Dell's 7-Inch Tablet Coming Soon, 10-Inch Model Later

[LagunaSol]

ummmm, Remember Gateway retail stores?

No one does.

Actually, I have a faint recollection of visiting one of the first ones. You couldn't even buy a computer at the store, you had to order it online. The store was nothing more than a giant online ordering kiosk. What a joke.

I think you could buy cow print t-shirts and coffee mugs there though.

 

[bwillwall]

What!?

What the hell happened to palm os? if it ran that id be interested. Stupid HP, they freaking own palm and palm os and palm did a great job with it i expected hp to be smart and turn all that money into something that will sell to more than teenage girls. But instead they make crap fat touch screens just like always and put android on it. These will never sell

 

[JGowan]

Hmmm...7" screens seem to be the new black. Or more likely, Apple has so bought up the 9.7" screens, other companies by default are making 7" screens now and then 9 or 10" screens next year when they can finally get supplies.

So another tablet that runs Android on a screen that is not the right size for Android apps. Yeah, this'll be a big seller . . .

That's one possible scenario. Or maybe Dell doesn't want to compete head to head with iPad right now and would prefer offering something that's not currently filled by the reigning Tablet King that is Apple.

Who does need a 3, 4, 5 and 7 inches tablet? That's crazy... I could barely understand two sizes, say 5-7 and 10", but four...?

One size doesn't fit all. There are a lot of people who said when the iPad came out "I want one,... but it's just too big for me to carry around like I'd like to have it. But the iPhone is too small. I wish there was a 7" version." Those are the people that Dell is tarketing. And then there are the other sizes... same thing... choice. People with small hands or small purses. There are a lot of reasons when choice is good.

I needed a good laugh. Dell, ha! I'll take mine in lime green.

What would a cheap, plastic POS that runs any version of Windows be without coming in Zune-Turd-Brown? That's the color I want!

About the plastic housing. It's obvious that it'll be a race to the bottom all over again. Razor-thin profit margins to gain any sort of market share, while those who want quality, buy Apple's higher-but-certainly-worth-it iPads.

On scale --> Anyone who thinks that Apple is stuck with just one flavor (or maybe two) of iPad has forgotten that Apple (when they think people want choice) can manage choice just fine.

See the iPod: Currently there are Shuffles in 5 colors; Nanos in 7 colors and 2 SSD capacities (14); iPod touches in 3 SSD capacitites and iPod Classics in 2 colors for a total of 24 different ways to get your music on.

If Apple wants to offer iPads in 3 or 4 different sizes, too, BOOM --> Done.

Yeah, I'm all for competition, but the flurry of sizes seems a bit peculiar.

Perhaps Dell got a price break for helping a supplier get rid of some screens that just haven't been too popular. I dunno. I think it's probably just "If we build it, they will come... and let us know which #$%@-ing size is the right one, 'cause we sure don't know!"

-----

One sweet thing about Apple's next iPad revision... I get to buy a 2nd one. The family decided to just get one when they came out and to get one when the 2nd one comes out. But also, I love the way Apple ZIGS when the rest of the industry ZAGS. It's like they sit in their labs and say "What can we do next with price/features/design next to make our competition crap the biggest pant load?" Then it comes out -- competition takes a ginormous crap in their kakis and everyone suddenly starts popping out cheap replicas of Apple's stuff. It happens over and over and over again, be it software or hardware. Can't wait for iPad 2.0

A smaller screen consumes less power (can use a smaller battery for same usage lifetime)

Agreed. About screens and battery, I am reminded of when those who dared to dream wanted an iPod with a color screen and those who think inside the box said "Good luck with an iPod that'll last 2 hours!" So funny that the Touch gets 40 hours of audio and 7 hours of video. Love it!

 

[deconstruct60]

7" screens don't give you any real benefit as they're still not pocket-able so all you are doing is losing screen real-estate for no real benefit (or else you are simply reducing the size of the screen and making it less clear)

"Pocketable" is almost in a abused status on these forums. Hundreds of "iPad is doomed it isn't pocketable" posts here before the iPad launch. Isn't really going to stop 10's of millions being shipped. Didn't particularly stop 10's of millions of netbooks being shipped either. Nor the 100 million laptops shipped. There are huge number of people who carry phones + laptop/briefcase/books/etc every day. That people are primarily limited who what fits in a pants pocket is myopic. For internet browsing in the bathroom yeah, but scope of computer usages far, far beyond that.


