Dell clarifies China smartphone reports
Dell has confirmed it is developing smartphones for the Chinese market. But it says a handset shown off at the weekend is a demonstration model only and it’s not confirming any details of specs or a release date.
Reports broke last week that the firm was developing a phone, running the Android system, to be launched on the China Mobile network. That followed previous reports that the firm is working on an Android handset which has internet access but doesn’t allow voice calls; no geographic market had been listed for that device.
The Chinese whispers gathered ground over the weekend when China Mobile launched Open Mobile System, a platform based on Android. Dell representatives attended the launch and pictures emerged showing a touchscreen handset with a Dell logo.
A China Mobile spokesman later said the handset will be known as the mini3i and will run applications available from an app store run by the network. Dell itself wouldn’t comment on the handset at first, simply confirming it is cooperating with China Mobile on developing devices.
Spokespersons for Dell then told PCWorld that the handset displayed at the event was simply a “proof of concept” and that “It wasn’t officially, formally introduced so much as it was waved around.” The firm specifically pointed out that it isn’t confirming any details about handset specs and features.
Dell is also keeping quiet about why it has chosen China as a debut market for its smartphone operations. The leading theory is that the rumored handset, said to be 2G-only with no wireless internet capabilities, is simply too barebones to find a network carrier in the United States.
It’s also possible that Dell is banking on the sheer size of the Chinese market meaning that even a low-spec device with a tiny profit per unit can still rake in a tidy sum. The firm could also be using the market to test handset possibilities before targeting Western markets.
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November 13th, 2009
[...] That Dell was working on a Chinese handset was a poorly kept secret. As far back as August it said the reports of the development were true but insisted a touchscreen phone bearing the Dell logo shown at the launch of a Chinese mobile operating system was purely a “proof of concept”. [...]