New Android-based smartbooks from Dell – Athens and Sparta

Recent leaks bring to light Dell’s plans for full smartbooks. The conventional Athens and the convertible tablet Sparta would both use ARM chips and run either pure Linux or Android. They may have 11-inch displays with 1,024×768 resolution and 4:3 ratio and should have options for Bluetooth and 3G connectivity.

If information from Android Central proves to be correct, the Sparta would be the first to ship sometime in July, which is considered by Dell as part of its fiscal year 2011. Athens would not be ready before January or February 2011.

Dell also claims that the 7-inch Looking Glass tablet would have a staggered launch as already scheduled, with the standard version arriving in August or September and an updated Pro model bringing a higher resolution screen and a TV tuner by February. The Mini 5 (Streak) is intended for launch in May, while the Thunder smartphone, which runs Android, would only be ready in November or December this year.