By Paul Kunert
4 September 2008
Dell’s netbook finally launched today but business and retail partners have not been given access to the technology, in the first instance at least, with sales going through the direct team and telco channels.
The Inspiron Mini 9 will be available from late September, weighing in at just over 1kg with features that include an 8.9” LED display, solid state disc memory storage and a built-in webcam.
The device will be available through Dell’s direct sales force and online but a spokeswoman for the PC giant said in a statement that the technology “is currently not available through PartnerDirect or retail."
The PC maker did not explain reasons for this decision but has penned a deal with Vodafone to sell the device in-store and online, bundled with mobile broadband.
Andrew Sangster, director of PC Connectivity at Vodafone, said the recent acceleration in the adoption of mobile broadband showed the appetite consumers had for broadband Internet access.
Most of the major PC vendors have now unveiled netbooks and many have signed recent deals with mobile operators to subsidise the hardware through broadband connectivity.
Earlier this week Hewlett-Packard said it wanted to help resellers overcome the complexities of selling mobile PCs as part of a connectivity contract, something they have struggled with in the past.
Last month, Gartner said 5.2 million netbooks would be sold this year, 8 million in 2009 and 50 million by 2012.
