Dell News from CES: Streak 7 Tablet, Venue Smartphone, Enhanced Dell Stage and More

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Hello from Las Vegas. Like I mentioned in my CES 2011 preview post, Dell held a press conference today the Palms to unveil several new products that focused on three key areas: Mobile Technology, Entertainment and Gaming. Our execs were on hand to discuss trends we’re seeing in our consumer business, what customers are telling us is important to them, and of course, to shed light on some new products from Dell.

No question that people expect the devices they carry with them on the road or through the house to always be connected, and they expect them to be more powerful so they can enjoy a great movie playback experience as as easily as they can send e-mails or tweets. That kind of insight is what’s driving our thinking around all the new products we’re bringing to customers in 2011.

Now, more than ever, people are using all kinds of devices for entertainment: listening to music, sharing photos or watching movies. And while that’s a good thing, it can create problems. How many devices hold pieces of your digital music or photo collection? How about watching a movie on different devices? Today, it’s possible, but in a lot of cases you have to work at it. That’s where Dell’s Stage software comes in. Stage uses a simple tile-based interface that Dell’s been shipping on some of our touch-capable products like the Inspiron One, the Inspiron duo and the Dell Streak.

At CES, Michael Tatelman illustrated how we’re soon be including Stage on more of our products, including all the new XPS laptops, the Zino HD and several of the products we’re introducing today. That expansion translates into a consistent and intuitive experience across a range of products. But later this year, the real benefit comes from being able to synch photos, video and music across a range of Stage-equipped devices. Also, later this year, we plan to include Intel’s Insider application in VideoStage which will allow users to easily purchase SD and HD movies through RoxioNow. The other cool part that’s coming is that Dell Stage will enable Dell mobile devices to remotely control devices on the network, so people can access the entertainment and stream it to other Stage-enabled devices like the Zino HD in the living room with a simple flick. I’ll be blogging more about Dell Stage in future Direct2Dell posts.

Speaking of Dell Stage, here’s a video that shows off some of what it’s capable of: 

But what about hardware? Lots of cool stuff on that front, starting with new mobile products like the Streak 7 tablet and the Venue smartphone. Streak 7 is our new WVGA 7” tablet that’s been built from the ground up to take advantage of T-Mobile’s blazingly-fast 4G network. The Venue is our new smartphone powered by Google’s Android 2.2 software. It features a striking 4.1” AMOLED screen, an 8-megapixel camera, and Gorilla Glass makes it durable.

Here’s a video of Streak 7’s capabilities as well:

Beyond Stage and the new mobile products, Dell also unveiled several new desktops and laptops that offer support for Intel’s newly-released Sandy Bridge processors. We’ll be blogging about many of these products in a whole lot more detail down the road. For now, I’ve summarized some of the key features of each:

 Dell Streak 7

  • Utilizes the dual core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra T2 processor for great performance across a wide variety of entertainment tasks

  • Beyond support for T-Mobile’s 4G network, it supports up to 802.11n Wi-Fi

  • Dual cameras: 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera offers sharp video calling via the Qik Video Chat software over Wi-Fi or T-Mobile’s 3G and 4G networks

  • Runs Android 2.2 and full Flash 10.1 implementation – In my view, even with advancements in HTML 5 capability, Flash support gives you the best overall web experience

  • Live news, sports and entertainment television via T-Mobile TV
  • Offers the full Dell Stage experience with Stage widgets

  • Pricing and availability: Expected to become available through T-Mobile retail stores, T-Mobile.com and through Dell in the coming weeks

Streak7H_Image

Dell Venue Smartphone:

Venue Smartphone

The Venue smartphone has a lot to offer Android fans out there.

  • Dynamic 4.1-inch AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass

  • 8-megapixel camera

  • Runs Android 2.2 and full Flash 10.1 implementation (see my comments above on this topic)

  • Offers the full Dell Stage experience with Stage widgets

  • Features a slick curved design and fits easily in your pocket

  • Pricing and availability: details in the coming weeks

New XPS 17 Laptop:

  • CPU i3/i5/i7 Sandy Bridge Dual core and Quad core

  • The i7 version now supports Optimus, unless configured with the optional 3D FHD panel – this uses the discrete GPU full time

  • Wide FHD WLED display (1920 x 1080 resolution) option

  • Configurable with the latest NVIDIA 500 series mobile graphics

  • The i7 Quad core supports Wi-Di  and can stream up to 1080P

  • The XPS 17 supports the full Stage experience on all panels

  • Now features the popular chiclet keyboard
  • All the other great enhancements the XPS line offers, like A Skype HD certified webcam, JBL speakers and Waves Maxx audio

  • Pricing and availability: starts at $1,449 available on February 1, 2011 (that date will vary by region)

XPS 17 3D Notebook

Alienware M17 x rev 3:

  • Features the next-generation i5 and i7 quad core Sandy Bridge processors

  • Intel P67 Express chipset

  • HDMI-in capability (great for connecting a Blu-ray player, Xbox 360 or PS3)

  • Wireless HD capability means uncompressed true HD

  • Graphics option: 1.5GB NVIDIA GTX 460M

  • Graphics option: ATI 1GB HD6870M 2GB 6970M

  • Wide FHD WLED 120Hz display (1920 x 1080 resolution)

  • Pricing and availability: starts at $1,499 available on January 10, 2011 (that date will vary by region)

Alienware M17x (R3) Notebooks

New Alienware Aurora desktop:

  • Features the next-generation i5 and i7 quad core Sandy Bridge processors

  • Intel P67 Express chipset

  • Features overclocked liquid-cooled CPUs

  • Support for over 400W of dedicated graphics power

  • Dual graphics support either AMD Crossfire X or NVIDIA SLI modes

  • Two finishes: Matte Black and Dark Chrome which is actually electroplated chrome

  • Pricing and availability: starts at $1,799 available on January 10, 2011 (that date will vary by region)

Alienware Aurora desktop

XPS 8300

This desktop, like several  of the other new desktops and laptops we’re unveiling today will also support Intel’s next-generation i5 and i7 quad core Sandy Bridge processors. It also will feature Dell’s Stage user interface like many of our products will going forward. The XPS 8300 will be available beginning January 10 (that date will vary by region) for a starting price of $749.

I know this was a long post, but thought many of you would appreciate getting a good overview of the products we unveiled. We’ll be blogging about many of these products in more detail. I welcome your questions/ comments below. 

About the Author: Lionel Menchaca

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