Dell 'Mini 5' tablet prototype shows up as M01M in Shenzhen black market

Who's got some love for prototype gadgets, eh? Apparently someone does in Shenzhen (surprise of the day?). PC Online managed to cuddle up with a black Dell Streak / Mini 5 prototype, which has "Model M01M" marked under the battery cover -- something not seen in the earlier teardown, and is probably the most official name to date. Spec-wise the M01M sums up what's been speculated all along -- 5-inch 800x480 touchscreen, Android 1.6, 1GHz CPU (presumably Snapdragon, as revealed by the teardown), WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G of some sort, 5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, front-facing camera, and the same 1530mAh battery as the one in the teardown. The price? ¥7,500, which converts to a whopping $1,098 in US cash, but bear in mind that this doesn't reflect the M01M's actual retail price for whenever it might launch.

[Thanks, Shaun Wu]

Dell M01M shows up in Shenzhen black market

[gavin721 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:20AM]

@BigJayDogg3

I have to agree as Sony is just as "proud" of it's devices as Apple. That lovely Sony netbook that started at $999? Ya what a bargain. Both these companies get paid very well for their tech. I don't see this being under $500 at launch.

[Plexus Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:24AM]

My tablet is the HTC HD2 and I would'nt trade it for this thing and surely not for the i(genic)Pad, maybe I would for a Nexus one or a Milestonebut I'm far from sure.
When HTC will release the long overdue successor to the Advantage , the fabled HTC Thoth, I think all other tablets will have to run for cover.

[YourDaddy Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:25AM]

@cherryboom

Are you joking?

If not, I guess it shows that some ilemmings will buy anything.....

[Nimbuz Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:32AM]

I'll definitely get this if its available in my country. I was planning to buy iPad (on its launch in March) but with no bookstore for intl users, I see no point in having an oversized iPod Touch although its quite cheap relatively.

[awesomerobot Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:43AM]

I'm so ditching my 3GS for this if it's under $600. DO WANT.

[awesomerobot Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:44AM]

@awesomerobot also, where the hell did you guys get that conversion? completely wrong.

[jir0 Posted Jan 28th 2010 10:45AM]

@awesomerobot

That's chinese Yuan. not japanese yen.

[iareronald Posted Jan 28th 2010 1:15PM]

@awesomerobot

its a internet tablet much like the ipad. not a fone so i'd hold on to that 3GS.

[awesomerobot Posted Jan 28th 2010 1:34PM]

@iareronald they verified that it's also a phone at CES - so it's a big ol' android phone/tablet - exactly what I want.

[1ofdakoolkidz Posted Jan 28th 2010 8:43AM]

Wow, it's a sad day when Apple needs to take notes from Dell.

[huh Posted Jan 28th 2010 9:29AM]

Can you guys please get with it and let us know whether devices have USB host or not.

[PhineasJW Posted Jan 28th 2010 9:47AM]

Wish Dell had made this 4.3" so I had a chance of putting it in my pocket.

[ango Posted Jan 28th 2010 9:50AM]

marsupio phone like HD2,...

[MBN Posted Jan 28th 2010 11:09AM]

Am I the only one who sees a slightly evolved Blackberry storm here? Beautiful, but ripoff.

[ECH Posted Jan 28th 2010 11:16AM]

@MBN
I've always thought the shape and style of the Storm was pretty bad ass. Thumbs up for Dell on knowing what to steal from.

The back actually looks more like the Droid than the Storm. The shape of the exposed speaker underneath the battery cover. Hopefully their door is held in place more securely.

[NiKoLaSm Posted Jan 28th 2010 12:08PM]

It this comes to T-Mo I think I might get this as my new phone. I have to see how 'comically big' it is first for that purpose...

[Plazmic Flame Posted Jan 28th 2010 12:22PM]

Am I the only one that thinks this looks like a Blackberry device? It looks better though. Also, I'm very happy to see a 1530 mAh battery, very good since they've still managed to keep the device slim.

[kabex Posted Jan 28th 2010 6:13PM]

@Plazmic Flame IMO it's not big enough, the Blackberry 9700 with a 2.4" scren and ~120 grams already has a 1600mAh battery...

You could easily fit a 2000mAh in there with the right amount of shoving.

There's also the iPaq 910c or some such smartphone with a ~1900mAh battery which isn't that big at all.

[Tohe Posted Jan 28th 2010 2:01PM]

I'm iPhone OD'ed. The iPad / iPhone Nano don't help one bit.

[eka Posted Jan 28th 2010 5:02PM]

Much better than iPad ,but need WinMo on it.

[sonicyoof Posted Jan 28th 2010 5:36PM]

Well, it's not 10" and as the iPad demonstrated that's the ONLY size for a tablet, I mean Pad.

[kabex Posted Jan 28th 2010 6:11PM]

First of all, I'm having trouble viewing the pictures on Chrome (dev), the script isn't working for some reason.

The device is sexy as hell and I think it's the next step in what Archos pioneered (archos 5 android) which I believe is what smartphones will become, a single device that does everything you need as far as mobile computing goes, including entertainment, photography/video, videoconferencing and reading.

I hope the price point isn't too elevated because of the 3g radio, since the Archos 5 Android is actually pretty cheap.

This might be something we can all actually use and finally dump our smartphones...

[DaHarder Posted Jan 28th 2010 6:40PM]

Personally...

I think this thing's gorgeous with it's design sleekness, open-source OS, multi-tasking, web camera, and other sweetness, but -

WHOA! That price is really something to think about.

[Alymer24 Posted Jan 28th 2010 11:19PM]

Now...this is exciting!

[VinceInSeattle Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:03AM]

I'm very interested in a smartphone this size - still absolutely portable for running and walking around, but large enough to happily read a web page w/o scrolling and re-sizing constantly. But I wonder, why Android 1.6? Coming off contract in April and this is a strong contender for a replacement for my sad, bad Samsung Epix which I hate.

[Fanfoot Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:25AM]

5" screen? Really, for a phone? My iPhone has a 3.5" screen, and I've often thought it would be nice if it were bigger, but I was thinking more like 4", not 5". I'm not sure 5" would even fit in my pocket comfortably, and I'm sure it would look ridiculous holding it up to my ear. But then, you can always use a bluetooth earpiece... and that extra screen real estate and resolution would sure be nice for web browsing. I guess I'd have to see it to decide.

As others have said, whatever the biggest size is that would still fit comfortably in my pocket, that's what I want.

[DaHarder Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:27AM]

@cherryboom
Really, "Homey"?

What's this - 1990?

Yes, I understand that Apple's 'Newest Creation' sports a screen aspect ratio (4:3) and resolution (1024x768) from that era, but Get Real!

[reginashwartz Posted Jan 31st 2010 11:06AM]

Hmm, Dell (and MSI/HP for that matter) better do good on the price. iPad is rubbish, but at least it's cheap.

What they need now is like a joint venture to set standards, pricing and etc. for ebooks

[reginashwartz Posted Jan 31st 2010 11:07AM]

Also I feel it's too small for a tablet and too big for a smartphone.

[d1mitrov Posted Feb 11th 2010 12:47PM]

the good thing is this is android and it will have flash support...so technically itll provide a more comprehansive web experience than the ipad....i just hope it doesnt cost more!