As suspected, a leak of upcoming Dell products includes a 7-inch Android tablet, called the Looking Glass.
Is it a reference to the book or the episode of Lost? Not sure, but the leak to Engadget has some intriguing details. Looking Glass will reportedly run on Nvidia's Tegra 2, a much-hyped mobile processor that has yet to appear in any tablets of note, though it does currently power Microsoft's smooth-running Zune HD. Resolution is 800-by-480, same as Dell's upcoming 5-inch Streak.
There are a couple hints that the Looking Glass will have an eye towards mobile television. First, there's an optional TV tuner module, for watching ATSC or DVB-T programming. Also, Engadget notes that the interface in the slides is that of AT&T's U-Verse television service. Given that AT&T and Dell are working together on the Streak, some sort of television service deal from AT&T seems likely on the Looking Glass.
Other specs include 4 GB of internal flash storage, an SDHC slot for expandable memory up to 32 GB, and 4 GB of RAM. The Looking Glass also has a 1.3-megapixel camera, facing frontwards for video calls.
A previous rumor said the 7-inch Dell tablet will launch in late 2010, and a 10-inch model will follow in early 2011. The most recent leak confirms this timetable for the Looking Glass, specifying a November release.
I'm curious to see how people will respond to 7-inch tablets such as this one. To me, it seems too large to be a convenient portable and too small to enjoy as a home tablet, but I've read comments to the contrary when stories about this size tablet come up. Archos is supposed to be releasing some 7-inch tablets in the months ahead, so we'll see if they get any traction, but Dell will probably be the first major player to see if it's something people are interested in.
