Rumors of Google and Dell iPhone Rival

An anonymous reader writes "Speculation is mounting that Google is plotting the launch of a mobile phone in partnership with computer giant Dell. Senior industry sources claim the two companies will reveal their plans at next month's 3GSM telecoms conference in Barcelona, although Google insiders deny an announcement is due in the near future."

Hmm

[moogied (1175879)]

I don't see this happening honestly. Google tends to buy out a company instead of partnership with it. especially after the wi-max fiasco I would see them perhaps buying a smaller smartphone vendor(openmoko comes to mind) and using that.

Re:Hmm

[Aphrika (756248)]

You might want to sit back and have a look at this [dell.com]

Yup, Dell hardware powers Google's search appliances (a PowerEdge 2950 to be exact wit ha funky yellow bezel), Google software comes on all Dells. While that's not big deal, there's even a Dell/Google Portal [google.co.uk]. Basically, they already have a partnership.

Given that the last sentence of the linked story is incorrect - Dell currently does not manufacture its own range of handhelds - there's a good chance that there may be some flames accompanying this smoke, for the simple reason that Google aren't a hardware company. They play the tech market more like MS in that they supply software and services, but partner to build devices.

citations please ..

[rs232 (849320)]

"Google tends to buy out a company instead of partnership with it. especially after the wi-max fiasco"

Do you have any sources for how many companies Google bought out as compared to those they signed a partnership agreement? What WiMax fiasco are you refering to?

Competition is GOOD

[StCredZero (169093)]

Competition is Good. We're just at the beginning. (And just catching up to the Japanese!)

Re:

[Divebus (860563)]

Computer Giant Dell? Apple's market cap is almost 3X Dell's.

Anyway, Dell makes things out of hardware they find laying around in China but they don't really innovate anything. Besides, Google's CEO sits on Apple's Board. I don't see Doogell Phone happening, but ready to be surprised.

Re:

[justinlindh (1016121)]

(And just catching up to the Japanese!)

I always hear this, but I've never actually heard how their cell phones and service are superior. I'm not denying that they are, but can you tell me why?

Re:

[peragrin (659227)]

read up a few posts. The guy was eating in Tokyo and they hooked up a 3g cell phone to a laptop and had a wireless video conference call at the dinner table.

In europe desipte having massive roaming charges everyone uses GSM phones. you can take your phone anywhere, swap out your normal SIM card and put in a local prepaid one and continue on.

Cell phones in the USA is a joke compared to both of those regions.

Re:Competition is GOOD

[AKAImBatman (238306)]

In europe desipte having massive roaming charges everyone uses GSM phones. you can take your phone anywhere, swap out your normal SIM card and put in a local prepaid one and continue on.

Ummm... wtf? We do the exact same thing here in the US. For example, when my wife needed a replacement Razr (something blew internally), I saved the SIM card and stuck it in an old Nokia we had lying around. My wife continued to use the Nokia until her new Razr arrived. I popped the SIM card in the replacement phone, and she was up and running again.

I made sure to store her phone #s to the SIM card as well, so that she would have them on the other two handsets. I backed the other data up using a USB mini cable, which I was then able to plunk into the new Razr when she got it.

We may be lagging with Japan, but I really don't understand your comparison with Europe.

Re:

[Yvanhoe (564877)]

Three month ago, I was dining in Tokyo with some geeks. The iPhone was pretty popular, but what really got me was that he connected it to his laptop, and opened the 3G access. He told me he got 3 Mbps of symmetrical bandwidth. Unlimited access, for about 30 euros per month. We joined a video chat and put the laptop at the end of the table. It was like we were dining with people miles from there.

Re:

[Albanach (527650)]

The iPhone was pretty popular, but what really got me was that he connected it to his laptop, and opened the 3G access.

Am I misreading or are you saying your geek friend was getting a 3Mbps connection via a 3G iPhone?

That would certainly have amazed me too, given the iPhone doesn't have 3G capability. I guess he could have used the iPod to get a 3Mbps WiFi connection then passed that to the laptop via Bluetooth.

Re:

[dfghjk (711126)]

Except that bluetooth can't go 3Mbps and if WiFi were available to his "iPod" then his laptop could have used that directly.

This is all a bunch of nonsense.

