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"Dell has confirmed that it is working on ultrabooks and tablets running Microsoft&amp;#039;s new Windows 8 operating system for release this year.  The struggling firm, which today reported a 22% drop in consumer sales in the second quarter of 2012, is pinning its hopes on touch-enabled Windows 8 to revive the flagging PC market.  Dell&amp;#039;s chief financial officer Brian Gladden said in an investor call that the firm will join other manufacturers in riding the expected wave of attention around Windows 8 after it launches in October.  &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll see new Windows 8 ultrabooks, all-in-one tablets and converged devices in the fourth quarter and headed into next year,&amp;quot; he is quoted as saying by The Verge.  The language used by Gladden indicates that Dell intends to launch its own all-purpose tablet computers to rival Microsoft&amp;#039;s own Surface Windows 8 range.  Fellow manufacturer Acer recently urged Microsoft to &amp;quot;think twice&amp;quot; over the launch of its new Surface tablets.  It argued that Microsoft is &amp;#039;no good&amp;#039; at making its own hardware and the move could have a &amp;quot;negative impact&amp;quot; on the worldwide ecosystem for computing.  But Gladden is not so concerned. He said on the investor call: &amp;quot;As you think about Microsoft entering the space, clearly, as we think about it, we&amp;#039;ve spent time talking to Microsoft and understanding sort of how they&amp;#039;re thinking about it.  &amp;quot;There clearly are opportunities for us, as Windows 8 comes through, in having differentiated products. And I think at the same time they have announced the Surface product that would be in the space, we will have products in there, and I think you&amp;#039;ll see a diverse set of offerings that take advantage of what Windows 8 brings to market.&amp;quot; &amp;gt; PC makers suffer more woe as sales slump 2.4% in Western Europe "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a401127/dell-to-release-windows-8-ultrabooks-tablets-this-year/>