Dell Mini 5 to be the vanguard of 'a family of tablets'

Well isn't this good to know. The Mini 5 isn't even coming out for at least another month, yet already we're hearing Dell has big plans for what's to follow. Wired has the dish straight from Neeraj Choubey, GM of Dell's tablet division, that there will be "a family of tablets" which will "scale up to a variety of sizes." It appears there will be a common feature set throughout the forthcoming portfolio, so it's likely going to be Android all the way, while Choubey also shared his company's intention to bundle "inexpensive data plans" with the new devices -- indicating a belief that carriers will accede to such ambitious ideas. And speaking of network operators, in a separate interview with Laptop, the loquacious gentleman has confirmed that Dell's working with AT&T on bringing the Mini 5 to the masses. Good to know, indeed -- now how about a release date?

[bjtheone Posted Feb 27th 2010 10:00PM]

@GTP04

The $1K has been debunked by a number of sites. This is going to cost somewhere between $299 (sweet spot for impulse gadget buys) and $500 (high end smart phones). All it is hardware wise is Google Nexus level hardware, with a 5" screen and a Dell UI overlay. Given that HTC is coming out with some 4' screen snapdragon based phones and we aready have the Nexus, Droid and Liquid, the only advantage is the screen and that is not going to command a huge premium.

I could see Dell deciding to undercut the iPad and come in at $399.

Certainly it is going to be under $200 via carrier subsidy with a contract & data plan.

The biggest factor is what they decide to use as their main marketing channel (direct or via carrier tie in).

[st00pidmonkee Posted Feb 27th 2010 11:30AM]

Apparently, according to some sites, the Dell Mini 5 is supposed to be $1098 without carrier subsidies. Just makes the maxiPad better.

[seedreamhome Posted Feb 27th 2010 3:32PM]

Love that LED table. www.GreenTeamCarolina.com

[BlackViper91 Posted Feb 27th 2010 4:11PM]

@MRCUR Me too. I have only ever had no coverage once or twice over the whole time I've owned my current phone (last one had the shittiest radio known to man, so I lost signal if I looked at it wrong). Plus I get free mobile to mobile with most of my friends and freedom (anyone on Verizon, you may need to look that word up, since your carrier sure doesn't give you any idea what it is). I can plug my SIM into any GSM phone and use it on ATT. I even have a cheap $10 unlimited data on my smartphone. And no carrier branded crap.

That said, I'd love if this came out unlocked for a reasonable price. I'd prefer to pay more for an unlocked, untouched by a carrier version with (hopefully) cheap data. But as long as I can use it on ATT, I'll be happy.

[fuwenxu Posted Mar 11th 2010 2:51PM]

It will sure come out before next generation iPhone

[SaMaster14 Posted Apr 4th 2010 2:10AM]

Well... this is going with AT&T as I've heard... but will it be available for purchase solely as a tablet device(used with Wifi/bluetooth)??

(or possible tether with Blackberry on Verizon, or any other service).

Thanks!!

[jf79 Posted Apr 16th 2010 6:23PM]

Hmm, too big to be used as a phone, too small to be used as a tablet... :/