Landline/internet with free laptop?

cattie1

I'm considering getting the internet for the 1st time, with a landline (don't have 1 currently) but I don't have a pc or laptop so I was thinking about getting a deal with a laptop included.

Has anyone had one of these deals before?

What is the best deal? Are they good/bad?

Thankyou for any help you can provide.

dylanuk

You can't get free laptops with home (fixed line) broadband anymore.

AOL used to do it - they started the free laptop offers - but they stopped a couple of years ago.

The only way to get a "free" laptop deal nowadays is with a mobile broadband contract.

There is a monthly guide on free laptop deals here... http://www.chooseisp.co.uk/broadband-g.../free-laptop-deals.html

If you do decide to go down this route, you also need to find out who offers the best coverage in your area. The providers have coverage maps on their websites - some offer money-back guarantees but remember to check this still applies with laptop deals.

[Deleted User]

Due to the increased price of the contract, free laptop deals are usually (but not always) more expensive than buying the laptop separately.

dylanuk

free laptop deals are usually (but not always) more expensive than buying the laptop separately.

It's true, not always, but sometimes they are. Also - you can get added benefits such as a 24 month warranty on the laptop to last the length of the mobile broadband contract - if you bought it in a shop, you'd normally only get 12 months.

Only O2 and Orange offer 24 month warranties on their laptop deals though.

matmcgregor

I live in a 1bed apartment, also looking at getting a laptop? But i need internet access and i don't have a landline, am i best to get access through sky? heard they can just put it on your contract?

As i use my work pc all day i'm prob gonna get a notebook and use it for Itunes, facebook and surfing an suggestions on one that isn't gonna break the bank????

[Deleted User]

Even Sky require a BT landline for internet access. The only way to get broadband without a landline is with Virgin, but they are not the cheapest and so you might find that it is better just to get a landline.

If you won't play games on the computer, then anything with a dual core CPU and at least 2GB RAM should be fine. Just think about what size computer you want and whether you need extras like blu-ray, bluetooth, built-in webcam, etc. Also consider how much hard drive space you will need (possibly quite a lot if you download lots of things from Itunes).

matmcgregor

Can't i get a dongle on my 02 contract as they're coverage is good in my area??

thanks for the advice on the computer,greatly appreciated

Its taken me over a year to get a laptop!

[Deleted User]

A mobile broadband dongle is not a reasonable replacement for a landline unless you only do very light surfing and e-mail checking. iTunes downloads, watching online video, or even browsing sites with lots of photos could very quickly become very expensive on mobile broadband. Even with good coverage, it is likely that the speed will still be a lot slower than with a landline (unless you live very far from your telephone exchange).

The included data with a dongle is often 1GB/month for the cheapest packages - not very much at all! Line rental isn't much more than that and then you could get Sky broadband with 2GB/month allowance for free (or 10GB/month for only an extra £5).

supermonkey

Definately much better value to get a laptop seperately. And if you need any help finding a good and suitable deal, just ask here, or in the tech forum

cattie1

Thankyou for all the help, I'm going to try to get a 2nd hand computer (although I'm slightly wary about this) and go with sky as they seem to have a better inclusive deal.