The $0.99 Netbook has arrived, on Sprint

It's a race to the bottom.

Best Buy and Sprint have teamed up to offer a Compaq-branded HP Mini 110c netbook for only 99 cents when you sign a two-year data contract.

Normally, the system would run you $389 at Best Buy, no contract, and buying a similar model with Verizon (or a comparable one from AT&T) would still set you back $199. (Or, for free, if you sign up for Verizon's Fios.)

But as you might have guessed, Sprint and Best Buy make their money not from the hardware, but the contract, which at $60 per month would cost you $720 per year, or $1,440 over the life of the contract.

The Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX offers a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of memory and a tiny three-cell battery. It weighs about 2.6 lbs. and is 1.3 in. thick, and it has a built-in camera and microphone, 92 percent-size keyboard, 3 USB ports, a 5-in-1 card reader and Intel GMA 950 graphics.

(Or, you know, you could save yourself the trouble and buy yourself a proper laptop.)

Does this Mini netbook have enough of a miniature price tag to get you to commit?

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