The device which was known as the Dell Streak for quite some time was officially unveiled during CES 2010 as the Dell Mini 5. Personally, I think that the name “Dell Streak inch was actually pretty sweet, but if they insist…
We’ve heard rumblings of a Dell smartphone for a while. They used to have a line of PDA’s called Axim, but they have been discontinued since 2007 and never picked up the phone component. Now we’ve catching glimpses here and there of the Dell Mini 5 which has be popping its head up once and a while since sometime back in October of 2009. At CES, Dell said that the device is a MID first and a phone second. The first major hands-on with the device came in the form of a video from Vietnamese site tinhte.com.
Dell was happy to show the device off at CES 2010, but were pretty reluctant to give much specific information about it. I don’t think Dell is trying to keep this thing under wraps, it’s likely that they have simply yet to nail down the details themselves. Retail pricing, availability, and carrier affiliation are all unconfirmed at this point.
Here is what we do know:
- 5 inch 800×480 capacitive screen
- Phone functionality with GSM SIM (despite being rather large for a phone)
- Accelerometer
- MicroSD slot x 2
- GPS
- Android 1.6 apparently heavily customized by Dell
- 1GHz Snapdragon CPU
- WiFi/BT
- 5.0MP camera with dual-LED flash, as well as a front facing cam
- 1530mAh battery
- Dock
- HDMI out, speaker output
- Will be available in several colors, it’s been seen in black, white, pink, and red
Recently Michael Dell gave a very brief demo of the Dell Mini 5 to TechCrunch and stated that it would be out “in a couple of months inch. We’ve also heard release dates ranging from mid-year or as far out as the holiday season which is quite a while from now.
It seems like we’ll have a bit longer to wait until we’ll find out when we can get our hands on this sleek MIDphone.
I’m wondering if I’m the only one looking forward to this device? We’ve already got similar (albeit smaller) devices on the market, like the Nexus One, which has the same screen resolution, same camera resolution, and even the same 1GHz Snapdragon CPU (and it is running the latest version of Android). I couldn’t quite tell you why the Dell Mini 5 seems so compelling when compared to some of the devices that are already out there, but it just seems like Dell could do really well with this device if they can nail the right price-point. What do our readers think? Given what we know, would you buy one for, say, $400 with a contract, or $600 unsubsidized?
400$ on contract is too much, make it 200$ on contract and 300$ unsubsidized. With price like that it would surely become very popular considering that it could be easily connected to HDTV so coupled with bluetooth keyboard and mouse we get desktop like experience when it comes to browsing the net and playing back videos.
agreed .. V
I’m really looking forward to this device, but I’m looking to use it strictly as a MID, not a phone. I’m hoping it’ll be less than you’re guessing…more like $449 or $499 unsubsidized. I’m posting this on an Archos 5 Android, which has an almost identical form factor. I love the A5, but it’s still kind of buggy. If Dell makes this thing stable and the Snapdragon is as fast as they say, I’m in.
I’ll only get a non-smart phone Android device if its specs are significantly higher than smart phones, otherwise I don’t see the point of getting things like the Archos 5 IT or this Dell device (if used as a MID).
Just get an Android smart phone and carry one less thing in your pockets instead of a phone and a crippled smart phone.
I would love this device if it doesnt drop calls as bad as my G1. I want a keyboard but the 5in screen would do fine. The g1 screen is too small. I would love to have a 5″ android. I didnt buy archos A5 because too buggy and cant make calls.
@Jim
If I can ever get something like the HTC HD2 with Android (on Sprint in the U.S.) then I might just go for one converged Android device. But right now I have and HTC Hero, and there is absolutely no comparison between the web experience on it and the Archos A5. The Archos’ 5″ screen is just so much better for rendering web pages ebook reading, movies, etc. I hardly use my Hero anymore except for calls and texts.
Nexus One has a front facing web cam with a skype like video application?
I’ve been lusting over this device since it was reported at CES. I am currently a Windows Mobile user and can’t get rid of my keyboard. But I think the Android OS is actually superior for a true smart phone device. I am partial to GSM, so I’ve been waiting on AT&T to get an Android phone with a keyboard. Only problem is, it seems the Android trend is to be keyboard-less for the most part. With a 5″ screen, I may be able to give up my keyboard to finally make the switch to Android after all. What entices me the most is that it’s geared towards web and multimedia. On my mobile device, I’m actually least concerned with actual calls. Any device can handle that function. So I want to cram as many functional features into my device as possible. Simply put, this device rocks!
Has anyone else heard this thing is going to be around $1100??? Seems pretty steep. Android is GNU right? I can’t imagine that’s $1100 worth of technology. If that’s the cost, I don’t think I will be able to swing it. If it’s somewhere under $600 without contract, I’m in for sure. It would have to be lower with a contract just on principle.
Apparently AT&T is going to launch 5 new Android devices in the first half of 2010.
So you may actually get your wishes granted, but then again, AT&T doesn’t have a very good track record of listening to what their customers want and load their devices up with crap so we are still left speculating.
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-sales/promotion/ces.jsp?wtSlotClick=1-002RQT-0-1&WT.svl=calltoaction
5 Android phones? I’m guessing both Dells, HTC Hero and Legend, and the Motorola Droid.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/dell-mini-5-we-have-it/?s=t5
Engadget Hands On
Offline GPS without Cellular Triangulation?
Skype tested?
If so.. this might be it. It’s going to be a very exciting Summer and Fall.
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