While the Microsoft Surface RT certainly tons of media coverage early on, it has only sold modestly at this point. There are several reasons for this, such as limited retail distribution early on, but pricing could also be a big factor.

Paying $500 for a device that currently has limited app selection and an unestablished ecosystem might be a bit of a hard sell for some consumers, especially since you can’t even use legacy Windows desktop apps since the Surface RT doesn’t actually run Windows 8 (it instead runs the ARM-based Windows RT).

The good news is $500 (or lower) Windows 8 tablets are starting to emerge, giving consumers both a unique Windows Store experience and the ability to run some of their legacy desktop apps. One such device was announced by Dell at CES today, the Latitude 10 Essentials.

This basic Windows 8 tablet weighs 1.34 pounds, has a magnesium alloy case and a 10.1-inch display. Other specs include a 1.8GHz Atom Clover Trail processor, 2GB of RAM and 32 or 64GB of storage. There is also a usb slot, full-size SD storage, and the ability to work with a special dock that adds more ports and lets it act as a small “all-in-one” PC.

This could be particularly useful for educational environments and businesses where having access to specific Windows legacy apps could be crucial. The base model of the Dell Latitude 10 Essentials will run you just $500, the same price as an iPad.
Is this worth it over the iPad or the even cheaper Nexus 10? Honestly, depends on your needs. If you care more about a wide range of touch-optimized apps, Android or iOS might be the better choice.

If you want to use some of your Windows legacy programs, this could be perfect for you. Just keep in mind that this tablet runs an Atom processor so don’t expect to play games like Crysis, or use resource-heavy applications on this thing. What do you think, interested or not?

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Dell appears to be making another run at the Android market, but this time not in the form of its mobile business. Instead, they are creating a dongle that has Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Loaded on it named Project Ophelia.

Dell claims to give you fast access to personal content with Ophelia by simply attaching it to a TV or display.  While there are already dongles that provide an Android experience on a larger display, not all of them are back up by Dell’s Wyse Cloud Client.  The system is being marketed as both a device for work and entertainment.

Some noteable features listed in the press release are:

• Flexibly powered zero-battery device gets power from the attached display monitor via its MHL interface to the monitor’s MHL port, or separately via its own USB interface. No batteries to charge or change.
• Remembers settings for each individual to enhance usability.
• Enables instant and secure access to your personal cloud, entertainment, work content and applications wherever there is an available capable display (using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse), including a wide variety of Dell flat-panel displays.
• Compatible with many existing Dell Wyse thin clients and software products.
• Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth facilitates access and communication.
• Built on the Android 4 OS to support Web browsing, social networking, media playback and Android Apps with a possibility to extend to other services.
• Securely connects to Windows desktops and applications running on back-end systems from all leading infrastructure providers including Citrix, Microsoft and VMware.

Dell’s Project Ophelia is set to be released the first part of this year.  We have no idea on the price of the unit at this time, but based on redundant technology, I would hope the price is relatively low.

Would you pick up one of these?  What are some applications you can think of this would be perfect for?

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There has been a little confusion by some consumers about the difference between the ARM-only Windows RT and the x86-only Windows 8. This is exactly why Dell’s Vice-chairman, Jeffrey Clarke said the company originally tried to get Microsoft ‘s Steve Ballmer to give the Windows RT OS a different name.

The idea is that Windows 8 computers have the power to run legacy Windows 8 apps, while Windows RT doesn’t. Because of this, Dell believed it wasn’t truly “Windows” and that using the Windows branding would only add to the confusion. Of course the same argument could be said to Windows Phone, since it obviously also lacks the ability to run Windows legacy desktop applications.

So why didn’t a name change take place? Not surprisingly, Microsoft’s Ballmer replied by telling Clarke the Windows franchise was to important to not be used, which is why Microsoft kept the name Windows RT.

Not everyone at Dell thought it was a bad idea to use the Windows brand, though. Dell’s Neil Hand thinks that it is the manufacturers responsibility to educate the public on the difference, “Making sure we educate the market place on the differences was going to be a necessary action no matter what. Just calling it something different is not going to solve the problem.” 

I could see how this could be confusing to some, but consumers should be aware of what they are purchasing before they make the plunge or this sort of thing will happen, and not just when purchasing tablets.

