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Nov. 16, 2009

After more than six months of anticipation, Dell has finally made its entrance into the smartphone market, naming China Mobile and Claro in Brazil as the first two wireless operators to sell its new Dell Mini 3 smartphone.

Dell's new smartphone was actually introduced almost three months ago, but this is the first mention of two major wireless carriers that partner with Dell.

The company has an existing relationship with China Mobile. In February, Dell embedded China Mobile's 3G technology and services into its netbooks.

The initial Mini 3 smartphones are designed around a variation of the Android platform, which Dell says offers flexibility and customization opportunities for both users and mobile carriers.

Dell said details of the new phone models will be announced on a partner-by-partner basis when the wireless devices are available in stores, which is anticipated in late November for China Mobile and in mid-December for Claro.

By launching in Brazil and China first, Dell clearly has its eye on developing markets. In Brazil, the new Mini 3 should debut by the end of the year. Claro has about 42 million subscribers.

Entering the highly competitive smartphone market will be an uphill battle for Dell, said Pete Cunningham, senior analyst at market research company Canalys. PC vendors like Toshiba and Acer have already found it difficult to succeed, he said.

The exception is Apple, which made entering the smartphone market look easy. But Apple is unique and Cunningham doesn't think another company can copy its huge success.

The Mini 3 runs on Android, Google's open source mobile operating system. Dell's new smartphone shows it's possible for new vendors to develop devices based on the operating system, Cunningham said.

But wireless operators and mobile users increasingly prefer smartphones from vendors they're familiar with, said Francisco Jeronimo, research manager for European Mobile Devices.

In Western Europe for instance, about 92.1 percent of all smartphones sold during the first half of this year came from Apple, HTC, Nokia and Research In Motion, compared to less than 83.2 percent during the same period last year.

Three weeks ago, TechPulse 360 reported that Dell CEO and founder Michael Dell had confirmed an Android smartphone for the U.S. market in the near future.

Well now it's official.

Will it soon be HP's turn to come up with a smartphone as well? Time will tell, and we will keep you posted.

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Source: Dell.