Leak reveals Dell Latitude 10 and XPS 12 Windows 8 tablets
Summary: The Latitude 10 is a traditional 10-inch slate, while the XPS 12 is a 12.5-inch convertible tablet.
Dell has a history of being as leaky as the Titanic post-iceberg, so it should come as no surprise that the computing giant has done it again, somehow letting slip a pair of new tablets running Windows 8.
Neowin first spotted the 10.1-inch Latitude 10 slate, which will be powered by an Intel dual-core Clover Trail Atom processor and include 2GB of memory and up to 128GB of SSD storage. The site says the two-cell battery would provide roughly 6 to 8 hours of battery life, while the four-cell option would give 10 to 12 hours juice. At 1.57 pounds without security add-ons, the Latitude would be a little heavier than the new iPad, which already is a bit heftier than the iPad 2.
Perhaps more intriguing is the XPS 12, which is a 12.5-inch convertible tablet of the type Microsoft is pushing with its Windows 8 launch. Neowin was not able to find out much information on the system, but it does sport edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass and, of course, a physical keyboard when you feel like laptopping instead of tableting.
With Windows 8's official introduction set for later this year, these leaked slides should be taken with a grain of salt, as specs could change at any time. But they suggest that Dell is indeed making good on its promise to back the new OS with more mobile form factors. What do you think of them?
[Via Fudzilla]
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Talkback
1.4 Kg, Really?
1.57 lbs = .7 kg
Still not a fan of Atoms though, and I have absolutely no use for the "convertibles" like the XPS 12 shown. Dockable is where it is at.
Probably got the 1.4 kg from the
Image text
Wouldn't be surprising at all for a 12" convertible to weight more than a 12" laptop with the added fancy hinges and touchscreen. Which is why there isn't much point in convertibles.
Atoms will excel on Win 8
Too heavy
With a dock you have a perfectly good tablet and a perfectly good laptop as long as you keep the dock in the same bag.
With this convertible you have a tablet that is too heavy to use in anything but a flat-on-the-table position which removes much of the tablet use case. And a laptop that sacrifices screen real-estate. Overall weight is the same as the tablet+dock option but you don't have the ability to leave the dock weight behind at times.
The only real advantage to a convertible that I can see is that you save three or four seconds when switching between modes but I don't see that justifying the downsides. Each to their own though.
Great for consumers, but what about the enterprise arena?
Dell's XPS line is great for consumers, but I keep fighting our execs who want them in the Enterprise, but Dell doesn't support them that way.
It'll be interesting to see the Latitude 10 and how well it performs, the current ST is slower than molasses in January and not viable at all to use for daily work. And don't tell me Lenovo or HP, I've already seen theirs and they are not any better. This is why iPads are taking over with the exec's, they just work. Until Dell, Lenovo and HP (and others) actually MAKE a viable tablet, they will never gain market share in teh enterprise.
Windows 8 laptops
Throwing away 20 years of operating habits, and skill is not conductive to enjoying what I am doing, or a way to improve productivity.
Remember the Dvorak keyboard?
Please, you guys cry too much.
Actually I use a Dvorak keyboard
Scares the *** out of techies who try to do stuff, until i remember to switch it back :-D
Ironic views on Win 8
Two Words
Otherwise, buy an iPad (a 2).
SW8
Try using it
Windows 8 is the goods
I don't understand people who say they need a start menu when the Win 8 interface will do EVERYTHING the win 7 start menu can do with LESS CLICKS and WAY SLICKER in every way you want to measure it.
The ONLY reason people don't like win 8 is because they cannot wrap their head around this slick interface with a new methodology.
As for the anti-win8 bandwagoners who slam win 8, I am pretty sure you don't have proper understanding of how windows 8 interface works. If you bothered to learn its simple and powerful interface, you will learn what a contemporary UI should be like. You have to be pretty stubborn to think a start menu is the ONLY WAY.
Windows 8 is SLICK and EFFICIENT. It is scalable to any number of screens and screen sizes. It is also very adaptable to different types of inputs. One of the most promising point is that it looks to be designed with Kinect gestures in mind. Wait till you try kinect on windows 8 and it will all make perfect sense!
It is also well designed for device transformation. Just imagine future devices like a very powerful win 8 phone which you transform into a 10" tablet by slotting it into a tablet dock. And when you get home or at work, you dock it into your lapdock or deskdock with multiple screens. Your phone becomes your one PC and eliminates the need for multiple devices with their own CPUs. Windows 8 will handle this kind of device transformation better than any other OS going around.
Give it some time and every doubter will eventually learn how brilliant windows 8 actually is.
Some may say it's ugly, but jeez, how hard would it be to retheme metro to suit your taste?
Windows 8 is only pre-release so far, it's not perfect and needs polishing, but it is already so good. The haters are simply ignorant or stubbornly biased.
Soon got used to the ribbon interface in Office 2007
Win 8 UI
The only thing different is the missing start button. All the functionality of the start button is still there. Even in Win 7, I hardly used the start menu to launch programs. Apps are launched by opening files in windows explorer. Windows Explorer is basically my homescreen/launcher. My win7 desktop contains only the recycle bin and browser icons and I don't remember the last time I clicked on them as I usually launch the browser from the quick launch bar.
All the windows desktop is still there for backwards compatibility and for apps needing the windows UI. The metro apps are simply fullscreen type apps with touch friendly UI. Many apps can switch between the Metro UI and the traditional windows UI so nothing is lost. Windows 8 is 2 UIs in 1 OS which allows it to be backwards compatible and scale devices. The question is which direction apps will fork in future and whether both UIs will continue to be supported.
Those who complain about Windows 8 simply have not tried to use it. If they did, they would find that nothing has been lost and a lot has been gained.
Amazing, isn't it?
smells fishy...
not that this wouldn't be a nice recipe for success from dell, but it seems a bit fishy to me....
These aren't tablets
One of the things that Apple understands is that a tablet is not a laptop replacement. Period, end of story.
Most people who have given up their laptops for an iPad did so because the iPad is want they wanted in the first place but it wasn't around at time.