The mobile broadband with free laptop deals are not perceived to offer value for money according to the latest set of results of a consumer survey!

Despite the popularity of mobile broadband never being greater and the flurry of mobile broadband with laptop deals that were available, a whopping 60% of those who took the study thought that the deals of these combined laptop & mobile broadband were too expensive! Only 15% of those polled thought that the combined deals offered value for money.

The disillusionment with the free laptop with mobile broadband deals has come because customers pay more each month for these deals than they do for just mobile broadband only deals which makes the words “free laptop” a bit of a sticking point.

It is all a case of how you look at the deals as to if you think they are good or bad.  On one hand customers do invariably end up paying more each month for a “free laptop” mobile broadband deal such as the example below:

An example in case from O2 mobile broadband who do offer a “free laptop” mobile broadband deal:

• “Free” Samsung NC10 Mini-Laptop with 3GB mobile broadband data transfer on a 24 month contract – £29.38 per month
• O2 Mobile broadband only deal with 3GB mobile broadband data transfer – £14.69 (although currently for 4 months of this it is at £9.79).

So in this example, for the very same mobile broadband usage of 3GB per month there is almost £20 difference per month for taking the “free laptop” as apposed to just taking out the mobile broadband alone.

The other more positive way to look at this is that if you do not currently have a laptop and want one and are not in a position to buy one out right and would prefer to pay it in monthly installments then if you choose one of these deals then you are getting the option to get a brand new laptop which is in effect only costing you £20 per month. In the example above, the Samsung NH-10 is currently on sale at Dixons for £259.

The negative way to view the above is that it is clearly not exactly a “free laptop” as you are paying almost £20 per month extra for the same mobile broadband deal by having a “free laptop” added to it, if you work out the difference in price over the 2 years/24 months that the mobile broadband deal runs for you end up paying £470 more than you would for just standard mobile broadband which is £211 more than the laptop would cost to buy outright now.

As we have always said, you need to weigh up the options of these mobile broadband + laptop deals very carefully. If you can’t afford to buy a new laptop and are happy to pay £30 per month to have one and receive mobile broadband then this could be a convenient way for you to get yourself sorted, providing you are aware that in the long run you will be paying more.

If however you already have a laptop or can afford to buy one without needing to take one from the mobile broadband providers then over the course of the mobile broadband contract you are likely to save yourself a bit of money.