Engadget reports that Verizon is readying two new netbooks for sale on the network.

That’s right the “Big Red” should soon be offering the HP Mini 311 and Hp Mini 110 netbooks for sale with integrated global mobile broadband in place of the aged Mini 1511 currently for sale.

The Hp Mini 311 will be available starting October 22nd with Windows 7, 2 GB of Ram, Bluetooth and a 160 GB hard drive for $249.99 after 2 year commitment and $100 mail in rebate. Engadget is decidedly sickened by the $249 pricetag but when you compare a similarly spec’d Hp mini 311 at HP, complete with the integrated wireless ($125), you would have to spend close to $600 for the same machine.

This doesn’t change the opinion I have of subsidized netbooks or integrated mobile broadband, but I do feel that the price is more reasonable than past offers.

Along with the HP Mini 311, Verizon will also be bringing the HP Mini 110 to its network for an after rebate 2 year contract price of $199. The Hp Mini 110 will be available after the 1151 is sold out and comes with Windows XP, 1 GB of Ram and a 160 GB Hard drive and is less of a bargain than the HP Mini 311.

Yes, the price of the HP Mini 311 is more enticing than the current $199 for the HP Mini 1151 on Verizon, but there’s still plenty you should know about subsidized netbook offers, especially given the current 5 GB cap on data usage and the total cost once you consider the 2 years of data service. If you do want a highspeed mobile broadband solution, and a Mifi or USB adapter won’t cut it, then the HP mini 311 for $249 is a decent deal. It’s certainly cheaper than buying the same configuration straight from HP and activating a high speed connection.

HP Mini 311, Mini 110 Coming To Verizon For Under $250 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Imagine this. You’re in college, settling down in “your” booth at the local coffeeshop with a decked out Lenovo R400 and you realize that all the research for your midterm essay is located on the History Department’s shared network drive. If you’re a student at almost any school other then Northern Michigan University (NMU) you’d have to abandon your already warmed up booth, guzzle your double hazelnut latte and trek back to campus to download the research to your hard drive; but students at NMU don’t even have to depend on the coffeeshop’s flaky wifi connection thanks to the roll-out of WiMAX at NMU and in the college town of Marquette.

On the 10th Anniversary of the schools Laptop program, which equips students with Lenovo R400 laptops as part of their tuition, NMU announced that with the help of Intel, Lenovo, Motorola and the FCC it has covered close to 100% of the college town in WiMAX; providing students with on campus access anywhere in town.

WiMAX is a 4G data connection that provides high speed connections over a large area with speeds that typically exceed the limitations of the 3G data devices widely available from cell phone companies. The current laptops provided to incoming students will feature WiMAX connection built right in and students who have the older Lenovo R61 laptops can purchase a USB WiMAX dongle or borrow one from the library.

From a student perspective this is really cool! I can’t recall the number of times I missed having access to campus-only resources while I was out and about town. Even today as I work on a college campus, I can’t fathom how students handle off campus access since they lack the ability to VPN into campus like faculty and staff are able to. Academic uses aside; students can take full advantage of online video sites like Hulu, upload to YouTube, download new music and update their Facebook pages anywhere in town without the need for a costly data plan!

The students at NMU are incredibly lucky to have access to campus resources through a WiMAX data connection which is something plenty of geeks, myself included, would love to have. Hopefully joint ventures like the one at NMU will provide more communities, colleges and businesses with access to WiMAX and provide greater infrastructure for the service as it matures.

NMU Provides Lenovo R400′s and WiMAX to Students is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Macworld 2009 is upon us and this years keynote is in a matter of hours, but some companies have decided to share their latest and greatest at the Showstoppers pre-event.

One of my favorite chat and VoIP services Skype announced their new release for the Mac. The Skype 2.8 beta should be available by the time this article is posted here and features a couple significant upgrades.

