Recently in Verizon Wireless Category

I live in Connecticut, but I'm from Washington, D.C., which means six-hour train rides back and forth for the holidays. Though I love my BlackBerry Curve, there are days I wish my Mac had a built-in wireless network access thingie so I could surf the 'net while cruising down the mid-Atlantic. 
 
So when I heard about AT&T's HP Mini netbook with built-in access to the AT&T's 3G and WiFi networks, my ears perked up. 
 
This new, light, 2.57-pound 'book features Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, a 10.1-inch LED anti-glare widescreen display, 1G of memory, a 160GB hard drive and is only $199 after mail-in rebate via an AT&T promotion card. There's just one catch: You have to buy a two-year data service contract, and pay $35-60 per month for service. All for the benefit of getting to use AT&T WiFi wherever you are. 
 
Still, making a commitment to shell out another $35-60 a month is difficult - I wish you could just rent netbooks for $20 per train trip (hint, hint Amtrak)! That would make those monthly train rides go a whole lot more smoothly. 

Okay, I admit it.

 

I almost jumped out of my seat when my new Motorola Droid got all robot-like on me, announcing "Droid!" in  a dark-electro freaky alien voice when I first turned it on. But as soon as I charged that baby up, easing into life on Android turned freakishly easy. 

 

It's pretty amazing how well the Google Android-infused Droid capturing the gorgeous, full-color images embedded in my Gmail messages. That -- plus the easy-to-scroll Facebook app -- makes my BlackBerry Curve 8520 seem so archaic.

 

On the downside, the Curve, iPhone and virtually any other smart device I've handled lately is certainly a lot lighter than the comparatively brick-heavy Droid. And if there's an easy way to configure my Droid so I can instantly check my ten other non-Gmail accounts, I haven't discovered it yet.

 

Still, the extra weight is a lot better than carrying around a bunch of paper directions. I teach guitar on the weekends, on foot, and spend my Sundays trotting from one Brooklyn brownstone to another. This weekend, using the Droid's "Maps" feature and easy navigation tool, I was able to plug in my destination and get exact GPS-i-fied details on how to get from one home to another.

 

And that's something I certainly didn't get with any of my older smartphones. I'll take the scary "Droid" voice anyday over anything less than easy GPS!

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