Dell and Intel team up for touchscreen tablet

We’ve heard a lot about the “iPhone killer” but now Dell seems to have the Kindle square in its sights. In a partnership with Intel, Dell is set to release a touchscreen tablet meant to compete with the Kindle. The tablet will offer a 5 inch screen and take a very different marketing approach than the Kindle.

Dell plans to give it away for free.

Now that you’ve done your spit-take (sorry keyboard) I’ll explain the catch. If a user signs up for certain digital content Dell will throw in the tablet for free. It will most likely be an iPhone type of deal (contract and monthly payments that result in paying a lot higher than an upfront fee) but it will be a tempting counter to people who can’t afford the upfront cost of a Kindle — which recently dropped its price to $299.

Slashgear has the latest info on the Dell tablet:

Dell and Intel subscription-based tablet coming 2010 to conquer the Kindle?

Dell is tipped to be working with Intel on a 5-inch touchscreen tablet, which will be provided free of charge to users who sign up to one or more digital content subscriptions.  The unnamed device, expected to hit the market in around six months time, will be positioned as a direct competitor to Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader, and offer would-be users turned off by that device’s high initial purchase price an alternative way of accessing regular digital content.

Full specifications of the Dell tablet – which isn’t seemingly being positioned as a MID, as you might expect from Intel’s involvement – aren’t available, but it’s presumed that it will be running an Atom processor and likely have a capacitive touchscreen.  It’s possible that it could launch with Intel’s processors and chipsets, set to reach the market in 2010.  Intel has already revealed five MID devices that it claims will launch in 2010 using Moorestown.

However it’s suggested that the Dell tablet will run Windows 7, taking advantage of the upcoming OS’ native multitouch support.  Meanwhile, analysts are tipping Nokia and HTC each releasing new tablets by the end of the year, while the CrunchPad seems on course for a November launch.