SlashGear

In September T-Mobile Germany began offering the Acer Aspire One with integrated 3G; however the factory fit WWAN modem has been an elusive option for the rest of us.  As the breakdown of the netbook proved, however, fitting your own 3G modem shouldn’t be too difficult a task: the intrepid tnkgrl has done just that, slotting a mini-PCIe HSUPA/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS card into the 8.9-inch netbook.

DIY Acer Aspire One HSPA video after the cut

It’s not merely a case of popping open the casing and dropping in the card, however.  Acer leave space and even the connections for a mini-PCIe card slot, but they don’t go so far as to install the whole thing; that means you’ll need to unleash your soldering iron and fit your own.  Plus, while there’s a port for a SIM card, there’s no actual reader for it to slot into; again, expect some soldering on your horizon if you want to replicate this mod.

The finished product is an Acer Aspire One 3G that, in tnkgrl’s case, managed 2084Kbps down and 347Kbps up. Next she’s planning on fitting eSATA to the netbook; until then, and if like me you’re scared of soldering, live vicariously through this DIY demo video: