German MVNO 1&1 said it is offering the ROG Strix G17 laptop from Asus in combination with its Data Flat LTE tariffs. Customers who buy the gaming laptop in combination with a 1&1 Data Flat subscription receive a free 4G/LTE Wi-Fi router. The Asus ROG Strix G17 is also available with the 1&1 Data Flat tariffs without initial payment. For people playing games online with a smartphone, 1&1 offers the Asus ROG Phone 5.
The laptop costs €49.99 (US $59.51) per month for six months and €89.99 (US $107.13) monthly from the seventh month of contract with the Data Flat LTE S tariff including 3 GB of data. With the Data Flat LTE M, including 10 GB of data, the laptop costs €54.99 (US $65.46) per month for six months and €94.99 (US $113.08) monthly from the seventh month of contract. The laptop costs €59.99 (US $71.41) per month for six months with the Data Flat LTE L tariff, including 15 GB of data, and €99.99 (US $119.03) per month from the seventh month of contract. It costs €64.99 (US $77.37) per month for six months with the Data Flat LTE XL, including 20 GB of data, and €104.99 (US $124.98) per month from the seventh month of contract.
Tarifica’s Take
Online interactive gaming is increasingly popular, especially in the youth market, and its sophisticated graphics and rich features require large amounts of mobile data. Therefore, encouraging gaming is an excellent strategy for mobile operators of all kinds.
Operators have been offering deals on mobile handsets and tablets for a long time; now, it makes sense for them to do the same with the purpose-built devices that cater to the gaming world. In the present offering, 1&1 wisely includes both a gaming laptop and a specialized gaming phone, both made by Asus.
The laptop pricing structure is tiered according to the amount of monthly data in the plan, with a much lower monthly charge for the first six months, on the logic that the initial savings will draw customers who will then accept the higher rate once they have settled into using the services and are satisfied with the performance.
The fact that 1&1 is an MVNO is relevant in that virtual brands, in addition to generally (though not always) being budget-oriented, also tend to be specialized, defining their customer bases by particular interests or demographics.