Dell Debuts New Tablets and Laptops Just in Time for (Something)

Consumer Electronics

Published: October 2, 2013 2:16 pm

Last Updated: October 3, 2013 7:02 am

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is getting less visibility now that it is on the way to no longer having thousands and thousands of shareholders who might want to consider buying one of their computers to protect their investment. So what happens when a company that people care less about than they used introduces a new line of tablets and laptops?

Maybe it is good that these new computing devices are here ahead of the Christmas season. Maybe. Wednesday’s release of new tablets and new laptops may simply be yet another me-too product launch.

Dell’s new tablets are the Dell Venue 8 Pro, with an HD screen with wide-angle viewing and full Windows 8.1, and the Dell Venue 11 Pro, which is called three devices in one with portability of a tablet and ultrabook power and the experience of a desktop, also with full Windows 8.1. The Dell Venue 7 and 8 tablets are compact and named for their size of seven inches or eight inches (guess which is which).

In laptops, Dell brought out two new XPS versions. The first is a XPS 11, stated as the world’s thinnest and lightest most compact two-in-ones with a Quad HD display on an 11.6-inch two-in-one. The second is the XPS 15 laptop with the first 15.6-inch Quad HD+ display.

Maybe this is just in the nick of time for the holidays, or maybe it is just the nick of time for something harder to pinpoint. The tablets start at $149 for the smallest and go as high as $499 for the Venue 11 Pro tablet. The new XPS 15 is $1499.99 and the new XPS12 is $999.99.

The biggest problem in tablets is that every single PC maker allowed Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to start this new space out. The company dominates the sector to the point that even Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has fallen out of site with a launch, withdrawal and relaunch. Do Dell and HP stand a chance in recapturing their lost momentum and lost sales? Will Dell be hurt foe being less visible in the public’s eye? Maybe, with a long uphill battle ahead of it.

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