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And here we all were, waiting for one of the major leaguers, like Motorola or Samsung to be the next big name to release an Android powered Smartphone.  But straight out of left field comes, Dell, the unexpected Round Rock, Texas company now known for their PCs and rumored to be the next in line to release an Android Smartphone.  And what greater way to enter back into the mobile industry than the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which would lay the perfect stage in introducing their new Android device.  Nevertheless, rumors bring speculation, and a Dell spokesperson has denied an existing device to debut at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.  Furthermore, Dell has no intention of even attending the expo.  Still, WSJ reports that Dell "has had a group of engineers working on the phones for more than a year from an office in the Chicago area. They produced prototypes built on Google Inc.s Android operating system and Microsoft Corp.s Windows Mobile software."   So it may be inevitable that Dell re-enter the mobile industry but maybe not with an Android device and maybe not next month in Barcelona.

 

Since last year, there’s been news about Motorola developing an Android based phone. Supposedly a team of 350 people are busy working away on the next big Android mobile OS device. The news died out earlier this year, especially when there was no showings at CES, MWC and CTIA from Motorola but the truth is that the company’s interest in Android has not waned.

If recent reports are to be believed, Motorola may even come out with multiple Android powered handsets. These 350 team members working on a customized Android OS and devices will surely result in more handsets as once a unit is developed an additional handset will be all the more easy. The company is surely planning on investing more money, time, and resources. You can imagine what a big hit this is going to be after the RAZR, if things go well for the company.

We can expect Motorola to come out with an interesting product mix what with its focused investment in both Android and Windows Mobile platforms.

Sanjay Jha specifies that more emphasis will be on Android this year. Motorola smartphones will include many devices based on Android OS. But being optimistic let’s hope Motorola pulls itself through this rough patch with Android, which Jha says, is a flexible operating environment. He adds that developers are attracted to it in droves and this will provide a differentiated user experience.

You can look forward to Windows Mobile 7 in 2010 and Motorola will focus on that then.

Some rumors are rife that Dell which has Android dreams might just try to take over Motorola’s handset division or maybe not. 

The smartphone market is getting too crowded and thats no secret. Once reigning kings Research In Motion and Palm are prepared to fight it out with new entrants, namely from the computing industry.  Laptop sales are sliding and so is Dells and Acers market share. As consumers opt for a smartphone purchase and skip over laptops, they are making it loud and clear that they want something more compact for day-to-day activity. So, what are the computer manufacturers to do but to launch a smartphone. After all, they have to continue to please their shareholders and regain market-share right? Dell hasnt dispelled rumors that it is working on a smartphone and Acer has already come up and said that a phone is in the works based on Googles mobile operating system, Android.  However, I have to wonder if this is the best move by these companies to join an already overcrowded bandwagon. BlackBerry, Palm, LG, HTC and  Samsung have been working their butts of in developing great technology and products for the mobile smartphone consumer. Competing against these giants is no small feat. Apple, the one successful example of a computer manufacturer in smartphones, has proven that it is possible for an outsider to come into this tight market and make a place for itself. With a singular device and operating system, the iPhone has propelled itself onto a level of its own. And I am sure the likes of  Dell and Acer have taken note of this. Innovation will get you everywhere when it comes to smartphones and it is not necessarily technology. Imagine, people orgasm over the iPhone even today when it lacks basic features such as cut-copy-paste and mobile MMS for images readily available on other phones. So, while it is true that the smartphone market is overcrowded, there certainly is room for anyone and everyone to join. Consumers are hungry for the next hot smartphone and the industry is still relatively young. In shaping the future of technology, which certainly will continue to be more and more mobile,  I encourage Dell and Acer to take cues from consumer behavior and come up with a whole new generation of products beyond our imagination.