Dell Mini 9's secret 3G not all it's cracked up to be

Well, it looks like anyone hoping to give their stock Dell Inspiron Mini 9 a 3G boost is in store for a bit of disappointment, as the netbook's supposed unofficial 3G-readiness is apparently not as exploitable as some had assumed. While the netbook does indeed have a vacant WWAN slot, as Gearlog learned from Anne Camden of Dell Corporate Communications, "the Mini doesn't have the internal antenna infrastructure needed to support mobile broadband," which makes that aforementioned WWAN slot quite useless. As you might have guessed, the antenna was simply left out to keep costs down. So, if you do want a 3G-equipped Mini 9, it seems like you'll just have to wait for a non-hindered version like the one Vodafone is offering in Europe.

[nicolas @ Sep 9th 2008 12:15PM]

I think you can connect the wifi antennaes to the 3G card... It won't be ideal but I'd say it'd work, wouldn't it?

[Level 5 @ Sep 9th 2008 12:45PM]

If that works, it'd be a pretty viable option. I don't think someone like me (who's very much in the market for a netbook), would go over the 5GB monthly cap that comes with most 3G WWAN services. That said, I'd be willing to sacrafice wifi for WWAN. I've never used said service, and while I know it's several times slower than wifi, if it indeed has the same "always on" attributes, I'd be game for that.

[rock99rock @ Sep 9th 2008 11:34AM]

Or, just run a coat hanger through the bezel of the lcd.

[Ryan @ Sep 9th 2008 11:37AM]

Sometimes I can't tell whether people are joking or being serious.

[rock99rock @ Sep 9th 2008 11:58AM]

Both.

[Nathan Dbb @ Sep 9th 2008 4:56PM]

While you might be able to take the whole base and screen bezel apart, and install the 3G antenna. The non-review Dell Mini-9 computers DO NOT HAVE the Mini-Card CONNECTOR on the board.

If the Mini-Card slot was present, then people who do not need G3 could install a second Mini-Card SSD. RAID-0 could make up for the slow write speed.

[rocket @ Sep 9th 2008 11:37AM]

dell mini says: "fail all around"

[Leindurstit @ Sep 9th 2008 11:43AM]

Lame, especially considering that most Dell laptops with the designated WWAN slot had the antenna strung throughout the machine, regardless of the card actually shipping with it. Although now that I think about it, those are Latitude and XPS laptops I'm thinking of, which are more expensive than the average notebook (or sub-notebook in this case,) and probably aren't subjected to as much cost-cutting as this article implies to be taking place on the Mini. And of course, you probably won't be able to order one with a "WWAN-Ready" option, to at least get the antenna for a BYOB(roadband) solution.

[Adderz @ Sep 9th 2008 11:43AM]

Just another X against dells name.

[GreezyG @ Sep 9th 2008 11:55AM]

Where is TnkGrl when you need her?

[Magallanes @ Sep 9th 2008 12:02PM]

My old dell came with a slot for a sim card. In theory the idea is fine but useless in the real world. Currently every in the world, or at least every with access to a notebook, owns a cellphone cellular. So, if you want 3g on a notebook you just need to plug the cellphone to the notebook and use the same sim card, otherwise you will need two sim card (and two carrier plan and or a pre-pay account for every one), one for the notebook (locate pretty inside of the notebook) and other locate in the cellphone, so the idea to swap between sim card is useless.

Tethering works and work fine in many devices.

[Anthony Mazel @ Sep 9th 2008 12:05PM]

Picture of the mini 9 with antennas ready and waiting for the wwan card?

http://www.notebookreview.com/picture.asp?f=36371

From: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4578

From: http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/04/dell-inspiron-mini-review-roundup/


??????

[David @ Sep 9th 2008 2:56PM]

Thanks for pulling up those shots. I really hope she was wrong and that they are included and we will see wwan cards for this thing soon.

[KilgoreTrout @ Sep 9th 2008 12:07PM]

Since buyers of this thing would have preferred it to the MSI Wind (and the Medion mini Akoya) probably they would never have heard of 3G anyway.

[ethana2 @ Sep 9th 2008 12:45PM]

It's amazing how many transitions society is going through right now with regards to IT..
HDD to SSD
wired to WiMax
LCD to OLED..

Ultraportables may suck now, but I'm not making any bets on two years forward..

[Ken @ Sep 9th 2008 2:44PM]

Coincidentally, Ken has cut costs by not buying Dell's Mini 9

[GETYOID @ Sep 9th 2008 3:30PM]

Thats good because wireless sucks and is completely insecure. When they secure wired connections completely, then I might consider that they'll be able to secure wireless. None of my client's data is going over the air. Too many nosy neighbors who brag about how they are "hacking into the guy down the street's C: drive".

Nice. No. Not for me.

[Cassini @ Sep 9th 2008 9:20PM]

They can keep costs down, that's fine, but they need to offer it as an option for those who are willing to spend a bit more for the added functionality, like me. Isn't that what options are all about?

I can understand using a lower power proc and graphics chip, but that aside, even with a small portable system like this, I want to compromise as little as possible which can't be avoided when eliminating feature options that we know full well they could integrate.

Have a model that can be purchased for $400 or less - but I wouldn't hesitate to drop a grand if I could get something like this all decked out with components I do and would use often.

[Mike @ Sep 10th 2008 4:24PM]

I've ordered 2 Vostro 1500s and an Inspiron 1520. (sister-computers) They all had all the antennas, and I didn't order them with anything but wireless cards. I did use this to my advantage to install a cellular card in one. It was a Sprint U720. Yes, there is a mini PCI-E card in there. The card adds gps as well, and it all works great.

[Tomahawk @ Sep 17th 2008 7:41PM]

I still can't figure out why If spec it out all of the way the Ubuntu ends up being $50 more then Win XP, and I have to wait a month before it ships. Do they really want sell any with Linux, apparently not!