The HP Mini it can do a lot (service provided byVerizon Wireless). Will someone hit that popup bubble? It's ruining the picture.

In my home, I have a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a home theater PC.  Each is connected to the internet.  At work, it’s a similar situation, with the exception of the editing computers, every computer I sit at is connected.  On the road, I have my Palm Pre, which provides excellent mobile functionality, but there are some limitations to having just a cell phone while on the go.

Enter, the netbook.  I’m convinced there’s a place for the netbook in my repertoire, even though I’m surrounded by computing devices.  The HP Mini Verizon sent me is small, compact, light and has a bevy of connection options.  There’s something about the netbook that just fits.  Having to soon send it back, I’m going to be disappointed I won’t have that “always on” option available.  I recently switched high-speed internet providers, and in the interim downtime, the only connection I had (not including neighbor’s open WiFi) was through the Verizon mobile service.

A quick size comparison explains things pretty well

The HP Mini available from Verizon runs Windows XP (Home Edition), has an Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz processor, a 10.1″ screen, 80GB hard drive and 1GB of ram.  It also has a built-in webcam and microphone.  It’s pretty small too, measuring 10.3″ (H) x 6.56″ (W) x 0.99″ (D), so it’ll fit most anywhere you want to put it.  It’s also pretty lightweight, weighing 2.45 lbs.

The HP Mini netbook has a lot of inherent advantages in that it’s light, small and can connect anywhere.  To me, it seems to be the perfect travel companion, something I can toss in a backpack (once it’s inside its own padded case, of course) when going on a trip.  It just seems easier to carry the netbook around than the 17″ MacBook Pro.  The netbook is also just as easy to offload pictures to, and is great for reading emails, updating Facebook/Twitter, or doing the rounds on your websites.

In terms of pictures, you can slide the SD card from your digital camera right into the HP Mini, because it has a reader right on the side of it.  A fantastic feature, and one that even adds to the available storage space on the unit (if you have a spare SD card hanging around).

Playing Plants vs. Zombies, definitely possible to do on the HP Mini netbook.

So, it’s small, but is it cramped? I’d say no.  The HP Mini has an 82-key keyboard (92% full size), and while it did take some getting used to, it is suitable for being on the go, or sitting on the couch.  In a sense, when I already have a large laptop, it was actually quite handy to have a smaller machine on hand.  You’re not going to want to do any heavy lifting on the HP Mini though.

Its processor, while capable, is not going to be calculating the next largest prime number.  It is, however, fully-capable of playing some Plants vs. Zombies, if you can handle a little wait off the start for it to load.  Once you’re in the game though, there is no lag. While playing, it could handle switching applications to check email without a noticeable slowdown.  I don’t know how much more you’d want to push it than playing flash games or older titles.  It runs Windows XP, so you’ll be able to install pretty much anything on it you want (if you’ve got CDs/DVDs for the install though, you’ll need to bring a USB drive to the table).

I was also extremely pleased with video playback on the device.  I installed VLC (one of the best media players out there) and transferred over some clips from my HTPC.  There was nary a hiccup when watching episodes, and you don’t need the HD clips, because you’d be wasting pixels on the screen.

Verizon's connection manager (click to enlarge)

The connectivity options are pretty complete, the HP Mini sports 802.11 b/g wireless, but not n.  This doesn’t bother me either, because even though you would have extended range and faster speed with n, you don’t really need it.  Plus, not everyone has an 802.11 n router (myself included).   For the times when you’re on the go, the HP mini sports a mobile broadband capable modem.  Verizon’s Connection manager takes care of most of the work, allowing you to switch between connections with ease.  In addition to the wireless connections, you can even plug in a wired ethernet connection if you’re somewhere without wireless (do those places even exist anymore?) Now, these speeds are not going to wow you.  In fact, it’s meant for some pretty light browsing and therein, as the bard would tell us, lies the rub (I love the movie Inside Man).

Faster than your dial-up connection, but tortoise and the hare compared to a high-speed broadband connection.

The image to the right are the download speeds I received when going to Speakeasy.net and using the speed test there. The top numbers are from using the mobile broadband connection offered from Verizon.  The bottom numbers are from using the Wi-Fi connection and my home’s regular broadband service.  As you can see, the discrepancy is large.  The speed of the mobile broadband is serviceable, but really can not compete with home broadband service in any meaningful way (unless you have some painfully slow service).

Verizon’s mobile broadband service is fairly pricey on its own.  There’s a $40 and a $60 dollar version and the $40 one isn’t even a real option because it offers a paltry 250MB data limit per month (with $.10 for every MG after).  The $60 dollar option at least offers 5GB data limit, which you’re probably not going to hit in mobile use. (Data over wi-fi does not count towards your limit)  The month-to-month plan price is $569.99.  Comparatively, you can get some honest to goodness laptops for that price (have you seen the Microsoft Laptop Hunters ads?), but Verizon does its best to subsidize this beast fairly well.  With a 1-year contract, they’ll knock it down to $299.99 and with 2-years of service, you’ll pay only $199.99.

This is where consumers have to make the choice.  There are absoultely TONS of netbooks out there.  Are you better off buying one at full price (if you can find a deal) and using it as a wi-fi only deal without the mobile broadband? Perhaps.  This is really where I think consumers could use some competition in the mobile realm.  Prices are still a little high for mobile broadband rates.  Verizon is not alone.  At AT&T you’ve got a similar $60/$40 deal, but their overage rates are a bit more steep. Sprint offers similarly exhorbitant rates for their mobile broadband.

Price is really the only limitation I see though, because as a device, the HP Mini was great.  It plays games, it watches movies (that you’ve downloaded). If you can work out a discount with your carrier, getting reduced rates for having both mobile phone and mobile broadband, it may well be worth jumping in.  That jump is certainly a way that you can ensure you’ll always stay connected, and for some no cost is too much.

What do you think, could you see yourself switching to a netbook?  Leave a note in the comments or shoot me a message on twitter.