Dell has caught lots of attention at this week's CES 2017, the big tech event in Las Vegas. The Texas-based PC maker has stunned the crowd after announcing the Dell Canvas, a huge horizontal touchscreen display for creative processes. The device provides digital artists a giant drawing surface-like tools.

According to The Verge, the Dell Canvas has a 27-inch display similar to the Surface Studio when it comes to functionality. But unlike the Microsoft's Surface Studio, it's not a PC. It works as a digital drafting table that connects to any PC, an extension of the existing computer.

Dell Canvas A Surface Studio Without A PC

Dell Canvas may look like a giant Wacom tablet and acts as an additional monitor to expand user's display view and a digital workspace.

Dell made a demo of the Canvas at the CES 2017 event, where it connects the big display with a Dell laptop and one of Dell's curved monitors. This allows the user to work directly on Canvas' 27-inch QHD, Adobe RGB display in Illustrator. The demoed Canvas setup uses power from the laptop while the upright display shows previous work and digital workplace.

The Dell Canvas is actually an articulating quad-HD ( 2,560 x 1440 pixels) second screen for digital artists. Its sprawling 27-inch screen can support up to 20 points of touch, 100 percent of Adobe's RGB color gamut. It also has a stylus support and even works with Wacom's pens.

But unlike a touch-screen desktop, the Dell Canvas is meant to be laid out right below the standard monitor, according to PC Magazine. It connects to a standard PC monitor instead of replacing the existing PC screen.

Additionally, Dell introduces an accompanying tool called Totem, a digital pen that resembles the Microsoft Surface Dial. The digital pen, which is akin to Microsoft's Dial for the Surface Studio, allows users to sketch and navigate on the screen to quickly access a menu of options.

Together with the Dell Totem, Dell is also provides custom software for the Canvas. It will allow apps to be pinned to different edges of the screen.

Pricing will start at $1799 and will start shipping alongside the Microsoft's next big OS update, the Windows 10 Creator Update, sometime in April, adds the PC Magazine report.

Built for Digital Artists

However, PC reviews sites say the Dell Canvas is not a mainstream computer. Rather, it's meant for the creativity process and for people watning an extended viewing experience.

Like the Microsoft Surface Studio, the Dell Canvas was built for creative users -- digital artists. It's Dell's own version of Microsoft Surface Studio, a system without the power cores that drive its price tag sky-high.

Topics Dell, Microsoft Surface Studio, Ces 2017