Dell Expanding Mobile Business

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Texas-based computer giant Dell has reorganized and added a new mobile device division to their company. This comes only after a month since Dell announced they would make phones and their early showing with the Dell Mini 3i. Dell joins other computer manufacturers Apple, Acer, Lenovo, among others, in the mobile phone space.

Dell’s new mobile phone division will be run by one Ron Garriques, a former Motorola boss who was leading Dell’s consumer computer division. When Garriques was brought to Dell (reportedly personally by Michael Dell) in 2007, it spurred rumors that Dell would reattempt something in the mobile product line.

Dell’s PDA line, Axim, was produced from 2002 to 2007, but sold poorly in the ‘BlackBerry era’ of smartphones with well designed e-mail and other business features. Dell’s Mini 3i is their first phone attempt, although it is only going to be sold (at first) in China and Brazil. Dell said that in addition to phones, Dell will also produce MIDs (mobile internet devices) and possibly a tablet.

Dell was formerly #1 in worldwide computer sales, but has slipped to #2 behind Taiwan’s Acer. Some sources report Dell has fallen even further to #3. With the worldwide recession, both home and enterprise computer sales are down, affecting the revenue of Dell.