A smaller screen consumes less power (can use a smaller battery for same usage lifetime ) and since the glass is smaller, it also weighs less. The iPad weighs more and requires substantantially more battery storage to work than a 7" can get away with. If these 7" tablets bulk up so that equal to the iPad in weight those would be bonehead designs. I suspect though most of the them will come in lighter and less expensive (when compare 3G or WiFI only models directly ).


In landscape mode may have to scroll a bit more but 1024 is same width many laptops were a while back ( 1024x768 ). So if have 1024x600 you just has the bottom 22% of the screen missing. For a document you read that will work up to point transition to reading the material at the bottom. It would be "nicer" if don't have to scroll to get to the full page but it is likely to be usable. Scrolling is better than zooming.

Loosing that amount of real estate could have bigger impact on the control/palettes can leave up on the screen constantly more so than the content being "filtered off " the screen.

 

[kny3twalker]

No one mentioned the awesome TN panel displays Dell is sure to use.

 

[kdarling]

What the hell happened to palm os? if it ran that id be interested. Stupid HP, they freaking own palm and palm os and palm did a great job with it i expected hp to be smart and turn all that money into something that will sell to more than teenage girls. But instead they make crap fat touch screens just like always and put android on it. These will never sell

Oops, this is a Dell tablet, not the HP WebOS one, which is still coming in early 2011.

(HP is also making Windows tablets, but apparently has dropped Android.)

As for multiple sizes, just check out all the iPod models. It's called choice.

 

[johnhope]

no software, no way

Anybody is able to build a small sized touch screen computer.
The problem is: who is able to fill it with great content?
Only Apple

 

[deconstruct60]

Who does need a 3, 4, 5 and 7 inches tablet? That's crazy...
I could barely understand two sizes, say 5-7 and 10", but four...

If can understand those two, 7 and 10, then four should be easy. The 3" or 4" range is a phone ( or a phone and an even cheaper phone). Dell is going to ship a smartphone. Not sure why since there are plenty of phone vendors, but they can slap their name on a few if they wish. If "tablet" is being used as "runs mobile OS and use finger to poke at it" then the Touch and iPhones are tablets too. Apple has done it also over time. 3", 4", and 10" (and if rumors tracking a 7" ) . Once go past 2 not hard to go from 3 to 4.


It is believable because suspect that Dell will also ship multiple OS also. Andriod (or Chrome) and Windows7 devices. Those may be slightly differentiated on screen size also.

 

[i.mac]

Any chance "all" this competition will lead to an iPad 2G before christmas ?

What competition?

There is not a single device out there that matches the iPad.

Junk such as dell-crapware is no competition.

 

[kirk26]

It looks good except for the terrible OS that it is running. I can't wait for the HP Slate!

 

[Jacquear]

Too bad...

Too bad Apple got in first,

 

[kirk26]

What competition?

There is not a single device out there that matches the iPad.

Junk such as dell-crapware is no competition.

That's because there are only about 2 or 3 other models out there. Please don't confuse netbooks with tablets.

 

[skeep5]

we're going to puke out all sizes without thought to why the freak we are doing so.

 

[inkswamp]

3", 5", 7", 10" x Windows, Android, Chrome... Just keep throwing sh** against the wall until something sticks!

How is Apple any different? Answer: they're not. Unless you have some high-minded explanation for the Cube, the iPod Hi-Fi, the "fat" iPod Nano, the first AppleTV, a couple Mac designs, etc.

Apple has their throwing-@#$%&-at-the-wall moments too, but unlike the rest of the tech world, Apple is extraordinarily fast at refining or getting rid of bad products.

 

[RightJustified]

How is Apple any different? Answer: they're not. Unless you have some high-minded explanation for the Cube...

well of course everyone remembers the 3", 4", 7", and 9" cubes, available in macos, win95, and linux.

you understand that listing apple products from different product lines and from different YEARS is in no way comparable to dell launching a single device with 4 sizes and 3 os's, right?

"apple has produced many products in their history, so that is like dell producing a single product with 17 different versions." uh, yeah... it's not. at all.

 

[charlituna]

It's like they can't be bothered to work out which size is best so they're going to chuck a whole load out there and see which one proves most popular.

Not necessarily a bad plan. After all, size is one of the biggest complaints about the ipad

Why do I have the feeling that most of the customers who buy this thing are going to be the same people who were complaining that the iPad was just an oversized iPod Touch?

More like the folks buying any of these will be the ones that hate all things Apple, consider no Flash support to be THE only factor worth bothering about, etc

All these new 7 inch tablets coming out support the need for an 7 inch iPad.

Not at all. All the 5-7" tablets can be released and actually prove that there's no need for a 7" ipad. Because they don't sell. If folks continue to stick with the ipod/ipad sizes that shows that Apple was right.

