Dell won’t chase Apple’s tablet, but HP may give it a try
With the tablet market suddenly starting to shift on its axis even more in Apple's direction, you're probably wondering, just as I am, what Dell is thinking with the extended delay in getting the much-anticipated Dell Mini 5 (aka Streak) out there. Prototypes and leaks of the 5-inch Android tablet have existed since before the iPad, in its current form, was even a twinkle in the eye of Steve Jobs. So what gives, Dell?
In an interview with Reuters last week, Neeraj Choubey, GM of Dell's tablet division, acknowledged they were purposely steering clear of the iPad launch, for obvious reasons. "We would be in the market at the same time, but we didn't want the comparison. We're not going to get distracted by what's going on in the market, we'll definitely see the competition, recognize it, give credit where it's due, but we're not going to chase markets," he said.
Seems like a strange attitude to take unless you're the market leader in the category in question, which Dell most certainly is not. Besides that, it still doesn't explain why Dell didn't try to release the Streak before the iPad, since the hardware has looked production-ready since last year. I'm sure they have a valid reason or maybe it's gotten to the point where I've become bitter and impatient, since I want a Streak to call my own.
In other tablet news, while Dell drags their heels, HP is apparently planning a 6-inch Android tablet. According to the NYTimes, "the half-pint," as it has been nicknamed, should follow later in the year, most likely after HP releases their larger iPad clone Slate tablet, an all-new and completely revolutionary touchscreen Windows 7-based PC that simply has no comparison in the marketplace.
