Sprint Nextel are offering Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 at a subsidised price

If you're looking for a 3G package, and a netbook, you may be able to get both cheaper with Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel, a US telecommunications company announced its 3G mobile broadband package today, which includes Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 netbook at a subsidised price. Sprint Nextel claim to have 'America's most dependable 3G network', the 'EV-DO Rev. A'. They say that customers could enjoy data transfer rates 'comparable to DSL'; with upload speeds of '350-500 kbps' and download speeds of '600 kbps'-'1.4 mbps'. Peak download and upload data rates can apparently increase to '3.1 Mbps' and '1.4 Mbps' respectively.

The current price for the package is '$199.99 (after $100.00 mail-in rebate) with in-store activation and a two-year Agreement on a Mobile Broadband Plan.' However customers cannot purchase this package online or via the telephone and are expected to travel to their local store in Baltimore, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Phoenix or San Francisco to buy the package. Dell sells their Mini 10 directly for $299, so Sprint are offering a $100 saving (ignoring the cost of the broadband) – but do they offer the same machine?

Sprint's Mini 10 has the following specifications:

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP3

• Processor: Intel Atom 1.3 Z520 (1.33 GHz; 512 KB L2 Cache; 533 MHz FSB

• Memory: 1 GB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM

• Video Card: Intel® 500 Media Accelerator Graphics

• Hard drive: 160 GB 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM SATA

• Display: 10.1-inch LED, 1024 x 600 WSGVA

• Dimensions: 10.3 inches (L) x 7.2 (W) inches x 1.1 inches (D) (261.6 mm x 182.9 mm x 27.9 mm)

• Weight: 2.6 pounds (1179.3 grams)

• Battery: 3 cell 28 WHr standard lithium-ion battery with about 2.5 hours Web surfing

Dell's system has an Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache), which is in position number 290 in our mobile processor benchmark list. The Intel Atom Z520 in Sprint's system is in position number 307 in our mobile processor benchmark list, making it the slower choice of the two processors. Both systems have Intel Graphics Media Accelerators; Sprint has the 500 model, which is in position 189 in our Mobile GPU benchmark list, and Dell's system has the 950 model, which is 8 positions higher at 181 in our benchmark list. Whilst Sprint supplies less graphical processing power, they do provide a 3-cell 28 WHr battery, which is more powerful than Dell's 24 WHr battery.

The performance difference between the two seems marginal, and the $100 saving may still be an enticing incentive for some buyers. To calculate the total cost of this package, you can view an example set of tariffs for the San Francisco area here. To find out more about Dell's Mini 10, our full review can be read here.