Dell's Got a Windows 7 Tablet in the Oven

Ignoring the potentially rock-strewn path that lies ahead of Windows tablets until Microsoft comes up with its promised tablet-friendly ARM-hugging Windows 8, Dell is working on a 10-inch Windows widget that it hopes to put on the market in the straightway few months.

Non-working mock-up of the thing

It showed off a non-working mock-up of the thing, called the Dell Business Tablet, at a grand unveiling of its remade PC lines Tuesday in California.

The gismo's potentially saving grace might be that there will as well be an Android version, presumably Android 3.0 given its recommended due date.

As of last week Dell had five-inch and seven-inch Android tablets and it timed Tuesday's announcement to get a little jump on HP unveiling its Palm-based webOS slate Wednesday.

Windows 7 Slate 500

HP has a Windows 7 Slate 500, whose track record in the marketplace isn't terribly clear. Engadget recommended HP only made 5,000 of the things afterwards it bragged that it was all sold out.

Meanwhile, at the "Dell Means Business" event, the company promised 38 new desktops and laptops this year - advertised as its biggest refresh in history - that borrow features like fancy cameras and high-end audio from consumer machines that are supposed to appeal to the Gen-Y workforce.

The most read research reporter for the past 20 years

Maureen O'Gara the most read research reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected innovation reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara