Dell Puts Ubuntu on New Inspiron Tablet Hybrids

Although most people think of Windows-based PCs when they think of Dell Computer, Dell has actually been more friendly to Linux over the years than any of the other major hardware makers. The company has delivered computers running Ubuntu in both India and China, and the company's "Project Sputnik" effort involved customizing a Linux-based laptop for developers. Now, Ubuntu has found its way onto tablets from Dell, under the Inspiron hybrid product line.

Dell's hybrid devices switch from laptops to tablets when their screens are rotated 360 degrees. The first examples running Ubuntu were shown at the Computex trade show in Taipei on Monday.

Dell is pricing the Inspiron 11 3000 running Ubuntu at $449, and it will be available in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Japan starting in June. There are other models due to arrive in September.

The e screen on the Inspiron 11 displays images at a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, and it comes with  a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of memory.

In addition to its various forays with Ubuntu, Dell has offered laptops with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) pre-loaded.

Dell has put its toe in the water with Linux in a few ways over the years, but it's now seriously expanding its support for the platform. And, it's clear the company is taking an ecumenical approach, working with Canonical, Red Hat, and--it's likely--others.