One of the most interesting and useful features is Skype screensharing. Mac users can now share documents, web pages, and anything else on their screen with other Skype users. Although this is already possible using iChat on OSX Leopard this should yield some interesting results for those who primarily use Skype and for Windows users when Skype adds this feature for them possibly later this year. Currently users can share from a Mac to a PC, but not vice versa.

Other new features include:

• Improved chat management: you can sort chats in the drawer and set priorities to chats
• Quick Add: it’s now much easier to add people to chats
• Mood message chat: see mood message updates from your friends as chat messages
• Large profile pictures: just like Skype 4.0 Beta 2 for Windows, you can now use images of up to 256 x 256 pixels
• Hidden avatars in incoming contact requests: a small minority of Skype users have profile pictures which others may find unpleasant, and so they’re now hidden by default in contact requests
• Add notes to contacts: you can add notes to a contact in their profile window handy for keeping track of who’s who.

Additionally, Skype has announced a partnership with Boingo Wireless to make it quick and easy for frequent travelers to access wi-fi hotspots around the globe and make Skype calls with one password at the rate of $0.19 per minute. I will have a more extended review of Boingo in the future, but for now watch the videos below with a demonstration by Skype.

Download Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac

Skype Beta Demo

Macworld 2009: Skype Updates & Partnership (Video) is a post by Adam Helweh from Notebooks.com.

All Lenovo ThinkPad SL, T and X series notebooks will now come standard with an embedded 3G card to connect to AT&T mobile broadband network. The internal 3G card was previously an option on these ThnkPads and cost up to $150.

The ThinkPads are equipped with Ericsson mobile broadband modules. The notebooks will come with 30 days of free AT&T DataConnect service.

This is great news for ThinkPad buyers. Most of the ThinkPad line effectively got a little cheaper for those who were planning to get a 3G card. For those who aren’t sure if the want 3G (or can’t afford the monthly payments) they can always sign up for an AT&T DataConnect plan later. This is especially good news for businesses who have to order ThinkPads in volume and can have trouble predicting exactly which employee will need 3G service.

Lenovo isn’t the first to make 3G modems standard equipment in some of its product lines. Several Sony notebook lines, including the Z, SZ, TZ and TT, have come with Sprint or AT&T compatible cards for years.

Gartner projects enormous growth in mobile broadband subscribers over the next few years.

I’ve used mobile broadband modems for the past seven years and consider them a “must have” for mobile professionals. They really make it possible to work anywhere- I’ve blogged from WiFi-less conferences, checked email from a beach in Kauai, watched TV in my car (as a passenger) and read news aboard airplanes while still on the ground thanks to my USB modem.

AT&T’s plans range from $20 to $60 per month. The $20 plan provides for a pathetic 10MB per month. You get 5GB of data transfer for $60, which you can burn very quickly. International plans are much more expensive – $229.99 per month includes 5GB of domestic data and 200MB of international roaming. I’ve talked to several industry execs and none of them even have international plans.

All ThinkPad SL, T and X Series Notebooks Get 3G is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

AT&T and Sierra Wireless annoucned the USBConnect 881 USB modem, which is the first to have AT&T’s WWAN Communication Manager software pre-loaded on the device itself. This means the USBConnect 881 is plug and play on any XP or Vista notebook.

The USBConnect 811 connects to AT&T’s speedy HSPA wireless network and uploads data at up to 1,400 Kbps via HSUPA.

“The introduction of the AT&T USBConnect 881 is another great solution for laptop owners who need to stay connected to their world â€â€Â everywhere they live and work,” said Michael Woodward, AT&T vice president, Business Voice/Data and wireless products. “The USBConnect 881, with its new automatic software installation, will allow them to do just that, faster and easier than ever.”

The USBConnect 881 is $49.99 with a two year contract, or $299 if you’re upgrading without extending your contract.

AT&T Intros Sierra Wireless AirCard USBConnect 881 HSUPA Modem is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.