$100 Netbook No Longer Too Good To Be True

Acer is offering an Aspire One for just $99 (plus a huge asterisk) at Radioshack.

Sometimes, it takes a strong website to admit when it's wrong. Not that we reported false news, mind you - Coby is certainly not producing a sub $100 laptop - but we were wrong in saying it's too good to be true. Acer has taken the mantle and is now offering their 3G Aspire One for under $100.

Plus some fine print. You may want to click on that picture and enlarge it before marveling at the bright red $99.99 for too long.

The netbook is only $99 when you sign up for a two year commitment to an AT&T wireless plan at $60 a month or more. The netbook is normally $499, but breaking out the old laptopical calculator we've been able to determine that the two year data plan will cost you just a bit more than $400 (and by just a bit we mean over $1000 more). The US has seen this sort of thing with cell phones and smart phones before, but this is among the first netbook to offer such a savings. We recently mocked the HP Mini 1000 for offering no subsidies while praising Dell for being the first to offer at least some, but this is the best deal we've seen yet for a 3G machine.

Don't get us wrong, that's still a ton of money. But it looks like 3G connectivity is going to get cheaper and cheaper as its popularity rises.