Dell unveils Android-based Mini 3 smartphone

Three views of the Dell Mini 3

(Credit: Dell)

Dell said Friday that it's ready to enter the smartphone business with the Android-based Mini 3.

Long rumored to have a smartphone in the works, Dell said that the first two carriers to sell the Mini 3 will be China Mobile and Brazil's Claro.

In China, the Mini 3 will use OPhone, China Mobile's customized version of Google's Android operating system. "We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform," an unnamed China Mobile representative said in Dell's press release.

Dell would not offer any specifics about the software on the Brazilian phone, saying simply that "the initial Mini 3 smartphones are designed around the Android platform."

The company also did not provide technical specifications or pricing information for the phone, saying those would be revealed when the devices arrive in stores--probably late November for China Mobile and by year's end for Claro. It also did not say when the phone would arrive in the U.S. or other markets.

Dell did confirm that the Mini 3 has a 3.5-inch high-definition touch screen, a detail that Michael Tatelman, a Dell sales and marketing executive, had earlier told the Associated Press. The Mini 3 sold in China won't have Wi-Fi at the start, but Tatelman said that would come later.

Similarly, Apple's iPhone late last month made its official debut in China sans Wi-Fi.

China Mobile has more than 500 million customers, and Claro serves more than 42 million people in Brazil as part of the America Movil network, Dell said.

Dell did tout its "existing agreements with other leading global telecom providers," including Vodafone in Europe; AT&T and Verizon in the U.S.; M1 and Starhub in Singapore; and Maxis in Malaysia.

The Texas-based PC maker also played up the Internet connectivity angle of small mobile gadgetry.

"Our entry into the smartphone category is a logical extension of Dell's consumer product evolution over the past two years," Ron Garriques, president of the Dell Global Consumer Group, said in a statement. "We are developing smaller and smarter mobile products that enable our customers to take their Internet experience out of the home and do the things they want to do whenever and wherever they want."

But does the world need a smartphone from Dell? The device will have plenty of company: Android phones have begun arriving on the market in larger numbers in recent months.

Most notably, U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless last week began selling the much-hyped Droid, made by Motorola, and the more modest Droid Eris, made by HTC.

Updated at 5:31 a.m. PDT with more details and background information, and again at 8:08 a.m. PDT with clarification on the use of China Mobile's OPhone and confirmation of the screen size..

[damiandennison]

I am really happy Dell is doing this. What I would love for them to do is change the phone device world the same way that they did with the PC wold. Sell the phones direct and make them that they will work with any service provider. If they do that I think that could work for them.

[bschmock]

Thats a good Idea if you want to pay upwards of $800 for a phone. Manufactures have been offering phones that work with any carrier(at least based on sim/cdma) for years now, aka Motorola, nokia, samsung etc. The problem is without a carrier they are fing expensive and the market hasn't done very well(in the us).

[abcd9009]

@bschmock

What would you have... pay $199 for the phone and $80 (taking $39.99 for voice + $30 for data plan + 10 for taxes) every month for 24 months = $1920 + $199 = $2119 OR
$800 for the phone and use it anywhere anytime on any network without a contract???

I would rather pay $800. Granted $800 is a lot to pay upfront but it saves you in the long run because you are not restricted to a particular carrier. You can move on to any carrier anytime you please without paying ETF.

[streamline35]

abcd9009 - your argument is flaw, in that you completely leave off any service charges when you calculate the cost of the phone. You are going to have to pay those same prices if you actually plan to use that $800 phone you bought, so it ends up being more expensive in the long run (unless you like switching carries alot).

Not that I disagree with your general philosophy - I always buy unlocked phones sans carrier, but it do it with cheaper phones (my motorola slvr was $60 on newegg). If I were to get a smartphone, I would pick a network to stick with, and I sure as hell wouldn't pay $800 for the phone alone (plus add in close to two thousand dollars of charges in two years)

[cbscowards]

@abc9009: You are leaving out the expense of the service provider. Nobody will let you use their data network without paying for it. VZW just announced a "pay as you go" data plan, but it is twice as expensive as their contract plan. I would rather risk having to pay the $375 ETF than paying $800 up front + double the data cost. Plus you did not count the cost of the voice minutes.

[gd1294]

I agree

[Renegade Knight]

@bschmock

Perhaps at the start. However in time phone makers would cut prices like they do on all other electronics that are not tied to a carrier. TV's drop in price every year.

This is actually a direction we need to head if we want cheap phones, or cheaper smart phones and plans that actually focus on customer service instead of expensive contracts.

[atish505]

In many countries including Europe & Asia, even though the unlocked smart phones are expensive they are offered in 12 or 24 monthly installments facilitated by banks and credit companies. SO users really only pay 1/12 or 1/24 of the price and carry home the mobile.

It's time DELL or someone else does it here in north America. That will put a big dent in phones sold by carriers (locked) and rock the market equilibrium.

[Mergatroid Mania]

Come on CNET, get the spam outa here.

And your report function gets an error.

[bsharkey]

what bschmock said was true, though the $800 quoted price is a bit high. likely closer to $600, especially as Android phones are seemingly being released left and right suddenly.

[Remo_Williams]

Non-starter for Dell. They established a high-water mark for PDAs with the Axim line, by hooking up with HTC and packing just about every kind of radio and interface into the form factor. To this day that CPU from the Axim is still faster than the ones in many existing smartphones.

