Dell, the computer and services company which recently announced it will acquire Perot Systems, is also getting into the smartphone market – but using Google’s, not Microsoft’s, software.
The company is understood to be preparing to launch the phone next year on AT&T’s network, which already carries the Apple iPhone.
It will be launching into an increasingly crowded market, presently dominated by Apple and RIM, which makes the BlackBerry. However Google’s Android platform, launched only last year, is making inroads, partly because it carries no licensing costs and can be tweaked by phone makers as they wish.
But the decision to go with Android is a blow to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, which has just received a substantial revamp that the company had hoped would boost its fortunes in the smartphone market.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Dell plans to introduce a U.S. version of its “oPhone” for China – which runs on Android – and that the device had been certified by AT&T for its domestic network.
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news on Wednesday, cited people briefed on the matter as saying Dell’s phone could be launched as soon as early 2010.
Worldwide factory shipments of smart phones are expected to rise from 184.2m in 2009 to 235.6m units in 2010, up 27.9%, according to the analysis company iSuppli. That compares to 12.3% decline projected for mobile phones overall in 2009.
But analysts warn that the world’s No. 2 PC maker would face a tough challenge in a market already crowded with competition. On Wednesday, South Korea’s Samsung said it would also begin selling an Android phone through Sprint Nextel’s network.
Others including Taiwanese rivals Acer and Asustek Computer are moving into smartphones, which tend to offer higher margins than PCs.
Dell spokesman Andrew Bowins declined comment on the AT&T tie-up but told Reuters: “We are deeply engaged with our operator partners around the world to deliver mobile broadband enabled computing devices.”
He added: “We haven’t announced anything around voice or Android although we continue to explore opportunities in those areas with operators around the world.”
Google declined comment, as did AT&T. But a spokesman for the telecoms giant, Michael Coe, said: “We expect to sell Android phones in the future.”
Dell has been coy about its plans, although such a move has been rumored ever since it hired Ron Garriques from Motorola in 2007 to lead its consumer products division. The American chip designer Marvell Technology had developed the “oPhone” platform for mobile phone makers who wanted to make smartphones without investing the associated research and development costs. Dell was one of the first companies to sign up to make them.
Marvell subsequently came up with a mobile device for China Mobile Ltd – a large, touchscreen phone.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people briefed on the matter, reported that Dell’s Android phone for AT&T would also come with a touchscreen and a camera. “They’ve been working on a phone for awhile,” said Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu. “But it’s going to be really hard for them to differentiate from what’s already on the market.”
Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said a partnership between Dell and AT&T would make sense given the flurry of announcements around Android smartphones. “It’s pretty natural that these other guys are going to jump on the Android bandwagon… From AT&T’s perspective, it’s a gap that they’re looking to fill. Get an Android phone, get one that’s different than the one everybody else is offering.”
But Golvin cautioned that Dell does not have a strong track record moving into areas where it has little experience. Other analysts noted that Android was generating plenty of momentum.
“The goal here of Google is to make the Android operating system a real alternative to that of Apple, Research In Motion’s Blackberry and Palm,” said C.L. King and Associates analyst Lawrence Harris.
Google is gaining some traction with its fledgling software. On Tuesday, it said it was partnering with Verizon Wireless to co-develop multiple phones based on Android. They plan to bring two phones to market this year. Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc.
Other Android phones include Motorola’s recently announced Cliq, and HTC’s Hero, slated for U.S. release next week.
By Charles Arthur
[via guardian.co.uk]