What do you think? Should Microsoft have went with a new name for their ARM-based OS or was keeping the Windows name the right choice?

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It may not be the fanciest laptop on the block, but it comes from a highly trusted name and it’ll get the job done. It’s the Dell Inspiron i15R and it happens to be on sale for $150 off.

The Dell Inspiron i15R-1633sLV SKU variation comes powered by an Intel Core i3-2370 2.4GHz processor, Intel HD Graphics 3000, and an impressive 6GB of DDR3 RAM. It has a fairly standard 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 pixel display and it packs a 750GB 54000rpm hard drive. It ships with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, but if you really want Windows 8, Microsoft still has that $40 upgrade deal I believe. It’s nice that this has three USB 3.0 ports too.

As an added bonus, this Dell Inspiron 15R also comes with that SWITCH capability that lets you swap out the back cover for different covers, which are sold separately. It’s like choosing a new outfit. Other features include the HD webcam, 6 hours of battery, BT 4.0, multi-card reader, and free Skydrive cloud storage.

The regular price on this particular laptop if $699.99, but you can now get it for just $459.99 on Amazon. Then, there’s an additional $15 post-purchase rebate too, getting your net price down to $444.99. And yes, free super saver shipping still applies.

The post Get $150 Off Dell Inspiron i15R-1633sLV 15.6-Inch Laptop appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Earlier in 2012, Dell announced Project Sputnik. The main goal of the project was to build a great Linux laptop out of Dell’s XPS13 Ultrabook with Ubuntu 12.04.

Yesterday, Dell came forward announcing the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition. The specs are above predicted and are as follows:

• 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
• UBUNTU Linux 12.04
• 13.3″ HD 720p
• 8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz
• 256GB Solid State Drive
• Intel HD 4000
• 1366×768 display resolution

Immediately, the only way to judge this computer is to compare it to the 13″ Macbook with Retina. The XPS 13 measures 6 mm (0.24″) at its thinnest point and only 18 mm (0.71″) at its thickest point.

On the other hand, the 13″ Macbook registers at 19mm (0.75″). Although the screen resolution does not equal the Macbook’s 2560-by-1600, the price is less than the starting price of the Macbook ($1,699.00) and it comes standard with double the storage and an i7 instead of an i5.

As for the software, Dell has reportedly worked extremely hard to ensure that quality drivers are available for all of the laptop’s hardware. Additionally, the XPS 13 comes standard with Ubuntu 12.04LTS, a group of developer tools and utilities, and two beta projects: the cloud launcher and the profile tool.

What do you think of the Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition, does it stack up against the competition?

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Yes, the upcoming Google Nexus 4 is a pretty amazing deal starting at just $299, but what if you want something even cheaper while still retaining that whole “unlocked out of the box” smartphone experience? Amazon has a pretty great deal on the Dell Venue Android smartphone, slashing the price in half and giving you an unlocked smartphone for less than $200.

The Dell Venue is powered by Android 2.2 Froyo and comes with a 4.1-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display. Other features include the 1GHz processor, 8MP camera, Full Adobe Flash 10.1, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and HQ Corning Gorilla Glass. There’s a 16GB microSD card that comes pre-installed for storage and let’s not forget that this phone is factory unlocked, so you can use it with GSM carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Rogers Wireless.

No, it’s not the newest thing in the world and Dell isn’t exactly in the smartphone game anymore, but consider that the Dell Venue can be yours for just $174.99 (regular list price of $349.00) and you can see how this is a pretty good value. You’ll be pretty unique among your friends too, because I doubt any of them will have a Dell smartphone. And that includes free super saver shipping too.

The post Daily Deal: Unlocked Dell Venue GSM Phone on sale, now 50% off appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Windows 8 is almost here, and that inevitably means plenty of new Windows 8 tablets, laptops and desktops in the near future- including Microsoft’s own Surface tablet. Another interesting looking offering is the new Dell Latitude 10 tablet. This 10.1-inch touchscreen tablet has a 1366×768 pixel resolution, is protected by Gorilla Glass and has a massive 128GB SSD, 2GB of RAM and a SD card slot.

The beefy new Latitude 10 also has dual cameras with HD on the front and a rear facing 8MP cam. Other standard stuff is microUSB for charging, USB 2.0, HDMI and audio out. Unlike most tablets though, Dell’s new Intel-driven tablet also has an Ethernet port. In today’s wireless driven world, this might not be necessary, but it’s still a nice extra.

