We have been hearing about subsidized netbooks for a while now. If you have bought a smart phone in the past, you probably know about the discounts that you get by signing up for a 2 year wireless contract. The same concept now applies to netbooks. Wireless carriers such as AT&T are offering $150 or more discount on top netbooks to lock up customers in 2 year wireless contracts. With HP 1150 NR netbook, you get $250 discount, dropping the price to $199, in exchange for you signing up for a $60 a month contract.

But getting into a netbook wireless contract is not a decision that you should take lightly. There are all kinds of fees that you will have to pay and getting out of your contract can be a hassle too.

Overall, HP 1150 Netbook is a decent machine to start your netbook journey. It’s not the best on the market, and there are a dozen of netbooks that you’d be better off with. But the $250 discount by AT&T is going to tempt a lot of folks. If you have to have a netbook with wireless connection on the go and can’t wait for other models to come out, HP 1150 Netbook is not a bad option to consider.

If you have been holding out for those cheap subsidized netbooks, today is your lucky day. at&t has finally announced that it will introduce $49.99 netbooks in Atlanta and Philadelphia markets. You are going to get an Acer Aspire One for $49.99 as long as you sign up for AT&T’s wireless service for 2 years, which is going to cost you a cool $60 each and every month. You do get about $400 discount on the netbook, but you end up paying $60 for a wireless plan that is at best mediocre to small businesses.

If you want to use 3G on your netbook, you are going to have to sign up for $99 a month plans. The $60 plan comes with a 200 MB data limit which is not exactly what I would call great for someone who’s constantly on the Internet. And to be frank, I am not sure a whole lot of people afford the $99 or $60 wireless plan these das. Overall, if you are a business owner and need a netbook that comes with a wireless package, you are going to get some value out of this whole deal. But if you are a college student hoping to save money on a laptop by buying one of these ultra portable notebooks, you may want to stick with unlocked netbooks. You are far better off paying $400 and having options than $50 and a two year hefty contract in your hands.

Your take: is at&t’s deal a fair one?