Netbooks are becoming very inexpensive and the main reason for having a netbook is to be connected to the Internet which means being connected with Wi-Fi or through a cellular Internet connection.  Obviously, the main connection for this netbook would be the Verizon cellular Internet connection.  You can take a “regular” notebook computer and purchase the cellular Internet USB modem or PCMCIA card modem and would have the same connection as the Verizon netbook, but it would be external to the notebook.  The cost of this would be about $62.00 per month over a two year period.  That’s $1,488.00 that you’ve added to the cost of the notebook!  The Verizon netbook costs $199.00, then $1,488.00 for a total of $1,687.00.  Your “regular” notebook would cost $1,488.00 plus the $500 or $600 you paid for the notebook.  So, my question is why do people write this kind of crap???… (See last paragraph discussing costs.)

Verizon HP Mini 1151NR netbook launching May 17th?

by Matt Burns on May 11, 2009

May 17th is shaping up to be a big day for Verizon if this rumor is correctly stating the launch date of upcoming netbook. That day is also the launch date of the portable hotspot, MiFi. The HP Mini netbook comes packing integrated 3g wireless for Internet connectivity and will be available for $199 with a two-year data contract. Yeah, it’s a bit pricey.

Purchasing a netbook this way isn’t the cheapest solution. It will cost somewhere between $960 to $1,440 over the 2 years to own and use the netbook. But some folks still have the disposable income to pay for the convenience of walking into a VZW store and leaving with an always-connected netbook. The rest of us will purchase our netbooks and internet access separately.