Dell Refreshes Line of Tablets and PCs

Dell this week refreshed its entire line of tablets and notebook PCs with its new Venue brand of systems, including a wide variety of form factors, price points and sizes ranging from a 7-inch tablet running Google's Android OS to a powerful 15-inch Ultrabook running Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 8.1.

I attended the launch at a hotel in New York and addressed the elephant in the room, asking if there are any Windows RT devices in the pipeline. After taking its existing Windows RT tablet, the XPS 10, off the market last week, I already had an idea how Dell officials would respond. The answer is no.

"We are not planning to refresh our range of RT products, we've had them on the market for a year. Right now we're focused on the full Windows products," said Neil Hand, vice president of Dell's tools and performance PC group.

Later on I asked him what made the group come to that conclusion.

"I think the market data speaks for itself in terms of what the volume has been," Hand said. "We focused very hard on it. We fully supported it with a great product with the XPS 10. It was an award-winning product. Sometimes the best product doesn't always create customer demand. The application base wasn't quite there."

Dell showcased a slew of new tablets, notebooks and hybrids that will start shipping this month and next, coinciding with the launch of Windows 8.1 and the peak holiday season. Among the refreshed systems for Windows 8.1 are:

• XPS 11: This Ultrabook starts at 2.5 pounds and converts from a tablet to a notebook with a 360-degree rotating hinge, a backlit touch keyboard with a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display. It starts at $999.99.
• XPS 13: With a similar form factor to the above-mentioned XPS 11, the XPS 13 is targeted at mobile professionals. This Ultrabook starts at 3 pounds, comes with a more-powerful fourth-generation Intel Core processors, Intel HD 4400 graphics and an improved battery. It has a 1920x1080 HD display and starts at $999.99.
• XPS 15: Targeted at those who want full multimedia capabilities, this15.6-inch system is available with a Quad HD+ (3200 x 1800) display with Intel's fourth-generation i5 and i7 quad-core processors with optional NVIDIA graphics cards. It's available with 500 GB and 1 TB hard disk drives, a 512 GB solid state drives and Intel's Rapid Start Technology. Pricing starts at $1,499.

New Venue
Dell also unveiled its new Venue line of tablets, which include Windows 8.1-based units available in from factors ranging from 8 to 11 inches and Android devices in the 7 and 8 inch form factors.  The Windows 8.1-based Venue 8 Pro and Venue are powered by Intel's latest Atom quad-core processors, code-named "Bay Trail." It starts at $299. The $499 Venue 11 Pro is based on Intel's fourth-generation Core i3 and i5 processors and comes with the option to use Intel's vPro management software. Both are available with optional keyboards.

The Android-based Venue 7 and Venue 8 tablets are based on Intel's Atom "Clover Trail" Z2760 processors and cost $149.99 and $179.99, respectively.

Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 10/04/2013 at 1:07 PM