Netbook from Verizon - use with current WiFi setup? Monthly charge?

December 16, 2010 5:20 PM

I live in Los Angeles and have Time Warner for my internet connection and Verizon for my cell service. If I buy a WiFi-capable netbook from Verizon, will it pick up the the signal from my wireless router I'm already using at home? If so, does this mean I don't have to pay any monthly charges for having the netbook?
posted by AONeal79 to technology (4 answers total)

1) Yes, the netbook will be able to connect to your current Wi-Fi setup.
2) No, the reason the netbook prices are so low is because you commit to a data plan, just like smartphones.
posted by puritycontrol at 5:42 PM on December 16, 2010

Yes, the netbook would be able to use your WiFi when you are at home instead of 3G. But no, you still have to agree to a 2 year 3G data plan at $40-$60 a month. That's the catch for getting a discount on the netbook, and it sounds like a pretty poor deal to me.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:43 PM on December 16, 2010

You could wait until February and buy a used iPad when the new version is likely to be released.
posted by FlamingBore at 5:45 PM on December 16, 2010

You have to buy a 2-year contract to get the 29.99/49.99/139.99 prices on those netbooks. 'Light Users' (250MB/mo.) pay 39.99, and 'Heavy Users' (5gB/mo.) pay 59.99. Even if you never once dial into the Verizon network and exclusively use wifi at home or elsewhere, you still pay the monthly fee for the data plan. You can buy one of the netbooks from Verizon without the plan, sure, but it'll cost you 469.99 for the low-end model they offer and you can do better than that price elsewhere, right?
posted by carsonb at 5:45 PM on December 16, 2010