The device – codenamed Rosemount – was originally pencilled in for a May/June release according to the roadmap leaked by Dell in February; apparently this is no longer the case.

This latest information regarding Rosemount comes from a ‘source close to Dell’ who leaked the information to Forbes. The source also disclosed that the tablet would be aimed at enterprise customers when it is finally released.

The fresh delay will come as little surprise to many; Dell have been planning the release of a 10-inch Windows 7 device from all the way back in October of 2010. Until now, the leaked roadmap was all we had to go off; now that too appears to be inaccurate.

Internet speculation has already begun about the possible reasons behind the further delay; Albert Madison, writing for Tablets Planet, suspects that Dell may have had to do some “serious custom work” on the user interface for Windows 7 to make it more suitable for larger touchscreen devices.

This gives even more ammunition to critics of Windows 7 who are dumbfounded as to why Microsoft haven’t yet produced a tablet optimised OS in the vein of Google’s Android Honeycomb.

Another theory is that Dell are having trouble striking the perfect balance between computing performance and battery life. Either way, Dell’s dilly-dallying means we are unlikely to see the Rosemount device for some months yet.

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Dell’s new Inspiron Duo is another one of those devices suffering from a serious identity crisis. It just cannot decide if it is a tablet or a netbook.

This in itself is nothing new, but the Duo does use some niftily innovative features to achieve its transition. The keyboard and lid frame of the device are just the same as on your standard netbook. The screen however, is mounted on a pivot within the frame, and can flip 180 degrees with startling ease.

Once the screen is locked into its opposite position, simply close the lid and – as if by magic – the device is now a tablet. The 10.1 inch screen is both touch screen and keyboard compatible.

In both its netbook and tablet positions, the screen is locked in place by a series of powerful magnets, so it always feels secure. Although adjustments can be made easily, by pushing the screen beyond the field of the magnets, at which point it swings freely into position with a minimum of effort.

Apart from these acrobatics, what does the device offer? Well, it comes with 2GB DDR3 SDRAM, Intel NM10 video card and a 7200 rpm SATA hard drive with up to 320 GB of space.

A new Intel Atom Dual Core N550 processor powers the machine, which has a battery life of just under four hours.

Purchasing the Duo will set you back around £450.

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