This is about as funny as the Microsoft store employees' dance. .

You know the best part about that dance. The chick that totally shoplifts behind their backs and then joins in the dance. And the idiot that even after it was pointed out like 1000 times has left the video up to embarrass his precious microsoft store over and over.

At least when the Apple employees do one of their dorky 'clap in/clap out' stunts they are spread out around the store.

 

[Bregalad]

Who does need a 3, 4, 5 and 7 inches tablet? That's crazy...
I could barely understand two sizes, say 5-7 and 10", but four...

Will they come, at least, in different colors?

This is why Apple succeeds where others fail. They understand that there really are only a few market slots and that offering unneeded choice just confuses people.

To me the market consists of 4 segments:
1. As small as possible while retaining usability (iPhone/iPod)
2. As large as possible while still fitting in one hand
3. Fits in two hands and can be held by one for a while (iPad)
4. Requires a lap or table (MacBook)

I have a touch, but the small screen has always frustrated me as has the lack of 3G data.

The iPad is exactly what I want except it's far too big to go everywhere with me. I'm hoping Apple fills that middle ground with a smaller iPad that fits in most pockets.

 

[THX1139]

Most of the posters on here have such a limited vision. What's wrong with having a tablet that isn't all glass and chrome? Sure they look cool, but for a tablet I would like to have something that is functional, cheap, and it doesn't have to be treated with kid gloves. Imagine something a bit larger than an iPod/iPhone that is durable enough that you could toss it into a backpack or purse without worrying about it. I see that potential in the Dell and other product lines. Apple makes things that are so fragile and pretty that most people are afraid to scratch or break them. For the most part, they are over designed and not practical for every day use unless you only hang out at Starbucks. Try taking your Apple product out on a long hike in the woods, or into a dirty construction zone. It won't last long.

 

[charlituna]

Not very thin is it? I wonder what the price points of these iPad killers will be. Isn't the Galaxy Tab around $900 or something?

As I recall the Galaxy is considered a phone/tablet. $900 is the full retail but there are carriers that will do subsidies etc just like with the phone. bringing it out to an out of pocket in line with the smallest ipad

Na, Dude is totally right! The Tablet is a joke, but if it causes Apple to increase innovation/price performance/features by a micron...its a good thing!

Apple has not ever or will they likely do anything because the competition is doing it.

Two major cases in point. No native blu-ray support or drives, no flash on iOS.

 

[SockRolid]

Classic clueless shotgun approach

... According to Midha, Dell's 7-inch tablet will run Android, with other models planned to offer Microsoft Windows and the company considering whether to adopt Chrome OS as a third platform. ...

It's bad enough when a single platform is fragmented in the market. (Looking at you Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, all still being shipped ad nauseam). But when you throw multiple OSes on different models in your product line what you're saying is "We give up. We have no idea. We'll just try everything."

But how can you blame Dell? They only control the hardware, which is far less than half of the whole.

 

[SockRolid]

As Henry Ford said...

... Apple has not ever or will they likely do anything because the competition is doing it.

Two major cases in point. No native blu-ray support or drives, no flash on iOS.

Exactly. Many people are still stuck on the legacy concept of rotating plastic discs for storing media. In the words of Henry Ford:

"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said 'a faster horse.'"

 

[Poll Smoker]

Exactly. Many people are still stuck on the legacy concept of rotating plastic discs for storing media. In the words of Henry Ford:

"If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said 'a faster horse.'"

Was that before or after he starting sending Hitler $50k a year as a birthday present?

 

[Speedy2]

what a yawnfest

Is anyone actually coming up with really new ideas or or they all just copying the iPad 1:1 ?

 

[tim916]

3, 4, 5, 7" tablets, Win7, Android , Chrome...?

What a mess this will be. They still don't get it.

Apple succeeds because it doesn't leave all the decision making up to the customer, and, for most customers, this works out well. It has been shown that if customers have too many choices they get confused and don't buy. Apple making the buying decision simple and exciting.

 

[Speedy2]

As for multiple sizes, just check out all the iPod models. It's called choice.

Ja, like as if you could really compare the various iPods, which are entirely different in size, price and features to 3,4,5,7,10 inch tablets, which will all do and roughly cost the same, with only slightly different sizes.

They will choose to cripple the 3" model, or the 4" one, or both, or who knows, to distiguish it from the 5" model, because there would really be no difference for the user. Why don't they just sell a phone and a tablet? No one wants to hold a tablet next to their heads and no one wants to do serious reading/work on a phone.