Dell Streak 10 Pro debuts in China
The PC maker introduces its long-awaited 10-inch Android tablet in China. Company executives believe the U.S. market for 10-inch designs has too many "inhibitors" at the moment.
Dell has launched its first 10-inch tablet, according to Dow Jones Newswire and Engadget.
CNET reported exclusively in June that Dell would launch its 10-inch Android tablet in China first.
This is Dell's third tablet and its first 10-inch Android Honeycomb-based tablet that competes with likes of Apple's iPad and Motorola's Xoom.
Some of the salient specifications include a thickness of 12 millimeters (0.47 inches), a weight of about 700 grams (about 1.5 pounds), edge-to-edge glass, a brushed aluminum back, a 1280-by-800 screen, front- and rear-facing cameras (including a 5-megapixel camera), full 1080p video playback, an SD slot, and an Nvidia Tegra dual-core processor, as CNET reported previously.
The tablet can also be purchased with a dock that has multiple USB ports, a USB host mode that allows PC-like emulation capabilities, HDMI video, the ability to run separate Citrix sessions on external monitors, and an Ethernet port, among other features.
Dell's Streak 10 Pro tablet is priced at 2,999 yuan or about $465.
The U.S. market doesn't offer a viable 10-inch tablet opportunity for Dell right now, John Thode, a Dell vice president and manager of Dell's mobility business, told CNET back in June. "This...avoids a bunch of the inhibitors and barriers to success that we've seen in the U.S. market," said Thode. "Things like confusion over what exactly Android is bringing to the table."
A 10-inch tablet will launch in the U.S. later, though it's not clear when. Dell already markets smaller tablets in the U.S., such as the Dell Streak 7, and a hybrid product, the Inspiron Duo.
There are roughly 10,000 stores that sell Dell products in China and, by the end of the this year, there will be 2,000 service centers to which customers can bring Dell products, according to the company.