Dell "developing Android gadget"

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 30 Jun 2009 at 07:52

Dell is reportedly developing a mobile device based on Google's Android operating system.

The Wall Street Journal cites two sources who claim to have been shown the device.

They claim the touchscreen gadget is slightly larger than an iPhone, but that it doesn't have any mobile phone capabilities.

The device would seem to fall neatly into Intel's definition of a mobile internet device (MID) - a halfway house between a smartphone and a tablet PC - although the Journal suggests that Dell's gadget will be powered by an ARM processor, rather than Intel's Atom.

It's not the first time Dell has considered branching out into multimedia hardware. Last year the company came close to launching its own MP3 player, before ditching the plans shortly before Christmas.

The company nevertheless ploughed ahead with the launch of its own music download store, suggesting that it hasn't entirely given up on the idea of launching its own multimedia players.

In May this year, Dell appointed Ain McKendrick as its senior director of mobile internet devices. McKendrick was formerly the senior director of Dell acquisition Zing, which was responsible for designing the software for various media players.