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Dell Building Android Phone For AT&T
All four major carriers now working on Android support
Dell's been busy building an Android-powered phone for AT&T, according to a report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal (also see CNET report). The news comes just as Verizon and Google announced they'll also be bringing several Andoid-based handsets to market. AT&T's involvement with Dell marks the fourth major carrier to be involved in bringing the Google OS driven handsets to market. According to Google, nine Android devices have been announced across 32 wireless carriers in 26 countries. According to the Journal, Dell is also in talks with T-Mobile about offering the device.
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kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL

kapil

Member

Why?

No, really. Why? They can't even make and support PCs properly...their core business.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 recommendation

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Why?

Yeah, that was my thought as well.

I can't think of a LESS sexy idea than a phone by DELL, whose PCs I still have nightmares about after supporting them in an Manhattan law firm in the 90's. But to each their own.

fifty nine
join:2002-09-25
Sussex, NJ

fifty nine to kapil

Member

to kapil
said by kapil:

No, really. Why? They can't even make and support PCs properly...their core business.
I have a dell PC going on almost 10 years now.

Their laptops weren't all that hot, but their desktops are pretty solid, for PC desktops anyway.

The new studio line of laptops aren't so bad either.

Remember that Dell had the dell Axim PDA which really wasn't that bad.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

1 edit

CylonRed to kapil

MVM

to kapil
I have not had any real issues with our one Dell laptop and the laptops for the last 2 IT jobs I have worked at. I used to support a number of Dell systems for my previous job - other than age - no real issues.

I do recommend to folks they order from the business arm - even if for personal use...

Smith6612
MVM
join:2008-02-01
North Tonawanda, NY
·Charter
Ubee EU2251
Ubiquiti UAP-IW-HD
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-AC-HD

4 edits

Smith6612 to kapil

MVM

to kapil
The only thing I really have against Dells these days are the fact that many of their cases are quite restrictive about how you can upgrade them (many of the Dells I see these days with a Core 2 Duo or better are BTX form factor). But I guess that's how the cases are for many PCs these days. Also, a big beef I had with Dell in the past was the fact that they pushed their "cheap" PCs with slow hardware heavily. I deal with those 6 year old 1.8Ghz-1.6Ghz Pentium 4 PCs with Intel/GeForce 2 graphics on a regular basis, and let me just say that my retired gaming PC which is just as old as these Dells that I look at beats the snot out of these Dells as I get quite irritated waiting for those boxes to boot or perform scans. The thing only cost me half the price of the dells as well to build. Now a days with desktops, I build my own boxes. I've been building them for years.

FYI I have a refurbished Dell laptop that is running on its 11th year now. The thing has taken quite a beating and been through a lot and it still runs. It's getting replaced though as it's hit the end of it's working life so to speak. Of course, the build quality of laptops back in the day were pretty nice, even if the build was a bit more bulky than today's laptops.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed

MVM

Re: Why?

Well - those desktop are made for the casual user - they are fine for what their intended use is- they were not designed to be gaming machines or perform on par with a gaming machine.

That is why the machines are inexpensive.

Smith6612
MVM
join:2008-02-01
North Tonawanda, NY
·Charter
Ubee EU2251
Ubiquiti UAP-IW-HD
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-AC-HD

2 edits

Smith6612

MVM

Re: Why?

Oh even then, take note of the fact that I mentioned my box cost half/three quarters of the price of those Dells at the time to build factoring in shipping. The thing only had a Celeron processor in it with a GeForce 4MX, budget MSI Motherboard that supports Overclocking and other changes, and 256MB of RAM. Also had an 80GB Maxtor hard drive. Sure, the specs are nicer on the video card and the CPU is higher clock (despite the very small cache and lower FSB), but the way it paid out was pretty nice.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed

MVM

Re: Why?

But then you have less overhead and likely did not supply everything new including OS and very possibly other software suites.

I build my own as well - not replacing 1/2 to 3/4th of the hardware for a rebuild makes it a lot cheaper but also makes it a cars to ant comparison with a OEM build.

joako
Premium Member
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null

joako to kapil

Premium Member

to kapil
I wonder the same thing... but for other reasons? Who is going to ODM this product? I doubt Dell. And why didn't AT&T partner with HTC?

fcisler
Premium Member
join:2004-06-14
Riverhead, NY

fcisler

Premium Member

If your bashing them....

....then you haven't used them lately.

My dell laptop is great as are the new PC's in the building. I understand some SMBs are having issues with them but I rarely ever have ANY issues with my Dell hardware.

As far as a phone? Ehhh...I had a Axim...don't know if I want to go there again...
itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Carlisle, PA

1 recommendation

itguy05

Member

Dell Sux

Plain and simple. Their stuff is garbage, desktops and laptops. Always has been, always will be. And, yes, I work in IT and have seen them all.

Our company switched to Dell and I'm holding on to my rock solid HP until they pry it from my cold dead hands. The Dells (business class) are junk.

And I laugh at their Adamo or Studio lines. More expensive than a Mac, less style, and made like junk. It's like Wal-Mart trying to sell Caviar......

