Dell Confirms They Are Entering The SmartPhone Business

Dell once again has confirmed rumors that they will being making a foray into the smartphone business with the announcement of their new Dell Mini 3 smartphone.Their initial roll out will first begin in China and Brazil through partnerships with two of the world’s largest mobile operators: China Mobile and Claro.



Many of the details, including whether or not they'll be adding more countries to the list or if we can expect a Dell smartphone here in the states anytime soon have yet to be announced. It seems like a certainty considering the reports that Dell has already submitted the Dell Mini 3iX to the FCC for approval with AT&T, and Dell has already leaked plans both to The Wall Street Journal and to TechPulse 360.

About all we know at this time is that the new Dell Mini 3 smartphones run Google’s Android platform. According to previously leaked specs this is what we can expect of the Mini 3

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE class 12
• Size: 68.6cc
• 103g grams weight
• Dimensions: 58 x 122 x 11.7mm
• Display: 3.5″ nHD 640×360 LCD, 18-bit, 262K colors
• OTA capable
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Google, AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM support
• 3 megapixel auto-focus, flash, 8x digital zoom camera with 30fps video shooting mode, built in photo editor
• USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
• A-GPS
• On-screen QWERTY keyboard, hardwriting recognition, multi touch UI
• MicroSD slot

The Mini 3 is expected to go on sale in China by late November and in Brazil by the end of the year, Dell said. A company spokesman said Dell has been working on the phone with China Mobile for about a year.

Update - More details from Dell's official press release