Dell Acknowledges Upcoming Subnotebook

Product shots on Dell's blog show a tiny, colorful notebook along the same lines as the Asus Eee that's coming down the pipe.

Although this week’s “D: All Things Digital” conference was supposed to focus on chit-chat with industry leaders, Dell CEO Michael Dell craftily managed to half-announce a new product as well when he briefly showed off a new subnotebook to Gizmodo. After a day of the impromptu product shots making their way around the Web, Dell gave it formal nod on Thursday night in the Direct2Dell blog.

Despite the public acknowledgement, Dell managed to add few additional details to the mystery product. The only real information comes from a pair of official product shots for the yet-unnamed notebook, which show it looking mighty small alongside a pencil. Visible features include brightly colored and polished lid, a touchpad, VGA output, an Ethernet jack, audio in and out, and, from Gizmodo’s shots, three USB ports and a cardreader.

Given the timing of the news, many speculate that the new Dell subnotebook will be powered by Intel’s Atom processor. Dell hasn’t hinted at when more news will be forthcoming, but given the finished-looking state of the machine and the quick-to-appear PR shots, coupled with Michael Dell hauling one around, we would guess it’s almost ready to go.