LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Dell Inc intends to launch its first consumer tablet computer in late 2012, marking its entry into a hotly contested and increasingly crowded arena that has already claimed arch-foe Hewlett Packard

The once-dominant corporation founded by Michael Dell has seen a growing crop of tablets and smartphones entice consumers away from PCs. But Dell learned from the hastiness of some of its peers and understands better now how consumers value the “ecosystem” of a tablet as much as the hardware, chief commercial officer Steve Felice said.

The Texas company, which has slipped steadily in the global PC sales rankings, had dipped its toe in the waters with an enterprise-focused, “Streak” tablet. It now plans a bigger push into the consumer arena, Felice told Reuters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

While rivals from HP to Research in Motion (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) introduced a spate of gadgets with much fanfare and went toe-to-toe with the still-dominant Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPad, Dell kept a low profile with good reason, Felice said.

“We have been taking our time. The general failure of everyone that’s tried to introduce a tablet outside of Apple” suggested Dell made a prudent choice, Felice said in an interview. “You will see us enter this market in a bigger way toward the end of the year. So we are not really deemphasizing it, we are really being very careful how we enter it.

“When you are talking about PC, people are more focused on the hardware itself. When you are talking about the tablet or the smartphone, people are interested in the overall environment its operating in,” he added. “As we have matured in this, we are spending a lot more time in the overall ecosystem.”

CARDS CLOSE TO VEST

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Dell Inc intends to launch its first consumer tablet computer in late 2012, marking its entry into a hotly contested and increasingly crowded arena that has already claimed arch-foe Hewlett Packard.

The once-dominant corporation founded by Michael Dell has seen a growing crop of tablets and smartphones entice consumers away from PCs. But Dell learned from the hastiness of some of its peers and understands better now how consumers value the “ecosystem” of a tablet as much as the hardware, chief commercial officer Steve Felice said.

The Texas company, which has slipped steadily in the global PC sales rankings, had dipped its toe in the waters with an enterprise-focused, “Streak” tablet. It now plans a bigger push into the consumer arena, Felice told Reuters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

While rivals from HP to Research in Motion introduced a spate of gadgets with much fanfare and went toe-to-toe with the still-dominant Apple Inc iPad, Dell kept a low profile with good reason, Felice said.

“We have been taking our time. The general failure of everyone that’s tried to introduce a tablet outside of Apple” suggested Dell made a prudent choice, Felice said in an interview. “You will see us enter this market in a bigger way toward the end of the year. So we are not really deemphasizing it, we are really being very careful how we enter it.

“When you are talking about PC, people are more focused on the hardware itself. When you are talking about the tablet or the smartphone, people are interested in the overall environment its operating in,” he added. “As we have matured in this, we are spending a lot more time in the overall ecosystem.”

CARDS CLOSE TO VEST

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Lenovo Group Ltd, which is making a concerted global push into tablets and ultrabooks, now expects to launch a smartphone in a lucrative U.S. market dominated by Apple Inc and Google Inc gadgets.

The No. 2 computer maker – China’s standard-bearer in consumer electronics – sells smartphones on its home turf but has yet to make inroads abroad, nor is it in any hurry to do so.

“I think we will,” David Schmoock, Lenovo’s North American chief, said when asked if the company planned to launch a phone in the United States.

“It’s more of an evolution over time,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Personal computer makers are increasingly looking to mobile devices such as smartphones to drive up razor-thin margins. Lenovo’s operating margin clocked in at 12.2 percent in the fiscal second quarter of last year.

The company, which has carved out a 7 percent share of the U.S. computer market, said it is in the process of establishing relationships with wireless carriers – AT&T, Sprint and Verizon – and distributors as it assesses the marketplace.

“Clearly, we are playing hard on two of the screens,” Schmoock told Reuters, referring to PCs and tablets. “The other two – smartphones and smart TVs – you will see over time.”