NEW YORK — Dell Inc. on Friday officially announced it will
enter the wireless business before the end of 2009, starting with the sale of
its new Mini 3 smart phone in China and Brazil.
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said the device, capable of
delivering third-generation, or 3G, wireless services, will be based on Google
Inc.’s Android software. More details will be released as the phone becomes
available at different carriers, Dell said.
The computer giant has long been rumored to be working on a
mobile device. It already sells laptop and netbook computers with wireless
technology built in.
“Our entry into the smart phone category is a logical
extension of Dell’s consumer product evolution over the past two years,”
said senior executive Ron Garriques, a former head of Motorola Inc.’s wireless
division. “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.”
In the case of China Mobile Ltd., Dell is building on an
existing relationship with the world’s largest wireless carrier, serving more
than 500 million subscribers. Earlier this year, Dell said it became the first
PC manufacturer to embed China Mobile’s 3G technology and services into its
netbooks.
Claro is the Brazilian carrier tapped to offer the Mini 3.
It serves more than 42 million people in Brazil as part of the network operated
by America Movil.
So-called smart phones include a variety of features and
tools beyond ordinary voice calling, such as e-mail, Internet access and
texting.
Dell began to look seriously at developing a smart phone two
years ago when it hired Garriques. Then in August, Dell showed off a small
mobile device at an event in China in a hint that it would soon enter the
market.
While smart phones are the fastest-growing part of the
mobile market, competition is fierce. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.,
Apple Inc., Palm Inc., Nokia Corp., Motorola, Samsung and LG Electronics are
among the many large handset makers jostling for market share.
The late entry by Dell puts the company at a big
disadvantage, especially in highly competitive regions such as North America
and Europe, analysts say.
“Dell has a lot of experience with hardware, but they’re
not really known for software or technologies that differentiate their products
from others,” said analyst Charles Golvin at Forrester Research.
“They haven’t given a lot of specifics, and with mobile phone, you have to
have something that makes the experience desirable to the user.”
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That might help explain why Dell is starting off in China
and Brazil — large markets with huge growth potential where established handset
makers are still trying to stake their own ground.
The company is also hedging its bets, analysts say, in case
consumers’ preferences over time shift from laptops to smaller mobile devices
for their primary means of Internet access. Laptops are more expensive, much
heavier and not very easy to use on the move.
“It’s clear that most laptops are wildly overpowered
for mobile users,” said Tero Kuittinen, senior wireless analyst at MKM
Partners. “Everybody wants to have a spectrum of devices because nobody
knows what size (of device) will really take off.”
The Mini 3 is expected to go on sale in China by late
November and in Brazil by the end of the year, Dell said. A company spokesman
said Dell has been working on the phone with China Mobile for about a year.
Dell chose Android, the software developed by Google,
because of its easy customization.
“We feel there is a lot of flexibility with
Android,” spokesman Matthew Parretta said. “Mobile operators like it
because they can easily customize the operating system in order to make it work
better with their wireless platforms.”
Android has steadily gained momentum in 2009 as more
companies adopt the software for their phones. The newest device by Motorola,
the well-received Droid, is the company’s first Android-based phone.
The Google software is attractive and easy to use and allows
phone customers to use a variety of Google services such as Gmail, Maps,
Calendar and Web browsing.
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
