HP to bundle 3g Plan with Purchase of their Netbooks in the US?

Thursday, October 30th, 2008...1:56 pm

We’ve seen netbooks bundled with a mobile data service here the UK already, but a report today by the WSJ finds HP considering the tactic for the first time in the US, where it hasn’t been done effectively yet. This would let you buy a Mini 1000 or any other HP netbook at a steep (hopefully), smartphone-esque discount on US carriers that may include AT&T and Verizon.

The HP Mini 1000 may be one of the HP Netbooks that will be bundled with 3G mobile internet plans in the USA

HP is mum on exactly which carriers they’re talking to, but those two were mentioned as possible candidates. HP hopes to quadruple their netbook sales to 40 million by 2012 with this plan, so hopefully the subsidy will knock enough off the price to make it worthwhile. Netbooks are mass-market now, but the overlap with people who already pay for a 3G data plan on their phone and want to just tether it will be one issue to surmount.