[3GScottishUser]

Vodafone has become the first carrier to say that it'll sell Dell's newly announced Inspiron Mini 9 little laptop.

And it'll be the only carrier to do so. It has the European carrier exclusive on sales of the Small, Cheap(ish) Computer with a built-in HSDPA modem.

That's an accessory notably absent from Dell's own website this morning, despite the fact that the vendor's own support site reveals the SCC has a user-accessible slot for just such a device.

Dell said this afternoon that it too will sell the HSDPA-enabled Mini, presumably with Vodafone airtime.

Dell's been working with Vodafone for years to offer a range or regular laptops with integrated 3G and, later, HSDPA network connectivity.

Unfortunately, that long-running partnership hasn't enabled the two to work out yet what the carrier is going to charge for the 9 - if, indeed, it doesn't entirely subsidise the £299 the Dell wants punters to pay for the machine.

It's not hard to imagine the 9 being offered for free on top-of-the-range monthly airtime packages, for example.

Vodafone said it will spill the beans in the "coming weeks". It'll sell the HSDPA-equipped Mini from "late September".

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/09/04/vodafone_dell_deal/

[chaslam]

Ah ive known about this for a while but ive been sworn to secrecy! Its part of the new mobile broadband war that is brewing, and we are planning for a huge push in connections over the next coming months. Vodafone are putting millions into an ad campaign to promote the new Dell network with SIM slot. My guess is that it will be available on a £20 a month 1GB deal with the laptop for free on a 24 month contract, much like they are doing with all the netbooks at pcw including the advent 4211. I think its going to fly off the shelves, and, im not sure yet, but I believe it will be primarily available through PCW stores to begin with however dont quote me on that.

[Hands0n]

Ugh! 24 month contracts :( Absolutely horrible.

The next stage in the battle for the airwaves has to be mobile data. It started with the Dongle as I had always maintained it would. The mobile operators need to increase their revenue income and they'll not be doing it competing with landlines for voice.

The new Dell is a delight to look at, and it is getting respectable reviews from those that have had their hands on the device. Will these fly off the shelves with 24 month contracts? Not into my hands, but I guess the buying public will not necessarily want to chop and change as much as the likes of us lot on here.

I do think that Vodafone is exactly the right network to go with. Their mobile data is superb in the UK, and fairly ubiquitously available internationally, if not a bit expensive right now.

But we'll be made, by the operators, to feel thoroughly grateful for the privilege of using mobile data, despite anything Viviane Reding (EU) does. The bargains will only be drip-fed to the paying public.

Expect more.