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

1 recommendation

AVD

Premium Member

Re: Dell Sux

said by itguy05:

More expensive than a Mac, less style, and made like junk. It's like Wal-Mart trying to sell Caviar......
»www.walmart.com/catalog/ ··· =1114391
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to itguy05

Member

to itguy05
I use Dell at the company i work for- hhgregg. the machines SUCK! they're only a year or two old, they can't even run Word or Explorer without freezing or needing to reboot. Forget running our POS software on them. once that's open the machine won't do a thing until it's rebooted. even AFTER the POS software is closed completely.

I wish they'd give us HP's.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Better than G1?

I hope SOMEBODY makes an AT&T android phone. I love my unlocked G1 on AT&T, but I would like the option to upgrade to a better device.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

Re: Better than G1?

T-mobile network sux.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: Better than G1?

Your reading comprehension sux. I have an UNLOCKED G1 running on AT&Ts network.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

AVD

Premium Member

Re: Better than G1?

said by PolarBear03:

Your reading comprehension sux. I have an UNLOCKED G1 running on AT&Ts network.
I was making a general comment.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: Better than G1?

said by AVD:

said by PolarBear03:

Your reading comprehension sux. I have an UNLOCKED G1 running on AT&Ts network.
I was making a general comment.
Generally off-topic and irrelevant. Nobody said anything about T-mobile.

AVD
Respice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ

1 recommendation

AVD

Premium Member

Re: Better than G1?

said by PolarBear03:
said by AVD:
said by PolarBear03:

Your reading comprehension sux. I have an UNLOCKED G1 running on AT&Ts network.
I was making a general comment.
Generally off-topic and irrelevant. Nobody said anything about T-mobile.
If you have a problem with my post, use the hey-mod button.

I was trying to say that if I had a G1 I would switch it to ATT (based on personal experience) although I understand that ATT isn't the best either.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

And another thing

For those that think Dell wouldn't be able to make a decent android device, do you think they could possibly be any worse than HTC? HTC is infamous for putting too little memory and too slow of processors in their smartphones. Their hardware isn't very reliable either, from my experiences and from those of friends.

Yes I love my G1 (because of the OS, not the phone hardware), but I still have little faith that it will last a whole year.

I quit using my T-mo Dash (HTC Excalibur) because after 10 months, the GSM radio would constantly cycle on and off and there was nothing I could do to fix it. Reloaded WinMo 6, tried 6.1, still no fix.

Jim Gurd
Premium Member
join:2000-07-08
Livonia, MI

1 edit

Jim Gurd

Premium Member

Re: And another thing

said by PolarBear03:

For those that think Dell wouldn't be able to make a decent android device, do you think they could possibly be any worse than HTC? HTC is infamous for putting too little memory and too slow of processors in their smartphones.
Boy you just hit a hot button with me. I bought the HTC Fuze because it got good reviews. I figured it would be a good iPhone alternative.

I HATE THE THING!! It's slower than molasses in January. Pressing the answer button will result in a 2 second wait before it recognizes you have pressed it. The UI is poor also. The only advantage it has over my old phone is a real QWERTY keyboard.

I wasted $250 on it.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: And another thing

My point exactly. Android runs pretty good on my G1, but as much as I liked WinMo, my Dash was a low piece of shit (that failed after 10 months).
bngdup
join:2007-02-20
Old Bridge, NJ

1 recommendation

bngdup

Member

Cue the Support Calls!

So now Dell can expand from making Desktops with boring specs and low RAM to Mobile phones with boring specs and low RAM.

"Hey why does your app suck and run slow?"

"What Mobile phone are you using?"

"Dell XXXXX"

"Thats why"

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0

Premium Member

Re: Cue the Support Calls!

Precisely. these are the same people that tried to sell desktops when XP launched with 64MB of RAM (and later, Vista with 256MB of RAM) with a straight face and an inflated price tag.

You really think they'll be any different at all with a phone? don't think so.

bostonkarl
@mda.mil

bostonkarl

Anon

Hmmm

I suppose it will be solde in a lovely shade of biege.

clickwir
join:2001-06-21
Dickson City, PA

clickwir

Member

android for sprint?

quote:
According to Google, nine Android devices have been announced across 32 wireless carriers in 26 countries.
hey google. I'm happy for you and all... but I still have a total of ZERO choices on Sprint. 32 carriers? 26 countries? sounds great... somewhere else.

How about me? I'm right here in the US. 2 hours from New York City and other than T-Moble, I've got jack shit.

Sure, promises of things "in the works" or "coming soon" are nice but that doesn't put a phone in my hand.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: android for sprint?

It comes out next week:

»www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/10 ··· dex.html

joako
Premium Member
join:2000-09-07
/dev/null

joako to clickwir

Premium Member

to clickwir
Google has nothing to do with it. Would you complain to Microsoft because Best Buy and Acer aren't selling Win7 machines immediately after launch?

Link8
join:2001-12-16
Davis, CA

Link8

Member

Re: android for sprint?

Ew. So what can't you get on AT&T? Too bad they missed getting exclusivity on the pre and android phones, I would've loved to see the antitrust lawsuit!