Dell's new Tablet PC- they come out trash talking

Dell has chosen to use their Direct2Dell blog to promote their upcoming Tablet PC.  Their entry into the Tablet space has a lot of folks pretty excited as witnessed by the response to their first look video on the blog.  Now they're back with a second video that addresses what you should do with a Tablet PC that drives you crazy.  Their answer is to cut it in half (in this case a Toshiba M400) with a table saw.  It's an interesting marketing ploy but it leaves me with mixed feelings.  On the one hand I'm glad that Dell is continuing to turn up the excitement level for the new Tablet but on the other hand this video leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.  I don't mind Dell trash talking the competition, we're used to that.  But to me when you do that in a video like this and don't show or discuss why your Tablet will be better then it's just trash talking.  It's like politicians that sling mud without explaining why they are better than their opponent.  It only goes so far with me.  I am looking forward to Dell releasing more video that actually shows off their new product.  Now that will be cool.

(via GottaBeMobile)

Comments

[Kevin G]

That was stupid. I think Dell is shooting themselves in the foot by not pre-releasing more info regarding the XT. The new school season is approaching fast and so far the new HP looks fairly compelling vs. Dell's vaporware. But as of late Dell seems to be misfiring on all cylinders. The new status quo?

[devwild]

They've actually released most of the specs to medium/large business customers, but that only has the ring of a standard 12" widescreen convertible. What we need is detailed pictures and dimensions (and some hands on reviews).

Oh, and the specs as of 6 months ago included touchscreen only, no active digitizer. As a graphics person, I really hope they at least make that an option, because otherwise it sounds like a promising unit.

And yes, the video is foolish. :)

[Rob Bushway]

I actually think it is a pretty bold move - a little bit of trash talk is good, IMO. They better have the goods to back it up, though, or it will back fire

[glenn]

Thats not an M400 they are destroying - looks more like an old Portege 3500. I would have been more impressed if they had gone after a newer M400 or even a R400. Shame though, the 3500 is a pretty well designed early Tablet - good balance & form factor.

[Eric Mack]

Actually, I think it's an M4, my M4. ;-)

Let's see if they deliver on their promise. Meanwhile, it's the X61 not the XT for me.

[John Doe]

I work for a large school district and I was shown a working demo for the new tablet. There are actualy 2 different models that they are putting out, an ultra mobile version and a mobile version.

I get to see a lot of equipment, in fact I just gave back my X61 demo and I was very impressed with the Dell tablet. They really put the time and energy and thought into the features of the device.

[AllanCJ]

Dell has little to be superior about, in my experience.
My expensive Dell laptop was a turkey. It was a faulty design, as attested by the scores of complaints on Dell's website from owners who all had identical problems. (A particular row of keys would stop working after about 18 months - after the warranty had expired!)New keyboards would work for a while, and then expire in the same way. A responsible manufacturer would have acknowledged there was a problem - or am I naive?
I replaced the Dell with a Toshiba. Unlike the Dell, it has not been a continual drain on my money. That Dell video looks extremely ill-advised to me. I hope the new Dell is a big flop.

[Paul J Shadwell]

Isn't this just Dell trying out an Apple marketing ploy. Drip feeding us info with no real content. Of course they would have to have an outstanding product to get away with this unscathed.
Lets see,

[Cheryl]

I haven't watched the video, but I think this is lame. It seems like they're trying to capitalize on the whole, "Will it blend?" thing. :P