Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook For $99 - If You Buy A Full-Sized Dell

If waiting around for a subsidized 3G version of Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 doesn't appeal, how about picking up the netbook for just $99?  That's the latest deal on offer from the company, but as you'd expect there's a catch: you can only take advantage of that price if you also order a Studio 15, XPS M1530 or XPS M1330 notebook.

The Studio 15 line starts from $649, while the XPS M1530 and the XPS M1330 both start from $999.  If you were already considering buying a full-sized notebook, and were tempted by a netbook as well, this could be a decent deal, though I imagine most customers would rather have seen Dell bring the Inspiron Mini 9 in at the rumored $299 starting price.  Update: While the Studio 15 line starts from $649 normally, that's after online discounts; if you want to take advantage of the $99 Mini 9 offer, those discounts don't count.  Therefore you'll be paying $1048 for the cheapest Studio 15 and a Mini 9.  Those quick on the draw with their calculators will spot that the difference is almost the full list price of the netbook, so you're not actually saving all that much.

The promotion runs from Friday September 5th, starting at 6 am Central, to 6 am Tuesday, September 9th.  It's only valid in the US.