Re:Competition is GOOD

[prockcore (543967)]

You're lying on so many levels. Let us count the ways:

1. iPhone is not available in Japan because it doesn't support wCDMA/EVDO
2. iPhone can't be tethered.
3. iPhone doesn't have 3G.
4. Japan's fastest network maxes out at 2.4Mbs (and is not symmetric: 2.4 down, 144kbps up)
5. Japan doesn't use euros.

Competition at last?

[pwnies (1034518)]

Despite this most likely happening right after duke nukem forever comes out, if it does happen, it'll be a great thing to have. Right now Apple needs a rival. If they sit at the top alone with the iPhone, it won't have any incentive to get better. Google is just the company to give them this competition, and Dell's equally enormous resources will surely fuel the hardware side of the development.

Dell will lose even more money

[mveloso (325617)]

Remember the Dell DJ?

Dell is good at selling commodity products to businesses and value consumers. When they try and move up the food chain, they don't do so well, the Alienware acquisition notwithstanding.

Re:

[steveo777 (183629)]

Your lack of replies only serves to reinforce your argument. I remember scoffing at the DJ's and the DJ ditty.

Re:

[superflippy (442879)]

Dell is good at selling commodity products to businesses and value consumers.

Not even that. In my university research group we stopped buying Dells because the brand-new machines consistently arrived with so many defects (e.g. drives installed improperly) and were just difficult to work with. For example, we bought two high-end workstations that within weeks of each other. After a while we decided to move the extra memory from one to the other and discovered we couldn't because even though they were exactl

Re:

[jaseuk (217780)]

Dell's PDAs were as good as any other Windows CE / PocketPC PDA. The whole market was full of similar devices with almost identical features, the reason that dell pulled out of this market was competition from Windows Smartphone, Dell couldn't really compete with subsidised handsets from the cell-phone operators.

Because the DJ was such a success...

[Overzeetop (214511)]

...and the Axim is the top currently selling pda from Dell.

Half baked and abandoned hardware - yeah, that's what I really want in a device.

Sorry, but there has got to be a better hardware vendor to choose than Dell for such a venture. Dell consumer is about high turnover and commodity parts that can be changed with the wind when prices fluctuate - not what I want in a phone builder. Doesn't Nokia or Moto want a piece of this kind of action?

Re:

[Aphrika (756248)]

Ok, granted the Dell DJ (and Ditty thingy) were just "me too" devices - off the shelf devices with a Dell logo stuck on them. Not the way to go.

However, I have to take contention with the Axim - it was a damn good PDA and most certainly not half-baked. It always came high up in Microsoft Mobile device reviews and was early to have a VGA screen, Wifi, BlueTooth and GPS. While the range was canned, I'm not so sure it was just Dell doing this at the time - the market for PDAs shrunk massively since smartphone

Re:

[Bandman (86149)]

There IS a better hardware vendor, but in this battle, Apple is already taken

better hardware vender ...

[rs232 (849320)]

"there has got to be a better hardware vendor to choose than Dell .. - not what I want in a phone builder"

Does Dell get its chips and hardware assembled in different Chinese factories than Nokia or Moto, if not then your whole point is void. A big plus for such a deal would be Dells consumer and distribution channels .. :)

They can call it..

[UWM (1162951)]

The Googell

Names

[Archangel Michael (180766)]

The obvious choice would be gPhone or maybe even dPhone, but I have an even better suggestion ...

the GD-ItPhone, which might be the expletive used by the early buyers ....

On a more serious note, they'd better out do iPhone 2.0 and come in under the current iPhone pricing.

Just my 2 copper coins of the realm.

Thing's that you're l'ble to read in the bible...

[Simon Brooke (45012)]

Ain't necessarily so.

Specifically, Google has put a lot of weight behind Android [google.com]. If Google sells an 'own brand' phone - even if it's a Google/Dell own brand phone - then that kills all other Android phones stone dead, because none of the other serious mobile phone vendors will want to be using a competitor's OS. So Google, who aren't stupid, are not going to do this.

This rumour is one of two things:

• Dell are bringing out an Android phone.
• Someone is maliciously starting a rumour in an attempt to damage Android
• And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.

Android can be multi-vendor

[EmbeddedJanitor (597831)]

Look at how MS gets sack time with multiple big name vendors using Windows CE. There are many companies out there with Windows CE devices, so why not multiple Android-based systems too?

