Airtel Net PC : Low cost computer from Airtel.

Inspired by the increasing popularity of Netbooks, Airtel has launched a similar product called NetPC. This product is built mainly to perform basic applications like internet surfing,chatting and document making.This is being brought up mainly for the use by Indian Airtel broadband users located in Delhi,Gurgaon and Noida areas.

Here is a brief review of the product outlining the goods and the bads of it:

The Goods:
• Unlike most other netbooks, Airtel NetPC uses or runs on WindowsXP.Most cheap netbooks run Linux to reduce the cost of the software.Users can still stick to their favorite Windows platform.
• It is compact and highly portable weighing just half kilogram. If you purchased a USB modem from Airtel, you can freely access the internet on the go.
• The cost is low-within the reach of an average Indian's pocket. Net PC costs 7999 rupees excluding the monthly bill.

The Bads:
• Your monthly bill will be little heavier as you need to pay for the software you are using in addition to the broadband bill.The minimum plan stands at Rs 699 per month.
• You can’t play videos on it.
• You can’t install other new softwares
• You can’t install other browsing softwares like Chrome,Firefox etc.,.You got to use IE that comes bundled with Windows.
• You can’t shift to other broadband networks like Reliance,BSNL as the product would be locked to Airtel Broadband.

Seems to be an exciting product but the probably high monthly bill and other limitations make it a rather unexciting one. Netbooks though a little costlier than this NetPC have more better features and I think users should prefer Netbooks to this Airtel NetPC.

What say you?.Let me know about your views on NetPC in the comments...