So why would you consider something like this over a premium Android tablet or iPad? The biggest reason is that you care about Windows-compatible apps.

While ARM-based Windows tablets won’t run old-school Windows programs, Intel-based devices like the Latitude 10 will. This is probably most important in the business world where you need custom in-house applications and programs that are designed around Windows. This gives you an easy way to access them in tablet form without re-writing company programs for Android or iOS.

It’s also worth noting that this Dell tablet features a dock that basically turns it into a full all-in-one PC. All you need is a keyboard and mouse added. This means that you will be able to fully do all the things you could do with a low-to-mid range desktop or laptop.

So why wouldn’t you get one of these things? Either you don’t care about Windows compatibility or you don’t want to pay $1000+ for a tablet. Simple as that. Is $1000+ too much to ask for the Latitude 10? Depends on how you look at it. In a way you are getting a full PC and a tablet in one, thanks to the Intel processor and Windows compatibility. Looking at it that way, it’s a pretty decent value for those that want something that can serve dual purposes.

No official word on pricing yet, but a $1000+ price tag is more than likely. As for release, Dell says it will arrive around the same time as Windows 8. This means it will hit the market in a month or so. What do you think, interested?

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When it comes to open-source, Dell is certainly one of the few major vendors out there that has always done a pretty good job of opening up their support for these types of projects, and that includes Linux. Recently Dell found plenty of success in its Project Sputnik, an initiative to provide developers with a copy of Ubuntu 12.04 (Linux) and the drivers needed to make it work flawlessly on the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook. While technically anyone can install Ubuntu on just about any kind of x86 device, often there will be a few driver conflicts along the way, so having official vendor support is pretty significant.

Now that they’ve seen how well an Ultrabook with Ubuntu can do, the company is launching a version of XPS 13 that will ditch Windows entirely and have Ubuntu 12.04 “Precise Pangolin” pre-installed and ready to go. While this won’t appeal to everyone, not all would-be Ultrabook purchasers are exactly thrilled with the changes coming to Windows 8, so this could certainly have some appeal to at least a small niche of users. At the moment, Dell isn’t exactly telling us how much a Windows-free XPS 13 will cost, but odds are that it will probably likely hit at least a little cheaper than its Windows counterpart- even if only by a little. The most important thing about this news is that the XPS 13 could now represent one of the fastest, most-portable pre-assembled open-source laptops ever.

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Dell has made it clear that they will not be leaving the mobile sector and will continue producing mobile solutions, it is simply ending the Streak line. Does ending the Streak line mean it will never again pick up a new Android line or that it is simply going back to the drawing board with its hardware design? Although we aren’t sure about the future of Android with Dell, we do know that Dell has expressed recent interest in Windows 8 tablets.

Dell has never ventured too far outside of the traditional PC market and any attempts to do so haven’t gone so well for the company, including its Phone 7 smartphones. Can Dell change how it is received in the mobile market with future devices such as Windows 8 tablets? I have my own serious doubts, but in time we will see.

The post Will Dell (Finally) Leave Android behind? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Mango update to Windows Phone 7, which is being referred to as Windows Phone 7.5 in many circles, comes with a whole bunch of new features and bug fixes. So, when are we going to get our hands on the delicious tropical fruit? If you happen to have a Dell Venue Pro, then Dell says it’ll have some Mango for you later this fall… but that comes with a caveat.

If you have an unlocked Dell Venue Pro, you’re in luck. If you have a Dell Venue Pro that is locked to T-Mobile or Cincinnati Bell, you’re also in luck. However, if you’re one of the unlucky souls who has a DVP locked to AT&T, Dell isn’t quite so forthcoming with the Mango for you. It says that information for AT&T-locked units “will be forthcoming.”

That doesn’t mean that AT&T DVPs will be without Mango, but it does seem to indicate that they’ll be the last to the party. With Mango around the corner and Nokia set to release its first official WP7 device very soon too, this could bode well for Microsoft’s mobile operating system. I imagine it’ll take quite some time before it can snag significant market share away from Apple and Google, but this is a good first leap.

The post WP 7.5 Mango rolling out to Dell Venue Pro owners later this fall appeared first on Mobile Magazine.