Verizon is jumping in on the Netbook bandwagon…with a hidden cost.

The Netbook industry is very popular nowadays.  You can get a very mobile laptop for as low as $200.  Yes, you won’t get the heavy specifications of big hard drive space and lots of fast RAM, but you’ll get a cheap laptop that’s new and gets on the Internet fast.  With all of these netbooks being able to be so portable, the question becomes: How do you access the Internet if you’re not home?  You can pop into an Internet cafe, hotel, airport, park, or another place that offers free Wi-Fi access, aka hotspot.  Wi-Fi access is similar to having a wireless router at home, but the wireless router is in the public and does not have a password to enter. 

But, what do you do if you are not home and cannot access a free hotspot?  That’s where Verizon comes in.  The Verizon Netbook’s HP Mini 1151NR will be hitting stores this weekend, listing at $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate.  The catch here is that Verizon is forcing customers to sign a 2-year agreement for wireless broadband service.  This means you’ll be able to access the Internet with an internal wireless broadband chip anywhere.  That’s great news, but this service does cost $40-$60 / month depending on your data plan.  If you don’t want this broadband service, tough luck!  Verizon requires it. 

Obviously, Verizon is pushing its broadband service here, but does it really have to be a 2-year commitment?  That seems pretty unreasonable.  The only good part that comes with this is you can input your wireless broadband internally so you won’t have one of those goofy broadband cards sticking out of your laptop just waiting to be damaged.  Plus, you won’t have to have a tech support person install it for you since it will already come installed.  So, if you’d like a compact laptop with internal broadband wireless, this is a good bet.  Otherwise, you can just purchase another netbook without the extra broadband commitment.