Verizon’s Palm Mobile Hotspot Option is Now Free
Some people thought it was an April Fool’s joke when numerous websites announced that Verizon’s mobile Internet tethering option, via Palm WebOS phones Pixi and Pre Plus, dropped from US$40/month to nothing — especially given the beating Palm’s stock took recently, dropping to as low as US$4/ share. However, I think Verizon has another strategy in mind: capture the interest of all those people about to buy an Apple iPad.
As someone who just picked up a Palm Pre Plus last week in order to build mobile apps for the company’s WebOS platform, I’m more than happy about this. (What’s more, if you’re already paying for the tethering option, Verizon will credit you in your latest bill.) Consider: I already have two phone numbers — one for my iPhone, with which to build & test my iPhone SDK apps. So having to pay for a calling plan plus a cellular data plan plus tethering (since AT&T doesn’t offer it for the iPhone) gets expensive and means I spend over $1000 per year just to be able to test my Palm WebOS apps.
Now it’s easy to think that Verizon might be wanting to clear out their Palm inventory, but the beautiful thing about this deal is multifold: My wife and I work online a great deal (me almost entirely) and we travel locally a fair bit, so having the Mobile Hotspot means almost always having an Internet connection on the go, at no extra cost. What’s more, when I line up for an Apple iPad WiFi-only model (for develop apps, yet again) later this morning in Palo Alto, I know I’ll be able to connect online immediately.
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5 Responses to “Verizon’s Palm Mobile Hotspot Option is Now Free”
Oh yeah, and the cost of the Palm Pixi and Pre Plus phones just dropped by about another $100.
[...] Verizon’s Palm Mobile Hotspot Option is Now Free [...]
[...] Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein, a former Apple employee, says that he has a plan. If so, share it with us, I say. Do you read websites, Jon? You’re likely about to be ousted. Better implement that plan fast, or hire someone with marketing skills. Heck, why not ask one of your primary investors to do be a Palm spokesman. His name is Bono and he’s a rock star, if you didn’t know. That might revive interest in the company, if Bono appeared in media saying how much trusts the company to recover, yadda yadda yadda. [...]
[...] Verizon dropped the cost of the Mobile Hotspot option available for the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi phones, which allows for the [...]
[...] as HP is likely to have to renegotiate plans in that regard. I’m crossing my fingers that my Mobile Hotspot option through Verizon isn’t taken away, as that’s what’s powering my Apple iPad WiFi [...]