Dell’s rumoured entry into the smartphone market with its “MePhone” appear to have hit a bump in the road. A research note from Kaufman Bros suggests that mobile carriers have shown little interest in Dell’s prototype devices and that the company is headed back to the drawing board to come up with more exciting designs. Another factor in Dell’s decision is the small carrier subsidies (again suggesting their lack of interest) that would have made it difficult to turn a profit on these devices.
Dell might be looking at another option. For example, it could make an acquisition in the smartphone market to develop a device capable of generating the levels of interest exhibited by the Apple iPhone and the BlackBerry Storm. Could Dell be looking at Palm wand its upcoming Palm Pre?
In any case, it looks like Dell smartphone rumours will be with us for a while yet.