Dell Demos ‘Slate’ Computer Coming at End of Year

(Reuters) – Dell Inc showed off a small slate computer that it
could bring to market this year, exploring yet another type of device
designed for computing on the go.

So-called slate and tablet PCs are a hot topic at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, ahead of a highly anticipated
device from Apple Inc that is widely expected to be unveiled in late
January.

Dell’s slate has a 5-inch screen and runs on Google Inc’s Android
mobile operating system. Dell declined to provide other details, or say
definitively if the new gadget, which looks like a large smartphone,
would hit the market.

On Wednesday. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer displayed a
Hewlett-Packard Co slate that which was considerably larger than Dell’s.

Michael Tatelman, Dell’s vice president of consumer sales and
marketing, said the company is testing a number of different screen
sizes as it pushes further into the mobile market.

Dell recently released its first smartphone, the Mini 3, which is on
sale in China and Brazil, and will be available in the U.S. on AT&T
Inc’s network.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway, editing by Tiffany Wu and Derek Caney)