I assume you made that analogy hypothetically, but consumers buying PCs subsidized by overpriced network service contracts was actually common practice 10 years

I assume you made that analogy hypothetically, but consumers buying PCs subsidized by overpriced network service contracts was actually common practice 10 years ago. Most of the major ISPs did it — the consumer would get a ~$400 instant rebate on a PC sold at an inflated retail price, in exchange for signing up for an expensive multi-year contract for dialup internet access. Some of the vendors even had schemes where the PCs showed advertising!