CES: Dell targets Gen Y with Streak 7 tablet, speedy gaming
Dell news from CES: Streak 7 tablet, Venue smartphone, and the new Alienware M17x 3D, the "most powerful product to be introduced in the universe."
- Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
Dell made a concerted push into the consumer space today, targeting Generation Y as its "new brand advocates" of devices optimized for gaming, Facebooking, and other activities that apparently characterize the hoodied hipsters displayed on huge screens at the company's CES press conference.
"Dell is in the middle of a major transformation," said Paul Henri Ferrand, Dell's chief marketing officer. "Some companies just sell to one set of Gen Y, but we're in a position to make technology affordable."
Taking center stage was the now-official Dell Streak 7, a 7-inch Android tablet that Dell dubbed "the ultimate social-networking device."
The bigger version of the Dell Streak will be powered by a dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra T2 processor and have support for T-Mobile's 4G network. It runs Android 2.2 (upgradeable to Honeycomb) and has a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling.
The Dell Streak 7 is expected to become available through T-Mobile retail stores and T-Mobile.com and through Dell in the weeks to come, though pricing has yet to be announced.
"This is an impressive device," T-Mobile's Jeremy Korst said of the Streak 7, which will be sold globally. "Tablets are category revolutionizers. Smarter than a smartphone, more personal than a PC."
The company's press conference kicked off with colored lights and loud music, which, noted Dell Vice President Steve Felice, emanated from a Dell laptop--specifically the new XPS 17.
That machine, like many announced at CES, will feature dual-core and quad-core Sandy Bridge CPUs. It will be available on February 1 (in some regions at least) starting at $1,449. For entertainment types, the i7 version supports 3D. The company's XPS 8300 desktop is also 3D-ready.
Likely to generate excitement is the new Alienware M17x 3D, the "most powerful product to be introduced in the universe," Dell said. The laptop boasts full HD 3D and an advanced wireless connectivity for real-time gaming with zero lag time. It starts at $1,499 and is slated to be available on January 10.
Dell's new Venue smartphone, meanwhile, runs Android 2.2; has full Flash 10.1 implementation; sports a 4.1-inch AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass, and has an 8-megapixel camera. The phone will be sold unlocked on Dell.com, though Dell thinks a T-Mobile version will be available as well.
Among other products getting big (re)play today was the Dell flip-screen Duo, which came out in mid-November.
More info on Dell product announcements here, and stay tuned for CNET reviewers' hands-on impressions of these new products.