Most of the Windows phones look so similar that they are primarily Windows phones with MS-brand images being larger than the manufacturers logos etc(Ooh look! A Windows phone, I wonder who makes it). The MS/Windows brand is the strongest brand on these devices.

The first one or two Android phones will get a lot of reflected Googleshine, just like the launch of the first few MS phones.

devices that aren't limited, good voice & bw

[us7892 (655683)]

Maybe in a couple years I can choose from several great phones, that aren't limited by the carriers, that I can use any way I wish, with any applications, with great voice quality and great bandwidth, for only $15 per month...Is that even possible? I hope so. Probably just wishful thinking.

dell isn't a technology company

[feldsteins (313201)]

I think Google should partner with a technology company to provide the hardware instead of Dell. Dell has no R&D to speak of. They take off-the-shelf parts, brand them and sell a warranty. This partnership is on a fast train to also-ran city.

Re:

[William-Ely (875237)]

I used to refer to Dell as the Intel factory outlet. Basically a company dedicated to showing off what Intel parts can do in concert with each other. A lot of my customers are surprised when I tell them that most computer manufacturers like Dell and HP use similar components to what you can buy yourself and wrap it up in a case with their logo on it that was also made by another company. Google is much better off talking to the ODM's directly instead of using Dell as a middle man. In fact I think it would

But... but...

[tholomyes (610627)]

{sarcasm}
But Apple only makes niche market products! The real threat is clearly Windows Mobile...
{/sarcasm}

whatcouldpossiblygowrong? not much.

[algae (2196)]

Seriously people, this tag is getting massively overused. Dell making a cell phone is not the same thing as, say, implanting neural tissue from a pig into paralyzed children or building robots with machine guns. The worst thing that could go wrong here is that Dell might make a shitty phone and lose money. BFD.

Anyone else who's sick of whatcouldpossiblygowrong abuse, please go ahead and put in a !whatcouldpossiblygowrong into the tags box.

Great!

[Bootarn (970788)]

Google's Android is a great framework, but it has yet to gain substance by being embedded in real hardware. If Google and Dell put their heads together, we might have a complete product. It will probably never outgrow the iPhone in popularity, but I think it will become a success.
Also, because Android is an open framework, we should expect a great number of third-party applications, something that the iPhone currently lacks.

whatcouldpossiblygowrong

[Itchyeyes (908311)]

Kind of OT, but could we please stop tagging articles with "whatcouldpossiblygowrong"? Aside from the fact that is stopped being funny after the 2nd or 3rd time, it kind of negates the purpose of having a tag if every single article gets the same tag.

And what could make it even better?

[Rooked_One (591287)]

adding a projector into the phone...

as described by Microvision's statement that they are in talks with a major company [microvision.com]. Could you imagine a phone with a projector? I sure could... and I want one.

In other news...

[Curmudgeonlyoldbloke (850482)]

"Marketing Week" decides to drive more people to it's site by including the word "iPhone" in an article title. However, they're still so far off their tits to bother to use a spellchecker, so "al-though" makes it into the published copy. Cmdrtaco hasn't woken up properly yet, so it gets copied to Slashdot too...

Seriously, "Senior industry sources" could mean anything. It probably means "some people we went down the pub with that actually work for a from a company that you've heard of".

(and no, in case yo

Im afraid of Google-phone

[peter303 (12292)]

If I search the contact-list, I might get 100,000 matches.

sorry, can't do

[Tom (822)]

When I look around on the market, there simply aren't many companies that could rival Apple when it comes to designing with the user in mind, i.e. useful, easy to use, sleak and nice, with just about the right feature set (80%, you never please everyone entirely).

Nokia, Siemens, Motorolla - they all suck in the useability department. Most of them suck hard and long.
Dell, HP, Palm - useability ok, but the feature set is never quite right
Google - interface ok, useaful, but thrives too much on hiding things (how many of your non-geek friends now even a fraction of the cool things you can do in the Google search input field?)

The only company that comes to mind as comparing to Apple in the design department is Nintendo - and I'd be more than surprised if they came out with a mobile phone ("DS+Talk" ? :-) )

Google and Dell?

[qazwart (261667)]

Nope, doesn't sound right. Google is not coming out with a gPhone jointly developed with Dell. Otherwise, they'd be competing against their own customers.

