We just got taken into a quiet side hallway for a 90 second photo shoot with the
Dell slate device. It's... red. It's also a nicely thin five-inch Android device with a dialer, but other than that we weren't getting any answers on the record, so the mystery continues. We will say that we saw a presentation sheet with the name "
Streak" on it, and that it looked to have a removable battery door on the back, but apart from that all we really know is that we desperately want to get this thing alone for longer than a minute and a half. Pics in the gallery!
P.S.- Our friend Stuart Miles from Pocket-lint learned that it does
indeed have a SIM slot. AT&T, here we come?
posted January 7th 2010 12:43PM
I guess this will be the new trend for 2010. Everyone is going to make these small "Slates"?
I wont lie.. looks pretty cool.
@Cg006 it kinda looks like a smaller version of that dell netbook mod...
http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/31/dell-netbook-modded-into-a-rather-large-handset-video/
@Cg006 - I guess it does look cool. But if it is not a phone, I cant see how it is going to sell well. Who needs another 3G 2 year contract for internet connectivity.. unless no-contract 3G will be allowed and one could buy it cheap and use it with wifi only.
Or maybe tether with their android device, specifically.
Also -- are we also to assume that anything with a screen larger than 4.3 inches is automatically a slate? I think the new HD2 is 4.3, though HTC and MS are calling it a phone :-D
i think 7" is the bare for a slate.. in terms of it being to close to a cellphone size screen - which are currently at least 3.5 - 4 inches.
@Cg006
it reminds me of a PSP ...
and the reason is probably the big size .. I mean, come on the Droid is already a bit bulky (for a phone) but this ... looks way too big for holding it next to my head. My opinion.
IMO: Verizon Droid = Good size. Slate = To big
@kiyu727 As far as a phone is concerned I always thought the RAZR was too big; more people would bad mouth the iPhone's size if it weren't for the fact that the owners are usually the type who want to show the world that "I haz an iPhone".
ALL smartphones are too big, that's what bluetooth headsets are for. Just don't be a douche and put the headset back in your pocket when you're done talking.
@Kerensky97 That's what dell would be expecting you to do. I wouldn't hold that up to my head, would you?
I hope they don't lock this into a carrier, or make it too expensive.
Looks like they tried to be BASF on the Blackberry Storm.
Slate would be a good term for all the new touch screen only pocket devices, whether they have a phone or not. Droid -> keyboard = not slate. Iphone -> No keyboard = slate.
@Firehazel The unexpectedly awesome feature? The 5MP camera. The Dell Mini 5 has a 5-inch screen, and your subject fills the entire frame. It's an oddly satisfying implementation of a camera, in a super sizing kind of way. This will be dell's flagship for their tablet device. More Details: http://bit.ly/dell-mini-5-details
Slate? If it's got a dialer, more like a big phone than a slate, no? Well, I guess a real hands on will tell the tale.
@Alan Strangis Could be a wi-fi call app like skype
@HighestRanked
Could be, most likely is.
I see no pics in the gallery...
Scratch that - they're showing up now.
I think it looks very nice indeed, I'll admit I am a sucker for devices like this, especially running android.
the right side tapers off like the STORM.
2 things,
get it in black/titanium/gray
get it in GSM...AT&T preferably
Looks useless to me...especially the size part of it.
If I'm gonna buy a tablet it's gotta be at least 10 inches...what's the point of buying something 5 inches or 7 inches? We're basically talking large ass cellphones.
@TheRogueFFAngel
I think being a large-ass cell phone IS the point. If the battery life is acceptable, I would seriously consider carrying this as my cell phone. 95% of what I use my phone for is web browsing and email. The ginormous screen on this thing (assuming the resolution is also sufficiently high) makes those tasks easier.
@Chip I concur. I spend very little time actually holding my phone up to my head, and an inordinate amount of time emailing/IM'ing/browsing. I'm all for this thing. I'll just buy bigger pants.
For the pockets.
@punkpat555 Suppose this thing got popular and people's pockets were not large enough; this would create a HUGE market for man-purses!
