Individuals who couldn't otherwise afford new PCs are taking advantage of these types of offers as well. I don't feel like it's a fire sale of inferior technology. You can pay a fortune for new technology, and it becomes obsolete in a year. It's clear that the customer base for these kinds of services is of modest means. Advertisers get the chance to test the effect of ads on a wide range of demographics, explains Steve Chadima, VP of marketing at the Pasadena, Calif.- based Free PC, which supplies customer profiles to advertisers.
Sponsors cite similar benefits.
Respond partnered with Freemerchant to become one of the paid-for extras available through Freemerchant's free Web site program. Respond gives Freemerchant a cut of the transactions, in return for new business that has helped Respond ramp up its merchant base to 10,000 small businesses. While companies might like anything that saves them money, skeptics remain. Consumers who enter these three-year deals could miss out on newer technologies. Some of the offers might be good for college students and new Internet users who aren't loyal to PCs with brand-name chips.