Cellular South to Offer Netbook With Built-In 3G High-Speed Mobile Broadband

Customers Can Preorder Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Netbook Online and at Cellular South Stores Beginning Today

RIDGELAND, Miss., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellular South, a leader in wireless solutions and innovation and the nation's largest privately-owned wireless communications provider, will take customer preorders for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook with built-in 3G high-speed mobile broadband data beginning today.

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The company, which is among the first wireless carriers in the U.S. to offer the Dell Mini 10 netbook, said the device will be for sale online and in all of its retail stores within days.

"We're extremely proud to offer our customers this device, which promises to provide the ultimate in mobile connectivity and freedom through anytime, anywhere access to the Internet," said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for Cellular South. "With superior coverage and the best 3G high-speed data network, our customers can go beyond the confines of wi-fi to achieve truly mobile on-the-go access to the Internet for news, information, sports, weather, video content, social networking, shopping and entertainment."

The powerful mini-computers - hybrid devices between traditional smartphones and standard notebook laptop computers - are growing in popularity with students, social networkers, workers on the go and professionals, according to Wade Smith, director of product development and management for Cellular South. "All of the research shows that demand is going to steadily increase for netbooks, especially among consumers who are searching for a lightweight, more portable alternative to a laptop," he said.

With its unique multi-touch and gesture pad, the Mini 10 netbook has a compact 10.1 inch screen, weighs just 2.6 pounds and features an edge-to edge keyboard. Other features include built-in 3G high-speed mobile broadband data service from Cellular South, a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of memory, built in web cam, an Intel Atom Z520 processor and Microsoft Windows XP Home.

PRICING

The lightweight, inexpensive portable computing device costs $199 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year mobile broadband agreement for new and qualifying customers. The company is offering data plans that are among the industry's most affordable, including:

• A $59.99 monthly plan with a 5 GB monthly data allowance and 30 cents per megabyte overage*
• A $39.99 a month plan with a 500 MB monthly data allowance and 30 cents per megabyte overage*
• For a limited time only, students can get a $29.99 a month plan with the same 500 MB monthly data allowance and 30 cents per megabyte overage* - a 25 percent discount off the $39.99 a month plan - making the netbook a must-have for the back-to-school season.

The first 2,400 customers to place a netbook order also will receive a free USB thumb drive containing the original Transformers movie - just in time for the recently released "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" movie.

PREORDERING

Customers may preorder the Dell Mini 10 netbook beginning at 9 a.m. CST today in all of the company's retail locations or online at www.cellularsouth.com/netbook [3]. Customers who go online will have the option to leave their e-mail address for notification of in-store availability or call a Telesales staff member at 1-877-927-6884 to preorder the device. Customers who preorder online will have the device shipped directly to their home or office; customers who preorder in the store can pick theirs up at the same store. All preorders will be processed on a "first come, first served" basis when the device becomes available within days.

Smith said the devices have become the preferred method of accessing social networking applications like Facebook and Twitter and remote, web-based access to business networks and databases. "Consumers, especially mobile on-the-go workers and those interested in social networking, are demanding the freedom to be connected whenever and wherever and they want more functionality than a smartphone or PDA can offer and more portable connectivity than a laptop can offer," he added. "Netbooks are a perfect fit for them. They're fun and functional - designed as the ultimate in portable computing and access to the Internet."

Netbooks also will come with assistance from Cellular South's industry-leading online and in-store Discover Centers, which show customers how to get the most out of the device's functionality, features and applications. "Through Discover Center content and training online and in stores, consumers will be surrounded with opportunities for training and discovering personal uses of netbooks enabled by Cellular South's 3G high-speed data network," Smith said.

The netbook preorder plans follow on the heels of an announcement by Cellular South last week that it will be among the first wireless carriers in the nation to offer a smartphone later this year featuring the Android open source platform developed by the Open Handset Alliance(TM). The Open Handset Alliance is a partnership of more than 40 global mobile industry leaders.

About Cellular South

Cellular South is a privately-owned diversified mobile communications company passionately committed to helping customers get the most out of their wireless devices and services. The nation's largest privately owned wireless communications provider accomplishes this goal by providing the most reliable and advanced 3G nationwide wireless voice and data network, offering industry-leading family and unlimited flat rate voice, text and mobile web plans, and through its online and in-store Discover Centers, which give customers easy, simple and convenient tools, tips, advice and information on how to get the most out of their mobile phone. For more information, visit www.cellularsouth.com [4].

Additional information about Cellular South, Inc. and its products and services is available at http://www.cellularsouth.com [5]. This Cellular South news release and other announcements are available at http://www.cellularsouth.com/news/ [6]. Or follow our news on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cellularsouth [7]. Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ridgeland-MS/Cellular-South/39645673822 [8] to learn more about our wireless services.

* Note: For billing purposes 1,000 Kilobytes (KB) equals 1 Megabyte (MB) and 1,000 Megabytes (MB) equals 1 Gigabyte (GB).