From VMware's own announcement at http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/esx3i.html:

VMware ESX Server 3i is the new architectural foundation for VMware Infrastructure 3, the most widely deployed virtualization software suite for optimizing and managing industry-standard IT environments. VMware customers will be able to easily implement the entire suite of VMware Infrastructure 3 products on top of this foundation, including VirtualCenter, VMotion, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), High Availability (HA) and VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB).

3i does not support HA

According to their web site:

Both ESX Server and ESX Server 3i support the entire suite of VMware Infrastructure 3 products, features and solutions, and you can use ESX Server 3 and ESX Server 3i side-by-side in your virtual infrastructure. Both provide industry-leading performance and scalability; the difference resides in the architecture and the operational management of ESX Server 3i.

The URL is: http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/esx/esx3i.html

Keep in mind, that HA, DRS, vMotion, and other features are licensed at the License Server level, and not the ESX 3.x/3i level.

The fact that Dell might not charge for the ESX 3i hypervisor is interesting. 

One has to consider that the ESX 3i is only a small subset of functions that you find in the 'VI3 Enterprise' (ESX 3i doesn't have DRS, HA, VMotion etc..). Any large client that wants to add the ESX 3i machines to their enterprise class ESX farm, will need to upgrade the license anyway... 

ESX 3i cost = 495$
ESX VI3 Enterprise = 5750$
ESX 3i to Enterprise upgrade = 5650$

So client will not be interested in paying first 495$, then having to upgrade it for 5650$. Dell and other first tier hardware supplier might as well sell ESX 3i for 100$ or give it for free...

Is Dell absorbing the cost of the 32mb usb flash memory card or the licensing cost of the software?

Sounds fishy! to me.

This phrase always makes me laugh...

"Once Microsoft's [insert product name here] arrives"

They need to pull their socks up as an organisation for people like us to start taking them seriously again...