Computerworld - Verizon Wireless will begin selling the HP Mini 1151NR netbook on Sunday for $200 after a $50 mail-in rebate and enrollment in a new two-year mobile broadband plan.
The netbook, with a 10.1-inch widescreen display, includes access to the Web and e-mail. Service plans start at $40 a month.
Verizon still lists on its Web site that mobile broadband data pricing starts at $40 per month for downloads of up to 50 MB, with a 25-cent fee for every MB over that cap.
However, effective Sunday, the $40 plan will increase data to 250MB per month with a 10-cent overage charge, a Verizon spokeswoman said. At the same time, the 5GB per month plan will stay at $60 per month and the 25-cent overage charge per MB will drop to 5 cents. Current mobile broadband customers will see the rate changes in their next billing cycle, the spokeswoman said.
The HP netbook runs a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor with 1024 MB of memory. It has an 80GB hard drive, according to Hewlett-Packard. Co.'s specification sheet.
The netbook has an Ethernet card, as well as 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The keyboard, as with most netbooks, is less than full size, with 82 keys, or 92% of full size. It weighs 2.45 pounds and is 10.3 x 6.56 x .99 inches in size. It runs the Windows XP Home Edition operating system.
Various distributors have put the retail price without a Verizon data plan at $300. Wireless carriers are willing to subsidize the price of the netbooks as a way to sign up more customers for broadband services.
Read more about Mobile and Wireless in Computerworld's Mobile and Wireless Topic Center.
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