Dell Mini 5 to Launch with Newer Android, Reports Say

Talk of the Android-running Dell Mini 5 tablet, which Dell introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, is in the air and around the Web, with new rumors and confirmations emerging.
On Feb. 16, Android Central reported that the device-whether it turns out to be an MID (mobile Internet device), smartphone or tablet PC-is expected to be released on both the AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
Tech site TFTS in part confirmed this back on Feb. 8, with news that the FCC had approved use of the device on the AT&T network.
Additionally, while prototype models of the Mini 5 have run the Android 1.6 or “Donut” mobile operating system, Engadget reported Feb. 15 that a Dell spokesperson has confirmed that the Mini 5 at launch won’t feature Android 1.6, but instead will run “something newer.”
Depending on Dell’s timing of the launch, this could mean Android 2.0, code-named ??½clair, or possibly the operating system’s next incarnation, “Froyo.”
The Mini 5 features a 5-inch touch screen and the 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Reportedly, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 5-megapixel camera will also be among its features.
Dell has so far narrowed a shipping time frame to “in a few months” and offered no pricing details. CrunchGear, however, has put an estimate at more than $1,000 before a likely carrier subsidy.
Dell first expanded into the smartphone space in November, with the introduction of the Mini 3, also running Android. The Mini 3 debuted in China and Brazil on Jan. 6, and AT&T plans to begin offering the Mini 3 in the first half of 2010.