Dell's Convertible Inspiron Duo Starts at $549

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/18/dell-inspiron-duo-finally-official-can-be-yours-the-first-week/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/18/...the-first-week/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"That's right, just as we had heard, Dell is finally putting an end to the Inspiron Duo's mysterious marketing videos and officially spinning its screen for the world to see! You won't be able to hit the order button on the totally unique 10.1-inch tablet / netbook hybrid today, but according to Dell, it should go up for pre-order sometime soon and start shipping out the first week of December. As for pricing, the base model will start at $549 (&pound;449), and will pack a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, 250GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/lpt/auto/1290099214.usr1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>Engadget has the scoop on the Dell Inspiron Duo, and I have to say, I'm impressed with what you get for $549: a dual core Atom, 2 GB of RAM, a Broadcomm Crystal HD chip, 250 GB of storage, and of course that slick screen that flips around. Not a bad price at all! I'm especially impressed with the fact that Dell is using Windows 7 Home Premium and 2 GB of RAM. This will make it more usable than your average netbook with 1 GB of RAM and Windows 7 Starter.</p>

[Sven Johannsen]

If you don't see a stylus, they did it wrong. Unfortunately given the Windows 7 on here, I would expect to be able to use the input panel with a stylus to take advantage of that particular 'Tablet' feature built into the OS. The tablet entry panel is really not designed for finger input, though I believe you can enlarge it. Most all of the Office products are 'ink' aware, and work quite well with a stylus. Not so much with a big fat finger, or the typical capacitive screen stylus. Those are much like working with a crayon, if you are trying to write.

I think it is a shame that the iPhone philosopy has permeated touch thought as much as it has. It is a great concept when really mobile, to not have to pull out a stick. A finger touch interface makes sense in that environment. It is also convenient for gross selections, in a media centric scenario. For detailed interaction on a larger scale, most folks are comfortable with a pencil or pen. Been doing that since first grade, or before. But I guess if Jobs says everyone wants to fingerpaint, it must be true.

Really wish there would be more choice in the slate style Windows Tablet with respect to pen input. AFAIK the HP Slate is the only one, and I believe HP is the only one making convertibles with (Wacom) pen support.

[Jason Dunn]

If you don't see a stylus, they did it wrong...I think it is a shame that the iPhone philosopy has permeated touch thought as much as it has.

Yeah, I agree - finger touch is one valid method of input, but to ignore stylus input completely is an oversight...all in a race to be "Apple Like". :(