Dell sees Windows 8 tablet in its future

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ROUND ROCK, Texas, March 8 (UPI) -- PC maker Dell is hoping to gain an edge over the iPad in the corporate world with a tablet running Windows 8, Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell says.

There is a growing demand for a tablet that runs Windows 8, Dell said.

"Having a secure Windows tablet that works with all the Windows applications -- we're hearing a lot of demand for that and we think that will be quite attractive," he said.

Dell is banking on such a tablet's ability to run applications such as Microsoft Office and to connect to secure corporate networks will help them make inroads in the business environment and compete with Apple's iPad, slashgear.com said Thursday.

While traditional business and corporation environments have been Microsoft's strength, the lack of a tablet product has seen the company lose ground in that arena to Apple.

Windows 8 is garnering great interest ahead of its release later this year with the consumer preview release racking up more than 1 million downloads in less than 24 hours after being made available last week.

Michael Dell said his company will be shipping laptop and desktop PCs with Windows 8 "on the exact day" it's released.