When I first heard about Dell’s plan for a mini tablet, with 5 inch diagonal screen, called Streak I thought to myself ‘what’s on their mind?’. I thought then there’s no reason to build such a small device when there are similar priced touch smartphones with an inch or two smaller that offer the same functionality, but now I’m not sure there’s no place for such a device, right between smartphones and MIDs.

    Dell Mini 5 compared to iPhone

    Dell Mini 5 compared to iPhone

    First there’s the screen dimension: if it’s bigger than something like the iPhone is perfect, you’ll now be able to browse better, that’s the truth. Now, bigger is better but here’s some point where bigger means impossible to carry in a pocket and that’s true for 7-10 inch tablets. I guess Dell wanted to build something that’s pocketable and offers enough screen real estate for social media and browsing needs people have these days.

    Interface screenshot

    Interface screenshot

    Engadget managed to get their hands on a confidential version (not anymore) that’s supposed to be the final prototype before Dell’s official launch next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Till then here’s a short video with Dell Mini 5 Streak booting up really fast: