Computer maker Dell is getting into the smartphone business with the mini3i handset for China Mobile. The phone will support applications, such as music and games, from that carrier’s online store.

The Round Rock, Texas, company has acknowledged that it is helping China Mobile to create “a more personalized World Wide Web experience,” according to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal. No other details about the mini3i’s price or features were available.

A 2G Device

Dell has been working to create a broader line of consumer products following ventures into PDAs, portable music devices, and other products. Smartphone sales grew 27 percent in the last quarter, while computer sales, except in netbooks, sagged. But the mini3i hasn’t been promoted by Dell, although it was included in an announcement by China Mobile.

While a touchscreen device, the mini3i isn’t precisely burning up the spec sheets. At a duration when many smartphones are touting support for Wi-Fi or 3G, and as 4G networks are being built and tested, the mini3i supports only 2G networks.

Dell showed some prototypes of phones earlier that week, said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, adding that the company has told news media and analysts that the mini3i is only “a proof of concept mobile-device prototype.”

Gartenberg noted that, while Dell has been working to get into the smartphone business, “it is interesting that it is pursuing the China market before the U.S.”

But, he said, it’s not surprising that Dell is underplaying that 2G device, which sports “some customized version” of the Android operating system. “It’s hard to imagine Dell or anyone else in the world wanting to bring a 2G device into the U.S. market,” he said.

450 Million Subscribers

Dell’s efforts to move into the mobile market have been highlighted by the hiring in 2007 of former Motorola executive Ron Garriques to…

[Source] dhiram