So Where’s Dell’s Mobile Phone?

Eric Savitz on Dell’s long-rumored but nowhere-to-be-seen mobile phone:

Shaw Wu, an analyst at Kaufman Bros., asserts in a research note today that the company’s first attempt was basically rejected by the carriers as too, well, Dell-like.

He asserts that Dell showed a prototype to the carriers, but that they weren’t all that impressed. “From our conversation with supply chain and industry sources, it appears that it ultimately came down to lack of carrier interest and small subsidies, making it difficult for Dell to make a profit,” he writes.

Take it with a grain of salt, though — considering that Shaw Wu is nearly always wrong about Apple (see here, for example), I see no reason to think he’s any better-sourced about Dell. But the fact remains that mobile phones are big business right now, and Dell isn’t in the game.

★ Monday, 23 March 2009