Dell plans Windows 7 tablet computers for May

17 Feb 2011

Computer giant Dell, which is rumoured to be in talks about buying chip maker AMD, is understood to be planning a May launch of its range of Window 7 tablets. Early next year, it plans a Windows 8 tablet code named ‘Peju.’

According to rumours, Dell plans to bring out a number of Android devices, including four tablet computers.

In addition, the computer maker is aiming to bring out a version of its Windows Phone 7 Venue Pro in mid-April.

This will be followed by a Windows Phone 7 slider device code named Wrigley.

Also in May, Dell plans to release a tablet powered by Android Honeycomb called Gallo.

Dell’s plans for tablets and smartphones for 2011 and 2012 revealed

According to a chart that has been placed on Android Central, Dell is planning a number of Windows tablets for May: a Windows 7 tablet with a wooden enclosure called Rosemount, and a Windows 8 version code-named Peju for January 2012, no doubt timed to coincide with the Consumer Electronics Show.

With all the clamour by computer manufacturers to bring out clever tablet devices that differentiate wildly from one another, rumours that Dell may be looking to buy microprocessor maker AMD make sense. At present, Dell is planning to support ARM architecture in upcoming smartphone and tablet devices but owning your own chip manufacturer would give a company like Dell undreamed of flexibility.

In terms of smartphone devices, Dell is planning a Venue device based on Android’s Froyo operating system, with a 1GHz processor and a Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 device in May.

The company plans an Android ‘Ice Cream’ smartphone powered by a dual-core processor with an 8-megapixel camera for Q1 2012 and a smartphone called Millennium, also powered by a dual-core processor, and featuring 1,080p video.

While all this is happening there are still no Streak or Venue devices available on the ground in Ireland. A spokesperson for Dell in Ireland explained that no agreements have yet been reached with local mobile operators to stock the devices.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com