More details on Dell's supposed smartphone
We've been hearing rumors of a Dell smartphone for a while now, but The Wall Street Journal gave more shape to the speculation with a report Thursday that the PC maker "has had a group of engineers working on the phones for more than a year from an office in the Chicago area."
Michael Dell has dropped smartphone hints in the past.
(Credit: Dell)The paper quoted sources close to the plans as saying the team produced prototypes built on Google's Android operating system and Microsoft Windows Mobile (which would you prefer?). One model has a touch screen but no physical keyboard, a la Apple's iPhone, the WSJ says, while another is a slider-style device with a keypad that slides out from under the screen.
Reiterating Dell's earlier tight-lipped stance on the matter, a Dell representative said the company hasn't disclosed any such plans, adding "we haven't committed to anything."
But the WSJ says the smartphone development team spent much of last year meeting with suppliers of phone components, phone software companies, and Asian phone manufacturers.
Amid a , smartphones are a logical horizon for PC makers to eye.
While not all smartphones are faring equally well, the sector overall is still healthy. Growth was at about 50 percent until recently. It is still at a 10 percent to 15 percent growth level at the moment--and that marks a healthy market, according to Jeff Kagan, a wireless and telecommunications industry analyst.
"So will Dell devices hit a home, run or will they just hit a single? That is the big question," he said. "We won't know until we know more about it. So much depends on the device."
Dell's been out of the handheld business for over a year and a half, but there have been signs it's been testing the waters, such as its acquisition of streaming-audio software maker Zing Systems in August.
Leslie Katz, senior editor of CNET's Crave, covers gadgets, games, and most other digital distractions. As a co-host of the CNET News Daily Podcast, she sometimes tries to channel Terry Gross. E-mail Leslie. 
Uh, the AXIM got AXed a couple of years ago (I believe?).
Finally, and most importantly, while an MP3 is far from being like a computer, a PDA/Phone is pretty much a fully capable computer. It has far more computation capability than the first PC which now serves as a door stop. This is just an extension of a market that Dell is already in. The same O/S (Linux derivative) can be used to power PDAs, netbooks, laptops, desktops, and servers. Isn't this the Holy Grail of computing?
Haven't you seen those iPhone commercials talking about all its computing abilities which end, "And oh yeah, it's also a phone?"
/sarcasm
I do sympathize with their shareholders. Things are not going to get better for them for a very long time, if ever.
If I were Michael Dell, I'd sell the company to HP, buy an island in the South Pacific, and never be heard from again.
Jesus. What planet does this stuff come from?
Will it come in any color other than beige?
I have only ever owned 1 Dell product - a Dell Latitude D600 and the paint is peeling off the lid. This is not acceptable and clearly a defefect after 4 light years of use. Willing to pay to get it fixed but they don't want to take my money.. I have experienced 'Dell Hell' first hand and not going down this road again.
the cell phone market is already so congested
we don't need innovation less companies like Dell/Acer
It makes no sense, on any level, in this economy already awash with existing Products from companies that already have dominate market share.
(And everyone here knows what they are and have their favorites, no argument here)
I predict Failure.
In my opinion.
You have to ask "What could Dell bring to Apple by producing a phone?" If the answer has to do with a price point, you've completely misunderstood Apple. Apple doesn't care to produce entry level phones, as stated, it only cares about producing the world's best phone. Its not in Dell's corporate DNA to beat Apple at its own game. I'm not saying it isn't feasible but its just not likely.
Dell will likely produce a phone that's a less expensive yet acceptable and perfectly usable and licensed OS from MS or Google
infact they goal for the whole of 2008 was 1% market-share
they believe in giving the best user experience
which can only be done with a closed system
if Apple really want's high marketshare they'd sell a
basic IPOD phone for a low price, but they don't
Thanks for sharing.
Eludium-Q36 You have obviously never used an Apple product. I hope the Apple ignores the traditional market share "someone will win" idiocy and continues to focus on creating the finest user experience out there. Your computer interaction today, even under Windoze or Linux/Unix could be labeled "interface by Apple" ( OK Windoze would be "interfase by Applle") but you get the picture.
If you don't need to pay for a product that's part of your daily routine, you're not going to value it. If someone offered me free gasoline for life, I'd jump on it in a New York minute. But only because I've been paying for that product for my entire adult life. Offer me a new product that is not considered mainstream at no cost, what is incentive to dive into a potentially tough learning curve that few, if any, of my peers can help with when things go wrong?
I think Linux is a very good thing and that open source software represents one among the best things in a free market society. But, sometimes, you need sleep with the enemy in order to succeed. The business model sucks, and their user base is never going to grow in any significant way until they decide to compete. It's neuroscience; it's both common sense and what we know from history.
Bussiness & consumer IT isn't diverging - it is converging on the smartphone - Palm & Apple don't have the capacity to mfg enough devices - it will ultimately be someone like Dell/HP/Lenovo/Asus that sells devices used by enterprise employees - who are called consumers.
PS this could be the real zzzphone
What they do is have other companies make their products, and then re-brand them.
- by miraclestone February 2, 2009 7:00 PM PST
- Dell smartphone. VMware virtualizing mobile devices.....makes you go hummmmm.
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