Ever since netbooks appeared on the market as a consumer version of the Classmate PC, sales execs from key companies told us that the destiny of a netbook is to end up being given away with a higher ASP product, such as telco 3G data plan or with a new car, for instance. The running joke was to have a netbook given away with washing powders.
Now, that destiny is slowly, but certainly becoming a reality. Computer maker IBuyPower sent out a release stating that the company will bundle MSI [MSI Wind U100] netbooks with their desktop PCs. Yes, you've read that correctly - buy a desktop PC, and get netbook at no additional cost.
Online configurator shows four different systems, all gunning for your wallet.
The initial set of configurations covered by this action carries the name Power Bundle - four initial Power Bundle configurations are based on the AMD Phenom II X3 and X4 or Intel's Core i7 processors. We checked the specs and in all sincerity, they look pretty solid. You can always customize the living daylights out of the systems and unlike some other, allegedly more premium vendors - the upgrade prices are not excessive at all. We noted that the GeForce GTX285 1GB in SLI or 3-Way SLI is around 330 dollars, pretty good, concerning the cost of for instance, EVGA graphics cards. The configurator allows you to customize the system with both
We took some calculations and it turns out that the built-in price of a netbook is at around $190-210, instead of paying a retail price of $309 for the netbook itself. If you decide not to grab the notebook, the discount is $150 [IBuyPower will sell you the system without the netbook], but since you only need to pay $40-60 to get one… ultimately, the choice is yours. IBuyPower also offers users to upgrade from the MSI Wind U100 to a more powerful notebook, also at a discount price.
In the Back to School 2009 wars, we have seen a lot of incentives that should result in consumers buying one instead of another, but I have to personally admit that IBuyPower has the best deal so far - if you buy an AMD-based rig, you'll also get a Ruby figure and a MP3 player.
© 2009 - 2010 Bright Side Of News*, All rights reserved.
