Dell and China Mobile on Monday offered up more details about the Dell Mini 3i smartphone, which will be going on sale in China later this month.
The Android-based device, Dell's first smartphone, will support e-mail, instant messaging, and both MMS and SMS messaging. It will include Bluetooth and GPS capabilities and a Mini USB connector, and will accommodate Micro SD cards up to 32GB.
The quadband GSM/EDGE phone weighs 105 grams and includes a 3-megapixel camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture, and photo-editing capabilities. The touchscreen has a 640x360 resolution. Dell had already confirmed earlier this month that the Mini 3i would have a 3.5-inch high-definition screen.
Under the hood, the device is running China Mobile's OPhone software, a customized version of Google's Android operating system.
Like other Android phones, the Mini 3i will provide access to an online store, in this case, China Mobile's Mobile Market, where people can download apps, games, wallpaper, and ringtones. Users will be able to run different widgets on the home screen to keep on top of the news, weather, stock prices, and sports scores.
Dell said it has been collaborating with China Mobile for about a year on the development of the phone. The two companies teamed up earlier in the year to integrate a 3G data card for Dell's Inspiron Mini 10 netbook for the Chinese market. With more than 500 million customers, China Mobile is the world's largest mobile service provider, according to Dell.
Dell was initially mum on details when it first mentioned the Mini 3i about 10 days ago. But the company did reveal that China Mobile and Brazil's Claro would be the first global providers to carry its new smartphone.
Like China Mobile, Brazil's Claro boasts a huge subscriber base, with 42 million customers in Brazil alone. By selling the Mini 3i through both providers, Dell can potentially capture a much larger mobile audience than it could through any U.S. carriers.
Arriving in China Mobile stores by the end of November, the Mini 3i will shortly thereafter be sold directly from Dell. For those interested in color schemes, the Mini 3i will be available in Red Passion and Oiled Bronze--the image below shows the Red Passion treatment:
Dell Mini 3i smartphone
(Credit: Dell/China Mobile)China Mobile introduced a new mobile platform Monday, and one of the presenting partners on hand has raised a few eyebrows.
Details of a Dell phone, reportedly called the Mini 3i, began to circulate on the Web almost immediately after being presented at the event, but Dell says it has not yet announced any smartphone for the China market.
A prototype of a Dell smartphone seen at a China Mobile event.
(Credit: Mobile.163.com)"Dell was there supporting China Mobile as a development partner. We did not confirm or announce anything," said Dell spokesman Matt Parretta.
There was, however, a "proof of concept mobile device prototype" shown off at the event, Parretta said. That explains the photos, which depict a black, candybar-style handset that had a touch screen and was stamped with the Dell logo on the back.
Reports from the China Mobile event, which introduced the wireless operator's Android-based Open Mobile System, or OMS, say the Mini 3i was confined to operate on a 2G GSM network--no Wi-Fi access--but had a 3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and a slot for a microSD card.
Industry observers and market analysts have been largely underwhelmed both by the idea of a Dell smartphone, and according to some who saw early prototypes, the execution of it as well.
After the Apple iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre, the most gossiped about smartphone is one that may or may not exist.
Dell, which has hinted about getting into the category for more than a year, is supposedly working on a device right now, and the image to the right is said to be a picture of the device.
A blurry photo of a phone running Android is said to be made by Dell.
(Credit: PDAFans)Engadget posted the photo Monday, and it's from a Chinese Web site called PDAFans.com. Though it's blurry, there's nothing distinguishing about the design of the handset itself besides a Dell logo, and that it appears a bit similar to the Pre. But though this is just a blurry photo posted to a Web forum, those small details seem to line up with other pieces of information that have dribbled out this year.
If it is a Dell phone, it would make sense that someone in China would be able to get their hands on it. There have been rumors that Dell is in talks with China Mobile to develop a partnership for a smartphone in the country. If a partnership were to pan out, Dell's phone could launch in China by the end of the year, according to previous reports.
Zhang Jun, an analyst at research firm Wedge MKII, said in April that in such a scenario, Dell's device would use Open Mobile System, China Mobile's operating system, which is based on Google's Android. In the photo, the phone does seem to be running Android, or some version of it.
But making the handset is just the beginning of what promises to be an uphill battle. Marketing and selling a device in a market clogged with innovative mobile computers will be a challenge for anyone new to the territory. But according to previous reports, Dell is already facing serious problems. In April, an analyst went on record saying that carriers in the U.S. and Europe "passed" on the company's smartphone because it was a "noncompelling product."
(Credit:
ZTE)
The wonderful and torturous thing about GSMA Mobile World Congress is that you get to see handsets from a number of international manufacturers that are beyond imagination but will most likely never make it Stateside.
Take ZTE for example. It may not be a recognized cell phone brand in the United States, although the company does offer a couple of its handsets through MetroPCS, including the ZTE C79 and the ZTE C88, but it happens to be one of China's largest handset manufacturers.
ZTE will, once again, make the voyage to Barcelona this year and revealed on Tuesday that it will unveil a full portfolio of smartphones at Mobile World Congress. The company said it will display 10 different designs, ranging from low end to high end, and the highlight of the show will be the VF 1231 Windows Mobile smartphone, which was developed specifically for Vodafone.
We'll be sure to stop by ZTE's booth at GSMA to get more information about the smartphones and snap some photos, so be sure to check out our full coverage when the show starts on February 16.
Once there was just a single Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. Coming soon, in Australia, is the Kogan Agora. Now reports are pointing to an emerging gadget for China, known for the moment as the "OPhone."
The Lenovo-badged "OPhone"
(Credit: ModmyGphone)The site ModmyGphone is showing off a photo of a sleek gadget that it says is a joint effort of Lenovo, the PC heavyweight, and China Mobile, the largest cell phone operator in China:
The latest bit is, the phone is looking good and ready for testing. OPhone is a codename for phones that will be based on China Mobile's OMS (Open Mobile System) which is essentially Android + TD SCDMA (China's home-grown 3G standard).
Another site, ITProPortal, says that the smartphone, with "iPhone-esque minimalist features," is expected to debut in February or March.
The phone is likely to be a strictly domestic product, the reports say. China Mobile's spin on the OS would give it the ability to commission customized phones and would give it leverage in profit-sharing discussions. The mobile operator reportedly had a falling out with Apple over whether China Mobile could make modifications to the iPhone.
China Mobile is a member of Google's Open Handset Alliance, which just gained 14 members, including Vodaphone.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
As the iPhone is expected to debut in Asia only next year, China's largest cell phone carrier is reportedly in talks with Apple to bring the much-anticipated handset to the Mainland.
During a session with reporters at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau, China Mobile's chief executive revealed that the company is engaged in talks with Apple on the iPhone, according to BusinessWeek. However, he confirmed that the two parties have not come to any agreement as there are still revenue-sharing issues to resolve.
The Apple iPhone first launched in the U.S. market earlier this year and was recently rolled out in Europe. So far, there's been no word on when exactly the device will debut in Asia come next year.
(Source: Crave Asia)
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