Dell’s Mini 5 tablet early tested, reveals appropriate size but poor keyboard
23rd February, 2010 by adina
Tags: Dell, Dell Mini 5, News, Tablets
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The Mini 5 tablet of Dell has been early previewed and has revealed new details about the entry of the company into the tablet world. Although having a 5-inch screen, it seems the Android device is easy to hold and can be put in a pocket. It also has features allowing phone functionality development, but persons who have tried it appreciate it is too big to be used as a phone for a long time.
Mini 5’s software, in the pre-release state, reflects its preponderance as a tablet device over phone features. The previewed model spotted at CES as well as in recent photos has a new taskbar-like layout that moves the application launcher, a home screen switcher as well as notifications into separate sections. The web browser and custom gallery application support multi-touch, but do not include Google Maps. Meebo provides instant messaging services, while Quickoffice deals with Office document editing and Nuance offers voice control.
When it comes to the operating system, Android 1.6 is currently running on Mini 5, while Android 2.x will come preloaded when shipping the device in spring. Basic widgets are present for social networking services such as Twitter.
The Mini 5 already has complaints regarding its keyboard. The portrait keyboard is appreciated as useful for thumbs, while the landscape mode is considered more difficult to handle due to introducing a number pad that requires the device resting flat on a desk in order to be used properly. The Dell tablet, unlike the rival iPad, cannot be used from any orientation and provides only landscape layout in one orientation.
As for hardware, the Snapdragon processor is likely to be fast, but storage could be a problem because it has only 2GB of permanent space. A microSDHC card is however available but might be necessary for big amounts of content. There is also a fast 5-megapixel camera that is able to record adequate video, but in VGA-only mode. Despite the faster processor and the larger screen, battery life is considered unusually good.
Launch details for the Mini 5 have not been revealed yet. The smaller screen and the limited storage could grant it a lower price than the rival iPad when shipping within a similar time span.
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Way to leave out the fact that this is a prototype. Just because a PROTOTYPE has 2 gigs of storage, doesn’t mean the shipping model will. The lack of rotation and VGA-only recording can be changed as well.
And its Android. You can download another keyboard from the Market.
Even Engadget acknowledged that this was an early version. Dell even contacted them after they got their hands on it telling them that this was an extremely early version (listen to the podcast).