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This article was written on April 24, 2007 by CyberNet.

Rumors are flying once again that Dell is planning to launch a Tablet PC towards the end of October. This is far from the first time that I have heard about a Dell Tablet PC that is supposedly in-the-works, but it seems to be a lot more credible this time around.

The source of the rumor claims that they have received nearly identical information from two different sources, and the news goes something like this:

• Will be released in the September/October 2007 time-frame
• Based on the Latitude D420 notebook computer by Dell
• Optional wireless broadband Internet
• Widescreen display

Engadget commenters also seem to be confirming that they have heard similar things from their own Dell representatives. One even went as far as to give some of the details they heard about it:

My rep has confirmed this with me as well. I’ll try to snag his powerpoints. Shows a play on the D420 form factor, 1GB ram minimum 4GB max, 10 hour extended battery [not a typo, but probably not reality], 802.11n, 12″ display with an upgraded 12″ ‘high visibility’ option for outdoor use.

The thing that disappoints me is that they are going to have the Tablet PC functionality on one of their highest priced notebooks. The D420 starts between $1,800 and $2,000 depending on on whether you want a one-core processor or two-core processor. A Tablet PC definitely won’t help reduce the price on it.

I actually owned an Averatec Tablet PC (the C3500) that was horrible. It was plagued with battery and heat dissipation problems, both of which Averatec knew was an issue. They eventually discontinued selling the laptop because there was so many complaints, and at that time I opted for a new computer. The reason that I got the Averatec was because it was the only Tablet PC at the time that was available for under $1000, but the quality was obviously compromised for the price.

Since then I haven’t had another Tablet PC because they are still pretty expensive, but they were extremely nice for taking notes that are normally hard to type. Since I can type pretty fast I found that I didn’t really use the tablet functionality all that much because it actually slowed me down more than anything.

A few companies have taken strides to provide an affordable Tablet PC, such as Gateway’s which you can get for around $900 with pretty good specs. Dell is smart for getting into the Tablet PC market, but I think they need to offer a solution that typical consumers can afford as well.

Source: jkOnTheRun [via Engadget]

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The Dell-Microsoft symbiotic relationship continues where it left off with the Venue Pro, as another highly desirable piece of hardware has been made available at a Microsoft Store ahead of Dell: the transforming Inspiron Duo and its JBL-powered speaker dock. That’s actually in your favor this time, however, as you won’t have to trek across the countryside to one of Microsoft’s seven brick-and-mortar stores, but rather grab the $549 convertible at Microsoft’s website, and you can even get $50 off the audio station’s typical $99 price. That said, these are most definitely pre-orders we’re dealing with here and there’s no expected shipping date on the site, so it’s hard to tell if you’re actually securing yourself the first spot in that “first week of December” line. They won’t charge you until it ships, though, so if you’re not willing to wait for our full review to see if that slick spinning screen is up to snuff, now is probably the time.

[Thanks, Joe]

Dell Inspiron Duo and speaker dock up for pre-order at Microsoft Store now, no clue when they’ll ship out originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Didn’t get a Venue Pro when Microsoft threw a few on its store shelves? Why, that’d be enough to make us mad, too — Ballmer mad, in fact. Fear not, though: as Dell tells it, the company has production ramped up for a “timely” launch on T-Mobile’s network. When? Won’t say. Holiday season, at least? No release windows is given. And one more thing, too… Dell read our piece on the Windows Phone 7 microSD and wants you all to know that, no, you shouldn’t mess with the Venue Pro’s card, either. There’s no eject mechanism, and that’s supposed to be a not-so-subtle hint to stay back. Consider yourself warned, again.

Dell: bigger Venue Pro launch coming, keep hands off microSD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That’s right, just as we had heard, Dell is finally putting an end to the Inspiron Duo’s mysterious marketing videos and officially spinning its screen for the world to see! You won’t be able to hit the order button on the totally unique 10.1-inch tablet / netbook hybrid today, but according to Dell, it should go up for pre-order sometime soon and start shipping out the first week of December. As for pricing, the base model will start at $549 (£449), and will pack a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, 250GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Naturally, you’ll be able to configure it with a larger hard drive, and adding that JBL speaker dock will bring the price up to $649 (no word on what it will cost on its own). We’re guessing those are the details you’ve been waiting on, but undoubtedly you’ve got to be dying to know what we think of that crazy-looking laptop. Well, we’ve got you covered there too — hit the break for our impressions and a brief hands-on video.

Continue reading Dell Inspiron Duo finally official, can be yours the first week of December for $549

Dell Inspiron Duo finally official, can be yours the first week of December for $549 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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