First look at Verizon Netbook
I'm writing this on a HP Mini 1151NR from Verizon Wireless. In
layman's terms, it's a netbook. Whatever you call it, it's way cool.
I've had it only a week and have used it for about five or six hours. My
son Ben has used it a little more; he’s even streamed TV programming from
hulu.com on it.
For those unfamiliar with this new class of computers, netbooks are
the latest gotta-have-it gizmo. Informationweek.com notes in a May 18 post
that netbooks have in the past been defined as laptops with screens 10
inches or smaller, priced at less than $500 and optimized for Web surfing
and basic computing. The site adds that computer makers have been pushing
netbooks, which have often run on the Windows or Linux operating systems,
closer to the level of more mainstream laptops.
That Verizon (and AT&T) are subsidizing the cost of netbooks with a service
contract takes the must-have status of these gadgets to a new level. The HP
Mini 1151NR has a built-in 3G connection to the Verizon VZ Acess network.
It also connects via Wi-Fi, which does not count towards a customer's data
plan.
Pricing for the Verizon Wireless Global Service is $39.99 a month for 250
megabytes of data transfer with a 10-cents-per-megabyte overage charge or
$59.99 for 5 gigabytes of data and 5-cents-per megabyte overage. Based on
my seven days of use, I strongly recommend the higher-priced plan, as my
usage is approaching 1 GB.
It took me a couple of user sessions to get comfortable with the quirks of
this computer, as I am accustomed to working on my full-size Mac PowerBook
or my iMac desktop. I also needed to adjust to the XP operating system. For
better Web surfing, I downloaded and installed Mozilla’s Firefox browser,
as I find Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer browser lacking in many ways.
I'll have more on this nifty computer in a future column.
