Dell Laptop-Tablet Hybrids Join Rivals at IFA

The IFA 2012 trade show in Berlin has seen Dell laptop-tablet hybrids join a field of competitors alongside launches from rivals, but has opted for a peculiar twist to differentiate its products from those of HP, Lenovo, Sony and Samsung.

Alongside its new XPS One 27 all-in-one, the Dell laptop tablet hybrid, the XPS Duo 12, has a screen-surround of machined aluminium that stays in place while the 12-inch display spins 180 degrees, enabling the device to be closed and used like a slate.

It also showed off the XPS 10, an ARM-based, 10-inch tablet that runs Microsoft’s Windows RT operating system and comes with a keyboard dock.

Tablet-Like

Samsung and HP, by contrast, introduced devices that essentially look like laptops, until the display is separated from the keyboard and operates as a tablet. Both will run full versions of Windows 8. As Gizmodo recently put it, “The XPS 10 … is thinner, lighter and more like a tablet you’d buy for actually using a tablet. Think ‘Transformer Prime’ more than ‘laptop stuffed into a slate.'”

Dell has gone easy on the details for these three, saying little more in its statement than that the XPS will feature “long battery life” and the ability for businesses to secure and manage the device on their networks.

Of the XPS Duo 12, it shared that the device is machined aluminium and carbon fibre, has a Wide Quad HD display that “will soon be available with touch functionality” and features 97 percent more pixels than a standard high-definition display. For strength, it also includes Gorilla Glass.

The XPS One 27 features a 27-inch display, also a Wide Quad HD, which Dell officials say makes it ideal for things like multimedia creation, as well as entertainment – particularly given its Waves MaxxAudio 4 audio technology and Infinity Premium speakers.

All three simply-named devices were born out Dell’s bring-your-own-device- (BYOD-) themed conversations with consumers and business customers. The three XPS devices “represent the culmination of a deep understanding of the [BYOD] movement … [and represent] a milestone in our design and approach to user experience,” Sam Burd, global vice president of Dell’s PC Product Group, said in a statement.

Balance And Productivity

Dell’s vision for the devices, Burd added, was about “achieving the perfect balance of amazing design, end-user productivity and IT enablement.”

According to a survey of 8,000 workers, the statement added, 60 percent said they’d enjoy work more if they had a say in the technologies they use. Presumably, these are three devices workers would choose if given a choice.

“With the growing trend of BYOD, we’re seeing traditional corporate policies on personal computer and application usage, as well as data security being turned on their head,” Aongus Hegarty, president of Dell EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), said in the statement. “By enabling flexible working practices and providing companies with the right tools, Dell is delivering this solution through a seamless, secure and manageable end-user experience that provides connectivity anywhere, any time – and access to work and life.”

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