Verizon Wireless: A Vaio-P rebate may exist for some

1:45 pm ET February 4, 2009 - Verizon Wireless spokesperson Brenda Raney contacted Betanews this afternoon with a clarification: A Sony Vaio-P rebate for Verizon Wireless service does exist, she told us, for some customers, at Sony's discretion. That rebate is nationwide, but it's up to Sony to decide whether to issue those VZW-supported coupons.

Raney reiterated that since VZW does not sell netbooks in its stores, and because it leaves rebates up to resellers and partners to promote, Verizon Wireless would not be the one announcing any rebate of this nature.

5:28 pm ET February 3, 2009 - Reports yesterday of a $200 rebate being offered by major carrier Verizon Wireless toward the purchase of a Sony Vaio-P netbook computer, spread like wildfire.

Nonetheless, a Verizon Wireless spokesperson told Betanews this afternoon that, if anyone's offering a rebate, it's not from VZW. "We offer embedded Verizon Wireless service with most major notebook manufacturers," stated spokesperson Brenda Raney. "They are, in essence, distributors of our service, so promotions or things they do to promote the sale of their products aren't something we would announce."

That's not to say customers someplace in the nation can't find resellers who are offering the Vaio-P -- which retails at $900 and up -- with a rebate offer. In fact, they may be given a rebate card identical to the one that appears in a PDF file linked to by the blog Pocketables, which presented the original news.

That card does appear to carry the Verizon Wireless copyright and logo, and it resides on the company's own Web domain. It appears to stipulate that the customer must sign up for a two-year service contract.

But that doesn't mean the rebate card applies nationwide, apparently -- only to participating resellers of Sony equipment where such a deal has been brokered with VZW. Verizon Wireless stores don't sell netbooks now, Raney told Betanews; and usually, customers who do purchase notebook or netbook computers with VZW service pre-installed will activate their devices at home, not in the store. That means such rebate deals, when and where they do happen, are private -- sanctioned and supported by the carrier, but only in limited circumstances.

Sony, for its part, also lists VZW as the preferred supplier of networking service for the Vaio-P, but is not among those retailers, if any, passing on a rebate offer.