Dell Closer To Selling Mini Smartphone In US

Dell Inc. (DELL) may be moving closer to entering the U.S. smartphone market, according to recent regulatory filings.

Phones are a new area for the Round Rock, Texas, personal-computer giant, which last week announced it would sell smartphones--essentially mini-computers that browse the Internet and allow email access--in China and Brazil. Dell said its phones are based on software called Android that is developed by Google Inc. (GOOG).

Earlier this year, Dell sought permission from the Federal Communications Commission to sell its Mini 3iX smartphone in the U.S., according to documents filed with the FCC, which approved the application on Nov. 6.

The FCC should unveil more details of Dell's product specifications on April 21, according to the documents. That suggests the smartphone could hit shelves in the U.S. sometime in the second quarter.

A Dell spokesman declined to comment.

A move by Dell into the U.S. smartphone fray would come as the company seeks to reinvent itself after years of bloated costs and shrinking PC market share. Dell, which once was the world's largest PC maker by volume, has since fallen behind competitors Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Acer Inc. (2353.TW) to the No. 3 spot. Since 2007, when founder Michael Dell rejoined as chief executive, the company has been working to streamline its operations and develop products--like colorful laptop PCs--that will better appeal to consumers.

The company reports fiscal year 2010 third-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Dell has moved slowly into the phone market. The company worked on prototype devices for more than a year leading up to its announcement last Friday that it would begin selling a device called the Mini 3 in China with partner China Mobile Ltd. (0941.HK), say people familiar with the matter. Dell is also planning to sell a phone in Brazil through a carrier controlled by Mexico's America Movil S.A.B. de C.V.(AMX, AMX.MX).

The Dell documents filed with the FCC indicate the U.S. version of the phone, which will be made by China's Foxconn Precision Electronics Co., will be compatible with AT&T Inc.'s (T) network, though they didn't specify which carrier would support the phone.

An AT&T spokesman declined to comment. But The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Dell has reached an agreement with AT&T to sell a phone in the U.S.

Dell faces a crowded U.S. smartphone market, which is dominated by Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM) BlackBerry lines. Other makers, including Motorola Inc. (MOT) and HTC Corp. (2498.TW), have beaten Dell to the market for phones based on the Android operating system.

Dell has produced several phone prototypes, say people familiar with the matter, including some with physical keyboards and others with touchscreens like Apple's iPhone. It remains unclear which versions the company will end up selling. Dell has also been developing a pocket-sized touchscreen device for browsing the Internet, people familiar with the matter said.

So far, analysts are skeptical of Dell's phone plan.

"I don't think Dell's smartphone efforts will have a material impact" on its financial performance, Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said in an email.

Dell closed down 0.06% to $15.95 Tuesday.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com

(Justin Scheck of The Wall Street Journal contributed to this article.)

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