Contract laptop deals

• Pay monthly contracts
• Free laptop deals
• Pay as you go

		Pay Now	Monthly price	Contract	Speed	Downloads
1	Samsung R530 Laptop»334 reviews	FREE Worth £499	£35/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Sleek red laptop with HD display and SRS 3D sound system, plus a SuperSilent low noise mode perfect for noise-sensitive environments. Includes Huawei E1750 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee. Free PAYG SIM for a friend.
2	Compaq CQ61»334 reviews	FREE Worth £358	£30/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Great all-round laptop plus Huawei E1750 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee. Free PAYG SIM for a friend.
3	Asus 1005 H netbook»66 reviews	FREE Worth £329	£35/mth	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	10 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Netbook with E169 USB modem. McAfee Internet Protection, unlimited Wi-Fi, 24-month warranty and 30-day support
4	Samsung NC10 netbook»185 reviews	FREE Worth £259	£30/mth	24 months	4.5Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Unlimited browsing: no extra charges if you exceed 5GB fair usage but downloading/streaming video will be restricted at peak times.
5	Samsung R519»66 reviews	FREE Worth £379	£35/mth	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Full-sized laptop with display optimised for HD movies, McAfee Internet Protection plus E169 USB modem. 24-month warranty plus free 30-day support and 30 day Happiness Guarantee.
6	Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook»145 reviews	FREE Worth £299	£25.53+ VAT /mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Dell Inspiron Mini netbook with built-in mobile broadband. Small and light - with an easy to use keyboard
7	Dell Mini 1012 netbook»334 reviews	FREE Worth £279	£25/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras New upgraded notebook with Huawei E1750 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
8	Dell Mini 1012 netbook»334 reviews	FREE Worth £279	£17.50/mth	24 months	7.2Mbmax speed	1 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras New upgraded notebook with Huawei E1750 USB Modem. Free delivery and 14 day money back guarantee.
9	Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook»185 reviews	£19.99 Worth £299	£25/mth	24 months	4.5Mbmax speed	5 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Unlimited browsing: no extra charges if you exceed 5GB fair usage but downloading/streaming video will be restricted at peak times.
10	Asus 1005 H netbook»66 reviews	FREE Worth £329	£25/mth	24 months	3.6Mbmax speed	3 GBper month	Go Check coverage>
		Extras Netbook with E169 USB modem, McAfee Internet Protection, unlimited Wi-Fi, 24-month warranty and 30-day support

Free laptops on contract

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What's a contract laptop?

Contract laptop deals have been around for some time and have been particularly popular with business looking to avoid up-front costs. What's happened in the past couple of years is that mobile broadband companies (Vodafone, 3 Mobile, O2, Orange & T-Mobile) have started bundling in laptops with their mobile broadband contracts, and these have proved phenomenally popular. Much like a mobile phone contract with an expensive handset, you pay nothing (or very little) up front then effectively pay off the cost of the laptop through the life of the contract. These mobile broadband contract laptops are generally much cheaper than traditional contract laptops, plus the cost includes mobile broadband internet access.

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Are free contract laptops deals really 'free'?

The simple answer is no, but that doesn't mean you're going to get ripped off. What actually happens is that you pay for the laptop or netbook over the length of these mobile broadband laptop contracts, much like a hire purchase deal.

Prices range from under £20 per month up to £40 per month for the better machines, with laptop contracts lasting either 18 or 24 months. If you compare this to dongle-only mobile broadband deals, which range from around £5 per month up to a maximum of £30 on similar length contracts, it becomes plain that 'free' simply isn't the case.

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So are contract laptop deals for me?

This very much depends on one important factor: are you looking for a laptop right now, but can't afford the cash outlay in one payment? If you're feeling flush enough to buy your new laptop or netbook outright, it may be sensible to simply do so. This will give you the scope to get a mobile broadband deal that is dongle-only, which opens up more choice (such as shorter deals, from pay as you go to 12 month packages) and can give you more flexibility: in a market that changes so frequently, it's good to have your options open - a two-year contract is pretty restrictive.

However, there are plenty of people who free contract laptops are perfect for. If you are struggling in the current financial climate, embarking into further education, or are on a low income where saving is tricky, this is a great way to get yourself online and spread the payments in a controlled fashion.

But do consider that, in a year's time, you will still be either two-thirds or just half way through your payments: this isn't a decision you should take lightly. Do you really need that laptop on a long-term basis? Will the model you're considering be up to the tasks you'll expect of it two years down the line? Getting the right laptop is an important decision.

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So who has the best laptop contracts?

Or, you could quite as easily ask, 'how long is a piece of string?' Remember that you have two questions you need to ask yourself, and no one contract laptop deal will be everything to everyone: what do I need my new machine to do; and will the contract have enough data allowance to cover my mobile broadband habits?

When browsing through the contract laptops, you'll find two distinct categories: netbooks and laptops. Netbooks tend to be small and light, but with lower memory and screen size, while laptops are generally larger and heavy with better specifications. Next you factor in the price of the contract - the more you pay, the better the memory, laptop speed etc will improve.

Try to make a list of essential things you'll need your laptop to do before looking through the available models: do you need it to have a DVD drive? Does it need a certain sized memory to store large programs or a lot of large files? Does the processor need to be fast to run advanced programs, or games? Does it need to be a Windows device, or could iy operate on a Linux-based operating system?

Finally, don't forget the data limit on the deal - there's no point in getting a bargain free contract laptop only to find you're running up huge bills each month because you're going over your download limit! To help you work out how much data you'll be using, we've put together our own Broadband Genie mobile broadband usage guide.

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