Asus Eee PC 904 GO With Smart BRO Now Available in Philippines

Posted on March 19th, 2009. Written by Rico.

Yesterday, Smart announced availability of Smart BRO Inside, basically an Asus Eee PC 904 GO with Smart BRO bundled together. The wireless broadband service takes advantage of the netbook’s built-in SIM slot, which allows mobile access to Smart’s HSPA network. It’s more or less like Globe Visibility and Sun Broadband Wireless, but without the need to keep a modem plugged into your laptop’s USB port.

The cost? P1,799 for ~~the first of~~ 24 months, ~~P799 for the next 23.~~ For a grand total of P43,176 over two years. ~~Not bad~~ Decent, especially when you consider that the 904 GO reportedly has a decently-sized keyboard, making surfing and typing out those reports that much easier.

But there’s a catch: the connectivity isn’t unlimited. Once you get past the 60-hour internet access limit, you’ll have to pay an additional 10 pesos per extra 30 minutes. So customers may have to watch how long they stay connected via Smart BRO.

The only thing tempering my excitement about this Asus-Smart collaboration—which provides a very very useful service at a relatively low cost—is Smart BRO’s reputation for reliability (or relative lack of).

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 1:30 am and is filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Rico

Rico Mossesgeld is the founding editor of Technograph. Learn more about him at rico.mossesgeld.com/about.

Reggie

isn’t it 1,799 for every month for 24 months? that’s the way i understood it from their press release.
http://technogra.ph Rico

Initial cash-out for the 24-month subscription is P1,000 for 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. Interested subscribers may apply for the plan at selected SMART Wireless Centers in Metro Manila.

Could be a poor choice of words. Will check with Smart’s PR, let’s see what they have to say.
http://www.travelomo.com Karlo Samson

I called the SMART hotline. It is, in fact, P1,799 a month. What a gyp!

http://technogra.ph Rico

Yes, I just confirmed for myself… Reggie’s right! Sigh…

manix genabe

is it true that it’s only for pre-qualified existing smart bro subscriber? i just called smart and that’s what the customer care personnel told me? is this true? i hope not. unless they wanna turn off people from switching, this shouldn’t be the case.
amsi

43k for a notebook and only 60 hours of internet ? (wifi at that… when you’re not even sure if their service is always on… you’ll only have 2 hours a month of actual use cause the signal’s too weak…that is stealing…. !!!!!)
http://dyoonet.blogspot.com dyoonet

I just inquired at a Smart Wireless Center, and it’s really PhP1799 / mo x 24 mos. The PR wording was indeed (intentionally?) confusing, but they’ve got flyers out already with clearer terms.

@manix – I don’t think that’s the case (that doesn’t make a lot of business sense — why offer a mobile internet connectivity package to those who are already connected?). The guy at the center said it’s just like applying for a phone subscription — the usual docs to submit are proof of billing, financial statements, IDs — with at least a week of processing. However, it’s still best to personally inquire at a center, because sometimes customer care phone reps aren’t really updated unless they’re also with sales dept. (sorry but it’s true).
Butch

Is it available only in metro manila?????
anton valenzuela

very very very expensive……..
jr

only a STUPID-dumb will have to enjoy this VERY EXPENSIVE netbook-3G service…

for P43,000+?
a NETBOOK? I’d rather buy myself a decent laptop
plus 60hr/mo.-INTERNET? I’d rather go to COFFEE SHOPS with WIFI bringing with me my ASUS EEEPC 2GSurf

Smart is CLEARLY EXPLOITING Filipino CONSUMERS…
Go to HELL!!!