Dell tablet rumors heat up again

Michelle Thatcher | Apr 24, 2007

Editors' note:

Dell Singapore declined to comment if rumors of a Dell tablet PC are true.

Oh, rumor mill. We've been burned by you before, and yet we always fly back, like moths to a flame. The spark this time: James Kendrick at gadget blog jkOnTheRun has posted details of a possible Dell tablet PC to be released this fall. The source? A reader who claims to have talked to Dell reps at two different events. According to this reader, the tablet will be based on the existing Latitude D420 laptop and will not include a touchscreen (you'll have to use a stylus, not your finger, to navigate menus). As Kendrick pointed out, a D series tablet might appeal to business customers who have already invested heavily in Dell's Latitude line, because the new tablets would be able to share docks and accessories with other D series systems.

But is this rumor credible? Some commenters on Kendrick's site claimed they've gotten similar information from Dell, but we're starting to think of the Dell Tablet Rumor as a seasonal blaze. And this time around we're not entirely sure it even makes sense for the US manufacturer to enter what's always been a niche market, given that the push for UMPCs seems to stealing some of the traditional tablet's fire. But you tell us: What are we missing? Could this rumor finally be coming true?