point
The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

Dell’s 2G Smartphone Turns Down all Expectations

Eureka Bharali
Monday, September 7, 2009
Eureka Bharali
Trash the 3G buzz; 4G is making the rounds now. The computer giant Dell’s den, however, seems to be protected from all such waves. Dell’s foray into the smartphone rat race with its prototype Mini 3i crashed all expectations, as the new prototype flashed a 2G GSM, without a slot to move to 3G.

The 2G foray appears outdated at a time when companies like Motorola plan for a trial run of 4G in India. The non-3G factor also stands contradictory to the China Mobile developed Open Mobile System (OMS) platform on which the smartphone Mini 3i or Dell Benzine is based. The OMS platform is based on Android to cater to China’s 3G version TD-SCDMA phone. The TD-SCDMA was formed in China due to the country’s reluctance to be dependent on western 3G technology, which demands payment of patent fees to a large number of western patent holders.

3G apart, the multi-touch-screened smart-cell emulates iPhone’s ‘no querty key’ feature with an ambient light sensor that adjusts the backlight automatically. Launched within the great walls of China, the company does not seem to plan a worldwide launch. The company has no official statement on the price, though it is expected to be around Rs.15,000+ in India. An India launch will not serve well for the firm, where iPhone too has turned a fiasco. The company fails to produce a smartphone, which is differentiating enough compared to products from HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung. Analysts believe that the Dell smartphones have been put on hold because of lack of interest from carriers. Currently, they have turned to their drawing board for a final release with improvements.
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Share on facebook