to be stripped down, making them quicker and meaning they take up less of your precious memory. There are also plenty of open-source, or free to use, software applications that'll run on these netbooks, so keep an open mind on that front.

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Netbooks on contract: the finer points

As with any device that accesses mobile laptop internet, you'll need to remember that a contract netbook can be susceptible to coverage issues, depending on where you use it. Try out our coverage checker in the comparison table above in order to get an overview of the standard of service you can expect.

You'll see some impressive figures above advertising speeds of up to 7.2MB, but this is what the dongle or netbook is capable of, not what is achievable in reality due to shortcomings with the mobile networks and the amount of users online at any one time.

Also, keep an eye on the small print in mobile broadband advertisements on how much data allowance will come with the netbook contract deals that you're interested in. Considering that mobile  wireless broadband isn’t really that great for downloading large chunks of data, such as movies and the like, you'll probably be more than happy with allowances between 1 and 3GB per month. That should cover most web browsing and emailing needs with ease, although watch out for any penalties or extra costs that will be incurred if you exceed these levels.

And don't even think about using your machine overseas to access large quantities of mobile broadband data unless you have a package to cover that sort of scenario. Accessing mobile broadband in foreign climes can be hugely expensive, so it’s probably best avoided. Try using an internet cafe or hotel lobby computer for more extensive surfing, while the odd quick email might just be acceptable. But it's not really recommended that you connect to the mobile broadband networks via a contract netbook unless you want to pay a hefty charge for the privilege.

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Netbooks on contract terms or not?

Pay-as-you-go deals might be a better route to take if you're unable to get a contract, either through not having the funds to pay monthly, or if you've got a bad credit rating. Trying to buy contract netbooks with bad credit means that you're unlikely to get a fixed-term deal, but shop around and use our comparison tables to explore other options, aside from free netbook contract deals.

However, if you’ve got some spare cash, or regular income that will cover the monthly payments then any of the contract netbook deals shown above will make a great addition to your online activities. When you consider that some of the deals that offer free contract netbooks supply machines that are worth hundreds of pounds then a package like this can be ideal, especially if you’re in the market for a new computer anyway. All of the major computer manufacturers now produce netbooks and, no matter what brand you pick, they all offer a respectable level of service that will keep you online for a couple of years, if not longer.

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• Mobile Broadband Beginners Guide
• Mobile Broadband Coverage
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• Using Mobile Broadband Abroad
• Mobile Broadband Awards

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