Smart launches netbook with built-in broadband

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Communications Inc. unveiled the Philippines’ first netbook with built-in broadband connectivity.
The Asus Eee PC 904 GO, which features an embedded Smart Bro wireless broadband modem, was recently launched by Smart Broadband Inc. (SBI), a subsidiary of Smart.
Smart is the mobile arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s largest and leading telecommunications company.
The built-in Smart Bro modem and the Smart Bro data SIM that comes with the bundle allow the Asus netbook to connect instantly and wirelessly to Smart’s nationwide HSPA network.
HSPA, short for high-speed packet access, is the latest evolution of the GSM technology, and is likened to having the high-speed, cable broadband experience delivered right to a mobile device.
The Smart Bro-powered Asus Eee PC 904 GO is available via the Plan 799 monthly subscription, which comes with up to 60hours of Internet access. Usage in excess of 60 hours will be charged P10for every 30 minutes, the company said.
Initial cash-out for the 24-month subscription is P1,000for the laptop plus P799 for the first monthly service fee, for a total of P1,799. The same amount goes for the monthly fee for the package, it added.
“As we innovate and offer more and more services under our mobile broadband portfolio, we hope to advance our ‘Internet for All’ agenda, to bring the benefits of broadband Internet to the grassroots,” Orlando Vea, chief wireless advisor of Smart, said in the statement. -GMANews.TV