This Mini3 isn't a game-changer, it's the minimum bet, and if Dell doesn't raise stakes, they'll be out in the first round.

[umbrae]

Dell's first phone is a crippled China Censorship version. Interesting.

[zyxxy]

Because that is where the growth market is. Do you want to be in the growth market or not?

[Renegade Knight]

@zyxxy

Apple got growth by releasing an excellent device. Love it or hate it the iPhone was a game changer and that generated Groth for Apple in markets where others were fighting just to tread water. If you don't have a game changing phone I guess you better head to a growth market where your lackluster product will gain marketshare becasue everbody is gaining market share. It's a start.

[DasScooter]

no the us has the larges cellphone users some even in excess of 300 lbs :p

[TomMariner]

Is anybody concerned that the first entry of market-savvy Dell into the smartphone arena is not in the US?

[zyxxy]

No. China has more cell phones than the US has population.

[abcd9009]

@TomMariner

Cell phones is one market where US is completely outdated when compared to China, EU and Asia.
And as @zyxxy pointed out China having the largest population, happens to have largest cell phone users. Makes perfect sense to start with China.
Or another theory could be... Dell first wants to experiment how the phone does before getting into the US market.

[Renegade Knight]

Nope. Dell quality and Support suck so even if it was the Dell Super Droid I'd take a pass.

[zincmann]

Could the picture be any smaller of the device?

[spidee0716]

All I can say about this phone is one word.....BOMB....it seems like dell is going to jump on a treadmill that is already running at 70 miles per hour and try to introduce a phone into a market that I feel has too many dogs in the doghouse.

[sellitman]

Dell's service on my Axim, or lack thereof has turned me off to Dell forever. Ever try understanding one of their "service staff"?

[Renegade Knight]

Yes i have. "No" "Hell No" and "No Freaking Way will we honor our warrantee" were all pretty easy to understand.

[Hoodgrown_Magazine]

This will go the same route as their line of MP3 players did.

[lansvy]

They had an MP3 player?

[johnqh]

lansvy, I think that's his point.

[Regulator7]

The Axim was crap. I owned a couple of them, along with a half dozen other PocketPC's - back in the day. While Dell did cram a lot of technology into a well-priced PDA compared to the competition, their build quality was dismal. Not unlike everything else Dell makes. Bad screens, flaky buttons, weak connectors, and creaky cases were the norm. Toshiba was the champ of building PocketPC's. They were a little more expensive, but they worked.

I am not surprised that Dell's phone is heading to China first. Dell, like Pepsi, GM and countless other companies, isn't stupid. China is quickly becoming the next global superpower (if they're not there already). Smart "American" companies understand that they need to establish themselves in China *now*. We Americans need to get used to not being the center of attention.

[kalel33]

I have to disagree, my Axim is still running strong and I still use it for keeping track of meetings, deadlines, etc.

[jd_mayo]

Some larger pics on Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/photos/dell-mini-3i-official-pictures/

[ddhboy]

Nothing says generic garbage like this. No wonder US cell phone companies turned Dell down. I don't know how dell managed to make the android UI even more cluttered and unfriendly, but hey, way to go.

[esierra1]

Who turned them down??

[ddhboy]

Well, the stories didn't name any company in particular, but a few months ago Dell was shopping around the smart phone to different US carriers and they turned dell down because, according to them, the phone was too generic to justify them selling it, at what would probably be like 150-200 after contract. Keep in mind, this is after dell poured years of research and development into the cellphone market, hence why the phone was instead pitched to carriers in China and Brazil, which are emerging markets, and thus have a ton of generic, yet expensive phones.

[mpitogo]

Dell doing Android is a big blow to WinMo. Seems like there is nothing compelling mfgrs to choose WinMo over Android or their own flavor of linux (samsung).

[jav1231]

Look, Ma! More stuff not sold in the US where it matters. You know, like Linux-based PDA's.

[fgoldstein]

Doesn't this look a lot like something HTC makes? I smell buyout (private labelling of third-party product). Sort of like Dell's Lexmark printers.

[ddhboy]

No, no it doesn't. HTC makes quality items, though for they were the go to generic manufacturers for years, they never really made bad phones, all of which had a certain amount of craftsmanship, and there's no way that HTC is going to sell itself to dell now, after they spent all that money unleashing their brand to the common people. This phone is rubbish, and HTC would be embarrassed to put their names to it.

[rattyuk]

Love that they got the same hand model as the iPhone. Now let's see the adverts on TV where they whip out the stylus and give it some true WinMo loving...

[Knightro2]

Great, another device so when you have to contact their tech support the first thing they'll make you do is upgrade the BIOS even if it has nothing to do with the problem. (I used to support 500+ Dells and I'd call in for a hard drive failure - Return Code: 7 - and they would make me upgrade the BIOS before doing anything. Many days banging my head against a wall).

[ivorycruncher]

@fgoldstein

Um, no, this doesn't look anything like anything HTC sells. Not only that, but the screen size and resolution it has is unique among available Android phones. Plus, Dell appears to have developed its own custom UI for Android. Nope, this is a Dell product, not a rebranded HTC.

[bobkatdell]

Interesting discussion here and we at Dell are looking forward to participating in many more. I encourage you to read a post from my colleague Lionel at www.direct2dell.com

[bctexas]

It looks way better than the droid.

[tektaktyks]

Can the pix be any smaller?