Computing giant Dell is about to release some new Atom-based Latitude netbooks in various garish colours including "School Bus Orange" and "Blue Ribbon", according to new rumours.

Tech site Gizmodo posted pictures of the new devices, which it said are aimed at the education market, after they were apparently leaked by a tipster.

"A tipster just leaked these Dell Latitude 2100 'Welch' laptops to us, which have a 10-inch display and are aimed under $600," said the site.

"Here are the details: they're a new Latitude netbook design branded for the education market using the Atom architecture. They can support an optional SSD, hold up to 2GB RAM, hit 1.6GHz and weigh in at under 3lbs"

The new devices also feature three USB ports, SD/MMC slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth, 3 and 6-cell battery options and a possible touchscreen, according to Gizmodo.

The netbooks, which Dell is apparently readying for a May launch to coincide with the new school term in the US, come in Red Apple, School Bus Orange, Blue Ribbon and Chalkboard Black, according to the pictures.

The news comes just a month after Dell released its Atom-based Inspiron Mini 12 netbook to mixed reviews.

The product features a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 40GB hard drive, three USB ports, a multi-card reader, and connectivity  to networks over 802.11g Wi-Fi or 10/100Mb LAN.

Dell was also in the news a few days ago when it unveiled a new portfolio of enterprise computing products designed to help customers lower costs through efficiency and power management savings.

The new products included servers and workstations based on Intel's upcoming Nehalem-based Xeon chips, storage arrays, an open-standards management console, and additional consultancy services.

29 Mar 2009