San Francisco - US computer giant Dell launched its first ever smartphone Friday and is targeting the product at China and Brazil. The Mini 3 is powered by Google's Android operating system and will reach Chinese and Brazilian consumers through local carriers China Mobile and Caro, respectively, Dell said.
The entry of Dell into the ultra-competitive smartphone market dominated by Apple's iPhone underscores the growing shift from desktop PC's and laptops to ever smaller internet devices.
"Our entry into the smartphone category is a logical extension of Dell's consumer product evolution over the past two years," Ron Garriques, president of the Dell Global Consumer Group, said in a statement. "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."
According to research firm iSuppli, worldwide shipments of smartphones are expected to rise to 235.6 million units in 2010, up 27.9 per cent from 184.2 million in 2009.
Dell did not reveal pricing for the new phone but said it would be available before the end of the month in China and by the end of the year in Brazil.
The Mini 3 will use OPhone, China Mobile's customized version of Google's Android operating system.
"We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform," an unnamed China Mobile representative said in Dell's press release.
China Mobile has more than 500 million customers and Claro serves more than 42 million people in Brazil as part of the America Movil network, Dell said.
But Dell hinted that its smartphone ambitions were far wider, touting its "existing agreements with other leading global telecom providers," including Vodafone in Europe, AT&T and Verizon in the US, M1 and Starhub in Singapore, and Maxis in Malaysia.
