There has been some speculation about a possible Dell-branded mobile phone, speculations that were further fueled when the company hired Motorola executive Ron Garriques earlier this year.
More recently, Mr. Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., said that the company won't be rolling out any mobile phones any time soon… And on a recent CRN interview, Mr. Dell said that "they are paying close attention to the possible range of mobile devices that will fill the space between cellphones and computers.", and that "nobody knows exactly what the right device is… it's not a 2 or 15 inch screen…”
But while Dell doesn't know exactly what the right mobile device is, and believe me it is not a 15 inch screen handset, other companies do know, and are attempting to define the industry. That is the reason Dell will never make it in this space. First, unfortunately for Dell, the company doesn't get what a mobile handset should be. This is compounded by the fact that the company will continue its wait-and-see approach to things, being a follower, instead of “leading and innovating”. Let's face it, Dell is not an innovation company, Dell doesn't invest on true R&D; Dell is a logistic/supply-chain computer company. And to survive in this space, innovation, and owning the innovation is of great importance. Lastly, to become a successful mobile handset vendor, it requires certain kind of personality/culture… Dell company doesn't have the culture and understanding of the mobile/wireless space to make it happen any time soon. If Dell decides to get into the mobile handset space, it will be at first by reselling or OEMing other company's design, boring, and I will give them two years before pulling out, similarly to what happened with their Axim PDAs. If Dell wants to be a leader in this sapce, it must be behave as one, move forward, innovate, and it must bring in the right kind of people for the (mobile handset) job…
ceo