My Eee PC - I don't leave home without it

…. and Telcos are becoming retail channel partners.

This could also be good for consumers as you may have guessed.

Stuart Corner reports that:

Netbooks, products that did not exist two years ago, are driving the biggest transformation in the PC industry in 15 years, largely because of telcos enthusiastically promoting netbooks with subsidies as they do cellphones, according to research firm Canalys.

“The biggest change of all has been the success the telcos have had in selling subsidised 3G netbooks, emulating the mobile phone business model,” Canalys says. “The market shares of PC vendors are changing rapidly on the back of their willingness to commit to the netbook category and their agility in chasing these new, substantial telco deals.”

“Tim Coulling, Canalys research analyst, said, “Our latest research reveals that, in August, across Europe, the four PC vendors with the most telco deals were Samsung, Asus, HP and Acer.”

Alex Villafania in a related report says:

“Some of the telco-sold units are being subsidized and Canalys noted that the “sweet spot” for some of the netbooks is 100 to 199 British pounds (about P8,000 to P16,000).

In the Philippines, Most netbooks are sold off the shelf from about P15,000 to P23,000.

Local telecommunications firms have yet to start selling netbooks directly although they have partnerships with retail shops where they bundle third-generation or 3G USB receivers with netbooks.”

Yes, its been happening as early as March 18, 2009. Here’s a press release of a bundled service (Asus Eee PC™ 904 GO).

Add new tag Asus Globe market netbooks Smart telcos trends