Verizon recently confirmed that it’d be selling a discounted netbook in order to push its data plans, and it appears from a spreadsheet leaked to BGR that the inaugural device will be the from the HP Mini 1000 series.
More specifically, the 1151NR, which contains a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, 10.1-inch screen at 1024×576 resolution, three-cell battery, and weighs 2.45 pounds. The 1151NR is found in HP’s business line, so it’s no stretch that Verizon’s offering may be to business customers as well.
Most people seem to be guessing that the netbook would cost $99 plus a two-year service contract but no official pricing or availability has been confirmed by Verizon yet.
[via BGR]
I just bought an HP mini 1030NR and notice it has a sim card slot in the battery compartment. Seeing that Verizon does not use sim cards — will they be opening up netbooks to other service providers too?
no, the sim card slot will be used for globalaccess to roaming partners overseas. The SIM is required for registration on a UMTS/HSDPA network. It will not connect to GSM/UMTS based networks in the states.
Why would VZW open it to use other networks when the main purpose of this device is to get people to use VZWs data network?