Carriers to Dell: Your Smartphone is too “Dell-Like”
Dell Axim
From Gizmodo: According to analyst Shaw Wu, Dell submitted two prototype smartphones for feedback from the carriers, and both were roundly rejected. Why? Well, turns out “Dell-like” is a legitimate adjective, and not necessarily a nice one.
The phones, apparently identical besides OS (one runs Windows Mobile, one Android) were accused of lacking differentiation from competing offerings from HTC, LG, Samsung, Nokia, and others. It takes a lot to get a carrier excited about a phone; Palm had to pretty much make their entire existing line obsolete to get some buzz, and the market is flooded with ho-hum WinMo devices. Dell remains undeterred, however, and is still plugging away, trying to break into the lucrative market. Wu, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers, asserts that Dell is going back to the drawing board to come up with something a little sharper.
Dell last year tapped former Motorola executive Ron Garriques to be the new president of Dell’s global consumer division, which could suggest that Dell is working on some form of a smartphone, Mawston said. Last year, Dell CEO Michael Dell said Garriques was chosen for the job partly because he had led Motorola’s PCS (personal communications services) division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Motorola’s US$28 billion handset division.
The smartphone will be an effective replacement for Dell’s previous Axim personal digital assistants that it killed last year, citing a declining market for pen-based PDAs. Dell’s Axim product portfolio was weak with not many devices on offer, Mawston said. The company needs a replacement for Axim, and the new smartphone could fill that void.
A new smartphone will also create a new revenue stream for Dell, and the company’s move away from a direct sales model could help in sales, Mawston said.
Dude, would YOU get a Dell?
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