For all the rumors and speculation about Dell’s entry into the smartphone market in China, there’s an unexplored angle: Why would Dell choose China as the entry point for a new wireless product line?
Dell has acknowledged that it is working with China Mobile, that country’s largest mobile-phone carrier. The computer maker displayed a mini3i handset prototype at a China Mobile event in Beijing on Monday.
If Dell moves forward, it would be the latest electronics maker to enter the smartphone market in China, following in the footsteps of Apple. Dell would face stiff competition from Apple, Research in Motion, and Palm, among others.
Consider the statistics. According to IDC, 157 million smartphones were sold worldwide last year, up 26.9 percent from 2007. What’s more, IDC predicts smartphone shipments will nearly double to 301 million by 2012.
By contrast, the PC market that Dell dominates is struggling in the face of a global recession. In the fourth quarter, PC shipments slid 0.4 percent from the year-ago period, according to IDC. But the question remains: Why China?
Dell’s China Ties
Dell has been doing business in China for 10 years. When the company celebrated this milestone last fall, it offered some market data points that may offer insight into its move to launch an Android-based smartphone there.
Among its market data, Dell pointed to research suggesting the rapid growth of PC and Internet usage in China. China’s Internet population witnessed about 43 million new users since 2007 — and that data is six months old. On the PC front, China ranked third in 2006 with 54 million users, but that number is expected to reach 547 million by 2015. That’s nearly double the expected number of users in the United States.
Every major tech company has its sights set on China, but Dell is winning there now and…