@Chip I agree. Give me a giant cellphone! This would basically allow me to get rid of my netbook and make watching movies / using the web / emailing actually tolerable on a phone.
@HighestRanked "Its a European Carry-All!"
In the early half of 2000 I got used to wearing cargo pants to handle Wallet+Keys+Cellphone+PDA. It wouldn't be too hard to trade that for being able to browse on a bigger better screen.
But I want to know the resolution! The same WVGA of other phones won't cut it if they just blow the pixels up. For a massive device like that I better be getting better than 800x480.
I tjust looks like a big ipod touch running Android. Maybve I can call my iPod touch a Slate. That is, unless Apple calls their tablet the iSlate, further confusing consumers.
@JakeMG
The itouch screen is only 3.5". An extra inch and a half may not sound like much, but it makes all the difference in the world (just ask your girlfriend). Assuming the larger display comes with a higher resolution (800x480 minimum), it makes this a whole different device. If this thing is half as awesome as it looks (and works on TMobile), I'd absolutely trade in my G1 for this.
@Chip lol, but consider the radiation affect too, girl friends dont normally last long anyways ;)
This would be pretty cool to use as a Home Phone/Remote control for my computer.
That actuallu looks really nice.
Mind you, a bit on the big side for a phone call.
@dedparrot
Those were exactly my two thoughts.
First Reaction: One of the nicest looking devices from Dell I've seen in a while.
Second Reaction: Can't imagine it would be comfortable as a phone.
@(Unverified)
Bluetooth headset for phone usage?
I can't see carrying this around and a cell phone - that's why PDA's died, right?
Whatever happened to good ol' model names.
Like St-740-b-R.2A
That's a name I can understand instead of a confusing verb...
@PyRo1509
{sarcasm
Nice phone... I suppose it's safe to say we'll never see it on Sprint ...
Personally its too small to be a usable tablet (for me at least) and probably too large to be a everyday phone... Wish this thing was a little larger.
@Rick James
That's what she said.
Not a bad device but seems like they couldnt decide to either make it a phone or a tablet. Also Dell typically has multiple colors for devices so this likely will come in black as well. Not a bad little device, if it were 9 inches it would make more sense for me as a computer. I dont think my pockets are big enough to carry this around as a phone.
Either this or the mini 3
Right now, all these device manufacturers are saying:
"Wow, who would have thought people would get so excited if we started building much larger, much more expensive cell phones. Think of all the money we spent trying to make them smaller."
This is garbage...
@TheRogueFFAngel and why do you say that?
@TheRogueFFAngel
It's too small dude. This thing is like a slightly larger cell phone...minus the calling capablity of course.
Forget the fact that there's not even a solid definition as to what a tablet is much less what it's supposed to do....when I think of "tablet" I think it's gotta be around the 10 inch range.
SO this device is pointless to me. So is the concept of a 7 inch device....
More importantly however is answering this question.
If I have a notebook and a cellphone why the hell do I need a tablet? What function would/could a tablet serve in my life?
@TheRogueFFAngel
It has a dialer...
@TheRogueFFAngel
Sorry I wasn't really looking at the pics...I just saw slate (which it seems everyone is copying these days) and thought it was a simple tablet....
@TheRogueFFAngel
10" is not a mobile device. You'll dock a MID to a larger display when you can use one. At some point, you'll implant a MID in your freakin' skull, but that's a few years down the road.
For now, a conventional cell phone, even an IPhone, is too small for a practical browser, and the IPhone screen is too small for a practical keyboard. A one-handed keyboard for a multi-touch tablet is out there somewhere, for rapid touch typing comparable to a full sized keyboard. The Matias Half-QWERTY is a possibility. Unfortunately, Matias doesn't know how to market his IP, but his patent expires in a few years anyway.
please have capacitive touch screen
Now DELL has one? Who is going to be last to the tablet party?
@Decoy
Commodore.
Hmmmm. The C-Slate?
@Decoy
Apple?
@Skobbolop Apple is the party host
@Decoy Tim Hortons
Its shape reminds me a bit of the Blackberry Storm.
Looks quite nice.