The Wall Street Journal is the latest to report that Dell is about to step into the smartphone arena. According to people familiar with the matter, Dell engineers have been working on the project for at least a year.
Dell is apparently working on prototypes powered by both Google Android and Windows Mobile. On the hardware side, one model features a slide-out keypad while another lacks a physical keyboard and relies on a touchscreen interface instead.
Silicon Valley Insider reports that its own sources indicate that Dell will call its smartphone the “MePhone”. Let’s hope that this is no more than a codename. The same source reports that Dell wants to start selling on September 9, 2009 (09/09/09).
An announcement from Dell could come as early as next month at the Mobile World Congress. But I had a quick look at the Mobile World Congress exhibitor listing and Dell is not listed though. Maybe the announcement will come later. Or not at all if Dell pulls the plug on the project as it recently did on its aborted return to digital media players.
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