Report: Verizon to sell netbooks

U.S. mobile carrier Verizon Wireless has plans to begin selling a netbook as early as the next quarter, unconfirmed Bloomberg reports indicate.  Verizon doesn't currently offer a 3G-enabled netbook, though competitor AT&T currently has several products for consumers to choose from.

Mobile carriers in the United States, in an effort to try and get subscribers to sign up for data plans, hope the growing popularity of netbooks will help them attach data plans to the mobile devices.  AT&T currently sells netbooks through Dell and Acer, with AT&T reportedly interested in expanding by adding Asus and Hewlett-Packard as partners.  Both companies anticipate data plans, not voice plans, as the next step in wireless growth in the future.

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"They certainly don't want to cede any ground to AT&T, and they'll do whatever they have to do, certainly within economic reason, to match AT&T's offerings," Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King told Bloomberg.

Verizon is reportedly working with more than one manufacturer, and although exact companies haven't been named, Dell definitely is a leading candidate at the moment.  The netbooks will be sold in Verizon stores, while the company's retail partners will also offer the netbook. 

Even though the Bloomberg report said it could be available by the next quarter, it will likely take longer, though should be available before the end of the year.  The netbooks would be available for around $100, with the rest of the price subsidized by Verizon, according to King.

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Netbooks served as the fastest-growing PC category in 2008, so it's no surprise mobile providers are looking to cash in on the 3G-enabled devices.

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