Hewlett-Packard is working with T-Mobile USA to entice customers to buy one of its notebooks by offering 200 MB of free HSPA+ data per month for two years.
HP said that starting Oct. 26, when customers buy its 11-inch Pavilion dm1 notebooks they will get the offer for the free mobile data, which will last for two years. However, customers do not need to sign a contract for the data service. Customers will also get a free 25 GB account with Box, the cloud storage company. HP currently sells the Pavilion dm1 for $400 online.
The offering has precedent. Verizon Wireless in 2010 said it would offer a free 100 MB per month for two years to those purchasing a notebook running Google's Chrome OS.
HP's offer also is similar in some respects to the one Amazon is making for its new Kindle Fire HD with LTE. For $50 per year, Amazon is offering users 250 MB of data per month from AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T).
Meanwhile, T-Mobile's incoming CEO, John Legere, sounded out his core priorities and principles as he prepares to take the helm at the nation's No. 4 carrier on Saturday. Legere, a 32-year veteran of the communications and technology industries, is the former CEO of Global Crossing, where he helped turn the company around from bankruptcy and build the company into a major global provider of IP service. He signaled that he would be aggressive and would continue T-Mobile's "challenger brand" strategy.
Legere said that T-Mobile would highlight its newly reintroduced unlimited data plan and would go after Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), which continues to offer unlimited smartphone data. "If I were the No. 3 player, I'd be watching over my shoulder," he said. "We've made moves to be a value leader."
The incoming T-Mobile chief also said that the company would focus on growth and would not be distracted by potential mergers and acquisitions, a line that executives from T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom took following the demise of AT&T's failed takeover bid. Legere will continue to oversee T-Mobile's $4 billion network upgrade, which will allow it to deploy LTE on its 1700 MHz AWS spectrum and refarm its 1900 MHz PCS spectrum for HSPA+ services.
"Are you ready to fight?" Legere said he asked DT CEO Rene Obermann, according to AllThingsD. "What I heard from Rene is 'Yes.'"
For more:
- see this SF Chronicle article
- see this Engadget article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this AllThingsD article
Related Articles:
AT&T's Lurie talks Mobile Share plans, Amazon's new LTE tablet and more
Amazon's Kindle Fire HD with LTE breaks mold with $50/year data plan
T-Mobile names John Legere as new CEO
T-Mobile to court iPhone users with in-store demos, iOS app
T-Mobile revives $30 unlimited data for postpaid smartphones
T-Mobile continues to bleed postpaid subs in Q2