Wirelessnorth.ca

As first we wrote about back in April, there’s a mini revolution going on in mobile computing. Cheap and cheerful netbooks are outstripping even Intel’s expectations who can barely make enough of the Atom chips most commonly used to power the things.

This is a shot of the just announced Dell unit released to compete with the Asus Eeepc, MSI Wind, Acer whatever it’s called and many others. At an entry price of $399 for a featherweight mobile pc with (just) enough power to run firefox and any web app, a proper keyboard, and substantially more screen resolution of the best mobile phone, what’s not to like?

Here’s the thing though, all of these are coming out in Canada as wifi-only machines… where’s the 3G? This is a pc that cries out for mobile broadband, the perfect knee-top mobile computer for the streetcar or passenger seat etc.

With netbooks starting at $399, throw in a $200 carrier subsidy on a reasonable 3G contract and you would have had a hell-of-a back to school offer…

maybe in time for Christmas?

Link: Vodafone to market Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with built-in 3G on September

UPDATE / FOR EXTRA CREDIT: $399 – $200 subsidy= $199. Thanks to moore’s law the shiny new $399 pc will be $199 anyway in just a year or two. Here’s the point: Imagine a world where laptop computers cost less a pair of shoes. How many computers will you have? How many computers will everyone else have? What’s your mobile broadband strategy in such a world?