Mobile Network Operators Bundle Eee PCs with 3G Contracts

According to a recent article on Digitimes, the Taiwanese manufacturer ASUSTeK will be collaborating with network operator Orange to release a free netbook bundle in the UK. The pack will include one of the company's vast range of Eee PCs and a two-year online service contract with Orange.

It looks like ASUS will go to great lengths in making sure that its five million Eee PC target is achieved. Besides offering an impressive number of small-sized netbooks, the company also plans to collaborate with network operator Orange, in order to take off some of the inventory pressure.

Users in the UK will get a chance to receive an Eee PC 900 netbook for every two-year 3.5G online service contract they sign with Orange. The monthly fee is an average of �25 ($46.71). The netbook will be equipped with a Celeron M processor, 16GB of storage space on an SSD and a Windows XP operating system. As some of you already know, the Eee PC 901 comes with an 8.9-inch LCD panel and unlike the Eee PC 900A, which has been released recently, isn't equipped with an Intel Atom processor.

In related news, Taiwan's Far Eastone (one of the biggest mobile phone service providers in the country) is offering the Eee PC 701SD together with a 3G mobile broadband via High-Speed HSPA. The deal requires subscribers to sign a two-year service contract which, unlike the Orange offer in UK, is more affordable. For a monthly fee of $29, the Taiwanese users will be able to get an Intel Celeron M353-equipped Eee PC that features a 7-inch display and provides a maximum memory of 512MB of RAM. The other technical features of the netbook include a 4-cell battery, 8GB of storage and a 3MP camera.