The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Dell's readying an Android-based portable media device described as "slightly larger than Apple Inc.'s iPod Touch," which alludes to the fact that such a device would like be an MID as opposed to a full-blown cell phone.
Smart move for Dell? We'll see. The decision to use Android is a good one, I think. While you could make the argument that Dell is big enough to develop its own mobile operating system and app store, Android's already in use and has a built-in app store full of stuff to download.
Second, by not making an actual phone, Dell can skip all the headaches involved in dealing with wireless carriers and test out the waters with this device. If it's popular enough, perhaps the company could make a cellphone version later -- basically, do the reverse of what Apple did with the iPhone and iPod touch.
However, Dell's already working on Android smartphones and selling people on the idea of carrying a digital media player AND a mobile phone is getting tougher and tougher as the two converge. So why not just make this one a phone as well? That may be the case, according to "one person familiar with the effort." This is still all rumor and speculation based on a few anonymous sources, so let's take it all with a grain of salt until something more official gets released directly from Dell.
Dell Is Working On Pocket Web Gadget [WSJ.com]
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