This week Verizon Wireless added a unique offering to their standard selection of subsidized phones. If you sign up for mobile internet service you can get a HP Mini 1151NR netbook for $249.99 ($199.99 after $50 rebate).
The netbook features a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, an 80GB hard drive, a 10.1" screen with a native resolution of 1024x576, and mobile broadband, 802.11b/g wireless ethernet, and Bluetooth connectivity built in. It comes with Windows XP Home installed.
In the nearly two years since the introduction of the original iPhone the line between smartphone and ultra-portable computer has gradually blurred. There's even talk that Nokia, a leader in the smartphone market, will have their own line of netbooks soon.
But given the issues that AT&T iPhone owners have had making full use of their mobile internet servce it will be interesting to see how Verizon's network holds up.
It's one thing to support mobile email and scaled down versions of web pages. It's something else entirely for thousands (or tens of thousands) of people to use the same bandwidth for even basic web surfing using a standard desktop browser.
If sales take off by the time the next school year rolls around, don't be surprised to see either a lot of happy students or an equal number of disgruntled Verizon customers.
In either case this may signal a major shift in the way US consumers use mobile internet services, and ultimately the change in focus should be good for consumers.
In the nearly two years since the introduction of the original iPhone the line between smartphone and ultra-portable computer has gradually blurred. There's even talk that Nokia, a leader in the smartphone market, will have their own line of netbooks soon.
But given the issues that AT&T iPhone owners have had making full use of their mobile internet servce it will be interesting to see how Verizon's network holds up.
It's one thing to support mobile email and scaled down versions of web pages. It's something else entirely for thousands (or tens of thousands) of people to use the same bandwidth for even basic web surfing using a standard desktop browser.
If sales take off by the time the next school year rolls around, don't be surprised to see either a lot of happy students or an equal number of disgruntled Verizon customers.
In either case this may signal a major shift in the way US consumers use mobile internet services, and ultimately the change in focus should be good for consumers.
