Carriers pass on lackluster Dell smartphones

Dell has apparently come up against some resistance in breaking back into the smartphone market. Long rumored to be developing new smartphones, Dell reportedly had some of its prototype Windows Mobile and Android-powered handsets brushed off by carriers. It seems that Dell’s smartphone devices didn’t differentiate themselves enough from the competition.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu notes that, “From our conversations with supply chain and industry sources, it appears that it ultimately came down to lack of carrier interest.”

Dell’s timing may be to blame. The Dell smartphones (which still haven’t been confirmed) are presumably being overshadowed by the success of the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) lineup. And, with Palm (NSDQ: PALM) expected to launch the all-new Palm Pre and the WebOS later this year, Dell’s chances of successfully competing the smartphone space are looking more and more dim.

For its part, Dell will be going “back to the drawing board” to create more distinguishable and unique smartphone offerings to compete with the oncoming slew of high-profile smartphones.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Dell’s smartphone moves, stay tuned!

[Via: MarketWatch]