British gadget-lovers are getting a hot deal on a 3G netbook thanks to T-Mobile, which is offering a free Asus Eee PC 904HD and 3G USB modem when you sign up for two years of its wireless broadband service. The netbook is a Windows XP machine with an 80GB hard drive, as well as the 1.6GHz Atom and 1GB of RAM that have come to epitomize netbook processing power. The only odd bit about the 904HD is that it combines the case from a larger Eee PC with the screen from a smaller one, so you're stuck with a border surrounding the display.

We spotted a Radio Shack deal earlier this month bundling AT&T data with an Acer Aspire One, discounting the netbook down to $99. Working the numbers on that one, the price of two years of service along with all the hardware came to $1440. After converting pounds sterling to U.S. dollars, the T-Mobile UK deal comes out to only $875, but it's tricky to compare international plans directly, considering different taxes, network infrastructures, and monthly allowances. For this deal, you'll get up to 3GB of data a month at speeds up to 4.5Mb/s.

It might be nitpicking, but it would have been nice to see T-Mobile include a netbook with integrated 3G; with this setup you'll have to carry around a 3G USB modem with you and pop it in the netbook to get reception. On the other hand, that also gives you the freedom to use the service with other laptops you may have. T-Mobile plans to offer similar deals for two other netbooks in the future, so maybe then they'll offer an integrated model.

This story around the web: