Hasta La Gadget!

Yesterday, we saw Dell’s Slate concept for the first time. Today, we got to actually play with it. And it’s called the Mini 5.

(Btw, if you want to read yesterday’s stories on the slate, check here.)

Specs that we know: custom Android, SIM (it makes calls), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. And the 5-inch screen supports full multitouch.

In your hand, it’s very light and comfortable to use. The screen is responsive, and Dell’s icon interface makes for intuitive presentation of Android.

It feels a bit more like plastic than, say, the iPod touch. But it was perfectly solid from what we could tell. Making a phone call turns the Mini 5 into a gigantic phone, almost like a handset out of a Carrot Top routine, but Dell expects most consumers will opt to use a headset.

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.

My model wasn’t connected to the web, so I didn’t get to test the browser. And my hands-on time was more than limited (and frankly, a bit frantic), so I can’t really speak sincerely on much else.

But let me say this: I like the Mini 5. And I dare say that Dell’s software—their version of Android onboard—may be equally or more impressive than the hardware itself. I’m not sure I have a need for this or any 5-inch tablet, but you know what? I’m going to give em a shot all the same.

LAS VEGAS — Dell is poised to flood the market with a whole range of tablets, from tiny iPhone-sized handsets to big media players. At CES this morning, Dell’s marketing boss Michael Tatelman gave us a teasing sneak peek.

The handset he showed us, seen above, is a skinny sliver with a 5-inch screen and runs the Android operating system. It will probably never make it into stores, but Tatelman said that there are plenty of tablets, of all shapes, sizes and operating systems living in the Dell labs and aimed at going on sale as soon as possible.

What really surprised us, though, is how Tatelman referred to it. He introduced the handset and said “I believe they are known as slates.” He’s not the only one. At Microsoft’s CES keynote yesterday, CEO Steve Ballmer also called his company’s new line of tablets* “slates”.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball has one take on this. “I honestly think Microsoft renamed these things on the basis on a rumored name for Apple’s tablet, just to try to fuck with them” he writes.

What is extraordinary is that, whatever their reasons, both Dell and Microsoft are naming devices based on rumors that Apple has the trademark and domain name for “iSlate.” The mythical tech-unicorn that Apple may or may not announce later this month is has already created an entire new product category based on nothing but speculation. How’s that for influence?

*Which are exactly the same as the failed tablets of yesteryear, only running Windows 7 instead of XP, both of which are designed for desktop computers.

According to Dell, the M11X is the most powerful laptop under 15 inches. And, playing CoD at 30fps, with 720P resolution (on what’s essentially a netbook), I fell in love with the little machine.

Let me make this clear: The M11X is unabashedly Alienware. I mean, its LEDs behind the keyboard and thermal grates sort of give that away. I’m not crazy about the plastic case, and I wish the 1366×768 screen were covered in glass instead of plastic. As someone who appreciates minimal design, it’s pretty much the antithesis of my taste.

Yet, I still liked the M11X.

While it manages to still weigh in at a hefty 4 or so pounds (your brain doesn’t anticipate the weight), it’s just an incredible amount of power for an 11.6-inch laptop.

Inside, you’ll find an energy-sipping Core2Duo alongside a 1GB Nvidia 335M graphics card—which is fairly insane for the size. But playing Star Trek Online and Call of Duty, I didn’t doubt the power. You can’t run CoD with anti-aliasing on, but otherwise, the experience is sharp, smooth and surprisingly palatable on the tiny display—keep in mind, I was testing it running off a battery.

The trackpad and keyboard both feel pretty good, too. The trackpad has just enough texture, and the keyboard isn’t too cramped with nicely curved keys. The battery is non-removable, but the 8-cell lithium ion polymer lasts 6 1/2 hours casually or 2 hours of full-out gaming. Plus there’s a battery meter on the case’s underside.

Also of note, you’ll find ports galore. 3 USBs, an HDMI, DisplayPort, mini FireWire, VGA and even a SIM slot. Jesus.

But the best news, the news that got me legitimately excited, is that it will be out within a month, specs maxed, for $1000 or under. For that price, you could have an i7 at home, and a little laptop for the road/LAN parties. And why oh why would you ever buy one of those “premium” netbooks again?

Dell‘s laptop and desktop lineups may hog all of the attention, but the company’s range of LCDs have proven to be contenders over the years. Not one to shy away from the professionals in attendance, the company has today released its first-ever WQHD monitor: the 27-inch UltraSharp U2711. Boasting a native 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, this beast just may pack enough pixels to sway you back into the single-monitor camp. Dell’s also trumpeting the unit’s “billion-color depth and IPS technology,” and the 6-millisecond response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 350 nits of brightness and a 12-bit internal processing help to round things out. For the pros who make ends meet by editing photos or video, you’ll probably enjoy knowing that this one boasts a 110 percent color gamut, factory-tuned Adobe RGB and sRGB modes (alongside a color calibration report), custom color adjustments and a smattering of mounting options.

You’ll also find just about every port known to man: HDMI 1.3, DisplayPort, DVI-D (x2), VGA, composite, component, USB (x4) and an 8-in-1 multicard reader. ‘Course, the actual aesthetics are nothing to write home about, but again, this one’s being targeted at end users who care less about the bezel and more about true-to-life pixel performance. We had a chance to toy around with the new beast, and frankly, we were mesmerized. Without an in-house color calibrator, we can’t speak for those who need oodles of numbers and bar charts to tell if a monitor is performing correctly, but we can say that the panel was remarkably sharp, crisp and accurate — more so than our (much adored) 24-inch 2408WFP, that’s for sure. Be prepared to catch this one next month with an MSRP of $1,049.

Dell goes pro with 27-inch UltraSharp U2711 WQHD LCD monitor (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already seen it in China and Brazil, now Dell’s first modern smartphone — the Mini 3 — is headed to the US in the loving arms of AT&T 3G. We expect the specs to remain pretty much the same: 3.5-inch 640×360 display, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, microSD, and GPS, though we’ll have to wait to get that confirmed. And from the looks of that pic of a prototype supplied by Direct2Dell, this Android handset will be custom skinned for AT&T. Look for it to hit sometime in the first half of 2010. Bonus pic after the break.

Continue reading Dell Mini 3 headed to AT&T running Android

Dell Mini 3 headed to AT&T running Android originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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