Verizon Netbooks? Wireless carrier Verizon is branching out from offering just mobile phones. Last week, Reuters (and other news sites) had reported Verizon would start selling netbooks this year. Those reports have now been confirmed by a Verizon spokesperson. [CR]
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Soon to arrive: Free laptop if you subscribe to mobile broadband Internet service under a new 2-year contract. A great way to waste $30 to $60 a month.
You’re a lot better of buying a $300 netbook, or $400 laptop, and tethering it via wi-fi or bluetooth to your 3G cell phone for Internet access, where Internet access through a wireless access point is unavailable.
@Quatre707: Ewww, why would you want a free PC when it comes with Windows?
@GuinevereRucker: Agreed! They should PAY people to use anything with Windows, given all the security risk they are subjected to!
@Quatre707: I do exactly that with my samsung Omnia (uses Windows Mobile) and my EEEPC 10″ netbook. If you have a smartphone, and you use the PDANET software, it will utilize your web connection as the tether, vs paying verizon 15 additional bucks a month when you already pay 30 for unlimited web data package…
Pdanet is the balls.
Yeah after those horror stories of overages on the ATT subsidized ones I don’t think I’d touch this with a 100′ pole!
Apple is rumored to be building a netbook that’ll sell for $99 with a contract from AT&T. Since I almost never use my computer outside of my house, this doesn’t appeal to me. Netbooks don’t really appeal to me either.
In a break from standard netbook features, Verizon’s will not include a screen. Instead, users must sign up for VerizoGuide, which verbally informs users of their mouse position and nearby buttons, interspersed with occasional promotional messages from nearby businesses.
Verizon spokesperson Bill Blaird: “We see this as a revolutionary departure. VerizoGuide frees your eyes from screen-tyranny. Instead of being forced to stare at what someone else’s software created, users can now imagine the screen however you like. It’s like how books are always better than the movie, you know?”
Reportedly, Verizon has already booked significant orders from corporate America, including the feature addition of “KindView” which removes the negative sign from financial statements, replaces red with black, no” with “yes,” and all quotations from President Obama with “You’re doing a great job. Stay the course.”
I’ve heard that it will come fully equipped with a high resolution screen (which will set you back 25 dollars a month for them to unlock), internal Blu-Ray drive (15 dollars per disc inserted), 2.6 Ghz processor (clocked down to .12 Ghz, unless you pay an extra 100 dollars a month), and with a wireless N card (for only 4 dollars per MB, when used on your home internet).
at least it will be able to use any headphones.
@JohnDeere: But are they black or white? Cause they have to match the netbook or else I’m…I’m gonna raise hell!
No doubt they’ll have a universal service charge.
Given how cheap my netbook was and how much service through something like that costs… I’m surprised they have to sell them, I’d halfway be expecting them to give them away free at this point.
Seriously, my broadband internet at home is free through my apartment complex. Every coffee shop I go to, as well as a number of other places, has free wireless. And Verizon seriously thinks I’m going to pay $60/month for a 5gb/month plan that wouldn’t hold up to my not-excessive online video habit through Hulu and Netflix… they’d better be throwing in something extra to make me even consider it. Otherwise, it makes far more sense for me to just stake out the places I know I can get service free.
For those who want/need cellular broadband data, and want a very compact and simple solution this might be a good solution. I recently purchased a small 13″ laptop and it came with my choice of a Sprint or Verizon EVDO integrated Card. After confirming that I could not get the laptop configured without the card, I opted for the Sprint card as I already had a contract with Sprint. However, I do not intend on activating the internal card because I want the ability to take my EVDO card and move it from machine to machine or to loan to a co-worker which would be impossible with an internal card.
Who cares if it’s free? Verizon sucks ass. They are all over this website. And to Quatre707: Great point about tethering but sadly most people are too stupid to know how to do it. It’s just easier to go the netbook route.