Who Said the Dell Mini 5 Will Cost $1098? Not Michael Dell

I watched and listened to TechCrunch’s video of a quick walk-by interview with Michael Dell a couple of times…

Michael Dell shows off the Mini 5, confirms US arrival?

Although the blog item reports that Dell Mini 5 Android mini-tablet will retail for $1098, Michael Dell himself avoids any discussion of price. So, that price information did come from Michael Dell. CrunchGear/TechCrunch reports the following:

To recap, the Mini 5 is a 1GHz Snapdragon-powered netpad (did I just coin a phrase?) running Android 1.6 with 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G mobile. It should be selling for $1,098 before carrier subsidy.

Here’s my guess of what will happen between now and a “few months” from now (when Michael Dell said the Mini 5 would be available):

1. Android 1.6 will be upgraded to 2.x
2. 3G will be an option
3. The WiFi-only model will retail for $299
4. The 3G model will retail for $499 (unsubsidized)

These changes will be necessary to compete with the iPad as well as any expected iPhone 4G and even other Android devices.