Dell Inc showed off a small slate computer that it could bring to market this year, exploring yet another type of device designed for computing on the go.

So-called slate and tablet PCs are a hot topic at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, ahead of a highly anticipated device from Apple Inc that is widely expected to be unveiled in late January.

Dell's slate has a 5-inch screen and runs on Google Inc's Android mobile operating system. Dell declined to provide other details, or say definitively if the new gadget, which looks like a large smartphone, would hit the market.

On Wednesday. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer displayed a Hewlett-Packard Co slate that which was considerably larger than Dell's.

Michael Tatelman, Dell's vice president of consumer sales and marketing, said the company is testing a number of different screen sizes as it pushes further into the mobile market.

Dell recently released its first smartphone, the Mini 3, which is on sale in China and Brazil, and will be available in the U.S. on AT&T Inc's network.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, editing by Tiffany Wu and Derek Caney)

Steve Ballmer Electronics Dell Apple inc.