© dougbelshaw

TheStreet's Scott Moritz this week broke the news that Verizon Wireless is considering a plan to offer subsidized netbooks for $100 with a two-year contract.

"Analysts see the move as an answer to rival AT&T's recent netbook efforts," Moritz writes. "Earlier this month, AT&T announced it would sell netbooks for $99 through retailers like RadioShack in exchange for two-year service contracts. To date, Verizon has offered $100 and $200 rebates on more expensive laptops with two-year contracts, but the subsidized netbook category is an altogether new strategy."

"The Verizon netbooks will initially be sold in the company's stores, and retail partners also may stock them... customers would probably pay about $100 for the machines, with Verizon subsidizing the rest, or about two-thirds of the cost," writes Bloomberg's Amy Thomson.

"Verizon's move to subsidize netbooks for users should come as no surprise, and not only because of the competition presented by AT&T's shimmy into the market," according to VON. "Providers undoubtedly will continue to search for new ways to up the utilization of their 3G networks, endorsing devices to increase data transmission as voice becomes more commoditized."

More here from CNET ... more here from TMCnet ... more here from GigaOM ... more here from InformationWeek ... and more here from FierceWireless.