So now’s probably as good a time for a quick recap as any. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you’re probably familiar by now with what’s soon-to-be the hottest new trend in tech – there’s been no end to rumors that a glut of high-profile tech companies have designs on the new phenomena of ‘wearable tech‘, mostly in the form of so-called Smartwatches, but also a few other devices too.

Google’s probably leading the way with its head-worn Glass device, whilst Apple has is believed to be hard at work on its not-so-secret iWatch. Then there’s the Kickstarter-funded Pebble, plus Sony, Samsung and Qualcomm. And Intel. Oh, and Foxconn and LG have also shown a bit of interest.

Now there’s a new tech titan knocking at the door… Wait for it… yep, no less than Dell has declared its own interest in making smarter, wearable tech.

Okay, so it’s probably not as exciting as all that, after all Dell have a reputation for being a bit lame these days, what with their desperate situation re the declining PC market where its playing second fiddle to the likes of Lenovo and HP , and the ongoing wrangles over CEO Michael Dell’s proposed takeover of the company.

But smartwatches and wearable tech – that’s a whole different ball game, one that’s wide open given that nothing of note has even been brought to market just yet. There’s plenty of opportunity for whoever can come up with the latest and craziest new innovative gadgets, and Dell wants to be a part of it.

Sam Burd, Dell’s global Vice President, revealed the company’s intentions in an interview with The Guardian yesterday:

“We’re exploring ideas in that space… There are challenges in cost, and how to make it a really good experience. But the piece that’s interesting is that computers are getting smaller. Having a watch on your wrist – that’s pretty interesting, pretty appealing.”

Dell’s move into the next frontier of personal computing is still in the exploratory phase, but it’s all part of a greater drive by the firm’s power brokers to transform the company into something more than just the ‘PC maker’ it’s known for. At Dell World last year, CEO Michael Dell told John Furrier and Dave Vellante on theCUBE all about his plans to morph the company into an enterprise software provider, something that’s thought to be one of the biggest motivating factors behind his efforts to take the company private again.

*Michael Dell with John Furrier & Dave Vellante on theCUBE last year*

Dell will likely succeed in the enterprise as it already has a solid offering of products, but its chances of succeeding with wearable tech are much more debatable. The company’s attempts to muscle in on the smartphone and tablet market were fruitless at best, if not downright embarrassing with all of its products in this area viewed as flops. One of Dell’s biggest problem is that wearable tech, like the mobile device market, will largely be consumer-driven, and the Dell brand just isn’t as “cool” the likes of Samsung and Apple, a hangover from its legacy as a maker of low cost but dependable PCs.

As a result, Dell’s going to have to come up with something real innovative if it wants to make an impression in this space – something tells me that just slapping a functional Smartwatch together after the fact isn’t quite going to cut it among today’s notoriously picky consumers.