Dell confirms plans to take tablets mainstream

Latitude convertible scheduled for this year

Dell has confirmed plans to enter the tablet PC sector, saying that it plans to release a Latitude convertible model later this year, aimed at corporate, education and healthcare buyers.

In a video posted on the Direct2Dell website, Dell business group general manager Jeff Clarke, said, “We have done a lot of engineering that makes it one of the lightest-weight convertible tablets in the marketplace.”

He added that Dell has also worked on the user interface for superior pen- and touch-based interactions.

Dell is usually slow to move into markets that have not reached potential for volume and its arrival could signal an upturn in the fortunes of the tablet category that has so far been confined to a niche audience.

“The technology, customer and usage models have evolved to a point that it makes it right for Dell to enter the marketplace –- and everybody, we’re coming. "