What might be happening is that Dell is designing a phone based upon Android (like many other hardware vendors will be doing). Google may be giving them some technical assistance since --if the reports are true-- Dell would be one of the first vendors actually building a phone based upon Android.

It's like saying my company and Microsoft are jointly developing a new project because I'm using VisualStudio, and I have a support contract with Microsoft.

Now, whether the new Dell phone will fly is another question since all hardware manufacturers still need to have tie-ins with some cellphone service provider. If Dell is creating such a phone, we can count Verizon out as a possible cellphone service provider since they refuse to have anything to do with Android.

Wonder how the 700Mhz auctions are going...

Re:

[somersault (912633)]

Anyone with taste? Having said that, I have a HTC WM6 smartphone and it works pretty well because it can connect directly to our exchange server, and has a great slideout keyboard - much more useful than the touchscreen only iPhone (though my HTC device has a touchscreen too of course, makes navigating menus and such far quicker, and should I ever need Remote Desktop on the go then the option is there)

Re:but does it run linux?

[msuarezalvarez (667058)]

Anyone with taste?

Anyone with taste will tell you that experience shows that being tasteful is almost detrimental to the success of anything...

Re:

[somersault (912633)]

Have you heard of these iPod thingies? You know, the ones that cost more than equivalently specced devices, but just look a bit nicer? The ones that millions of people seem to think are worth it? I certainly don't think they're worth the money, but a lot of people do. Same goes for nice looking cars, etc.

Re:but does it run linux?

[Albanach (527650)]

I think the iPod's success is more to do with the user interface than the form factor.

It doesn't look that different to other mp3 players, but the incredibly simple and intuitive interface made it accessible to millions of folk who would not have put up with the UIs of other portable media devices.

Re:but does it run linux?

[lymond01 (314120)]

From the grandparent comment: It's not a Mac vs Linux thing -- as the poster above states, there are very successful Windows Mobile phones that are doing a much better job at business applications than iPhone. Blackberry and Palm are sort of run-of-the-mill these days and don't offer much more than a normal Internet-ready phone. Exchange integration is the big thing -- everyone wants their calendar anywhere, even if they don't have Internet access.

One thing I'd really like on the iPhone is a grdesktop client and ssh client. Exchange integration will make the iPhone widely accepted by businesses running Exchange, but IT guys need their tools too.

Re:but does it run linux?

[AmaDaden (794446)]

I think most of us would have. Linux has always been gaining ground and improving. While Mac has made a massive comeback by making some real solid tech. MS on the other hand has just sat around making lock out tech and trying to convince everyone that anything MS did not start is a dangerous piece of hippy technology. Saying someone else sucks only works for so long before people start asking questions.

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[Berkyjay (1225604)]

Does that mean we will stop seeing those annoying Mac commercials soon?

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[C0vardeAn0nim0 (232451)]

"anything-that-plays-music" is a competitor to the ipod the same way beer is a competitor to wine. you can argue they're diferent classes of beverage, but it doesn't change the fact they're competitors.

just because apple's marketing is way more efficient at creating hype, doesn't change the fact that the iphone has _hundreds_ of competitors that apeal to the "i just want a phone that makes calls" crowd, and bunch of competition on the smartphone area.

one guy here at the office offered me an iphone he brough

Re:

[Khuffie (818093)]

does everything the iphone does plus more

No wifi and lack of sufficient internal storage, yet you can claim that? It's a competitor, but it doesn't do everything the iPhone does.

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[Actually, I do RTFA (1058596)]

Whatever this thing turns out to be, you can bet your monkey it won't be as pretty as the iPhone... Much the same way anything-that-plays-music is not an iPod competitor

I personally buy electronic gadgets first for the functionality. The form is a nice add-on but hardly the killer feature.

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[nuggetman (242645)]

I personally buy electronic gadgets first for the functionality. The form is a nice add-on but hardly the killer feature.

The form is essential to the functionality

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[jellomizer (103300)]

I use to think like that but times has changed for me. Style is more important then features for the most part. There is the need to have Features, style then nice to have features. The more features you have the more features that you really don't use, you may think you will use them but in actually you normally use only 20% of the features that are available 80% of the time. Style is important because it grabs other attentions, not features, and that in a lot of ways is a good thing. It incrases your p

Re:

[JeromeTheMetronome (1157701)]

In other news Google becomes the first company to outsource "evil", a commodity assumed only available in the US and parts of China.