AT&T iPad Rumors Could Signal Netbook Slowdown

The first step in Apple taking on netbooks without releasing a netbook was the iPad with cheap 3G support from AT&T. Now comes word the carrier may start selling iPads in its stores – and pushing out netbooks to make room. The rumor comes on the heels of reports European carriers will subsidize the iPad’s price for a two-year contract.

“We’re told the general plan is to convert one or two existing netbook display sections in each corporate AT&T location into a pretty substantial iPad display area,” according to Boy Genius Reports, citing a carrier source “down South” indicating the company will sell the 3G iPad.

Apple’s iPad could grab 4 percent of netbook sales this year and 7 percent in 2011, a Deutsche Bank analyst said earlier this month. The iPad would “compete very well” against netbooks, particularly where “surfing, reading, game playing and emailing dominate the usage model,” analyst Chris Whitmore said.

Netbook-makers face another threat: Google. The ICD Ultra tablet with its 7-inch screen, was seen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain running Android, according to Venture Beat.

Recently, Austria’s carrier Hutchison announced it would offer a $455 rebate for customers signing-up for a two-year $41 per month data plan. Analysts had suggested earlier the iPad’s success could depend on whether carriers subsidize the cost of Apple’s new tablet device.

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[Via BGR, 9to5Mac and VentureBeat]

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