Dell to offer 10-inch Windows 7 tablet later this year

08.02.2011
Dell will launch a 10-inch Windows 7-based tablet for business users later this year, aimed primarily at "vertical" markets such as health care, education and the financial sector, the company said Tuesday.

Dell is hedging its bets, however. It will also offer 10-inch tablets based on Google's Android OS, said Steve Lalla, head of Dell's business client division.

He spoke at an event in San Francisco where Dell launched a major refresh of all its PC, laptop and workstation products. He called it "the largest commercial client refresh in the history of Dell."

The new products included the Latitude XT3, an update to Dell's existing XT2 convertible tablet. It's not a true tablet like the iPad, but rather a laptop with a touchscreen that swivels around and folds over the keyboard. The new model has a larger, 13-inch screen and a newer Intel processor.

The Windows 7 tablet coming later this year will be a true tablet, though Dell has some work to do before it's ready for market. The device Lalla held aloft on Tuesday was a mock-up with a fake screen.

"It's a preview, we don't have a working model to show," he said in an interview later. But he added that Dell may release the product "much sooner" than the end of the year.