14 DAY TRIAL // Given all the rave about tablets and smartphones, it is, perhaps, less shocking to learn that Alienware, Del's sub-brand dedicated to good-looking and powerful gaming products, is thinking of making some.
Alienware has just released new 14-inch, 17-inch and 18-inch gaming notebooks. We've already detailed them fully, right here.
The hardware overhaul was expected, but the aesthetic redesign of the case and LED system was the most eye-catching.
Eye candy has always been part of Alienware's game. Thus, it makes sense that the company, or rather Dell sub-business, would want to extend the practice to its tablet. It would not be an Alienware tablet otherwise.
Sadly, while the visual theme would be easy enough to implement, the same cannot be said about the hardware.
“Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean that it’s actually going to deliver on our brand tenets,” said company General Manager Frank Azor, when talking to Slashgear.
“That’s the biggest reason why you don’t see a tablet from us today. There’s a certain experience that we have to deliver, that has become synonymous with the Alienware brand; that you’ve come to expect. We’re not willing to compromise the integrity of the brand to deliver a form-factor just because it’s in high-demand.”
In layman terms, the technologies needed to actually make the Alienware tablet a game-worthy device don't exist yet.
The makers of the WikiPad, and Razer for that matter, might have something to say about that, but this is what Alienware feels.
Azor also said that his company would immediately make a tablet if the needed technologies appeared, and would do it quickly, but no sooner. After all, like with the notebooks, the tablet would need to survive for four or five years.
“We’ve been doing this a long time: we have very tight relationships with Intel, AMD, NVIDIA; these guys, we buy a considerable amount of hardware from them, not only from Alienware but from Dell as well,” Azor said. “So, we know what the right time is – or we will know what the right time is – and then we’ll plan something for that.”