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Dell Ends US Mobile Device Initiative, Shifts Focus to Enterprise and Higher-Margin Laptops

Dell representatives have confirmed an internal memo dated March 8th that confirms that the Dell Venue and Venue Pro smartphones have been officially discontinued as of this month and that mobile devices will shift away from the highly competitive North American market and move to emerging markets such as Latin America, China and India, where local variants of the Venue Android and Venue Pro Windows Phone smartphones are already available as well as variants of its discontinued Streak line of Android tablets.

When asked why Dell discontinued the Venue line of smartphones, the manufacturer admitted that the phones had run their course internally and that the lifecycle for phones was much shorter in the US than in the aforementioned emerging markets, while admitting that it would rather focus on its core enterprise businesses in the US and work to increase profit margins on its high-end laptop lines. Dell did not discount the possibility of re-entering the consumer-oriented mobile device market at a later date, with rumors of yet another attempt at mobile devices powered by the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

Dell’s latest and ultimately failed attempt to re-enter the mobile market began with the two pronged strategy of releasing Android-powered tablets in the Streak 5 and 7 with carrier partnerships as well as standard Wi-Fi only models, with AT&T and T-Mobile releasing their own variants of the Streak 5 and Streak 7 to great fanfare, only to have them fail in the marketplace compared to the strength of Android tablets from more established manufacturers such as Samsung. The Dell Streak 5 and 7 were heavily criticized for launching with the smartphone oriented Android 1.6 and 2.2 operating systems with heavily customized user interfaces that attempted to mask the limitations of the operating systems in the Stage user interface.

In fact, sales of the carrier subsidized versions of the Streak 5 and 7 were so low that both AT&T and T-Mobile actively refused to invest in updates for their respective devices in the Streak 5 and Streak 7 4G, leaving owners to fend for themselves in terms of updates via the Android hacking and modding community, compared to owners of the unsubsidized Wi-Fi versions which received their respective updates to FroYo and Honeycomb respectively last year.

The lack of updates for the carrier subsidized versions may have been the tipping point for Dell to pack in its US mobile device operations for the time being, as it discontinued the Streak 5 last Summer and only recently discontinued the Streak 7 as of last December, with the Honeycomb 3.2 update being the final update for the Wi-Fi version.

Dell also attempted to enter the equally competitive global smartphone market, first with the Android-powered Venue and then signing on with Microsoft and T-Mobile to release one of the first Windows Phone models in the Venue Pro. Unfortunately for Dell, its strategy for the release of the Dell Venue Pro doomed the device to commercial failure from the time it was launched, as it was initially exclusive to the Microsoft Store, both online and through its very limited retail footprint before being given a wider release at the beginning of 2011.

The phone also suffered a botched release thanks to last-minute hardware issues only discovered after customers had purchased the phone and attempted to use the built-in Wi-Fi radio, leading Dell and T-Mobile to issue a recall of devices and launch an exchange program for affected customers. While initially critically praised for its hardware and performance outside of the Wi-Fi issues, the phone still failed to make a commercial impact as the Windows Phone platform initially struggled and continues to struggle in the face of the market dominance of Android and the iPhone.

Dell also released AT&T compatible versions of the Venue Pro along with unlocked versions soon after the wider availability of the T-Mobile version, but they still failed to make any significant impact in terms of sales, as all three versions can routinely be found for sale on Ebay for ~$250 new in box and much less used.

On the subject of updates, Dell is remaining silent on future update support for either the Android-powered Venue and the Windows Phone Venue Pro as the next major update in Windows Phone Tango will be released next month in the US to coincide with the launch of the highly anticipated Nokia Lumia 900 with LTE support.

Browse: Home / RIM Re-names BBX to BlackBerry 10 in Wake of Court Loss Google Releases Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4, Resumes ICS Rollout for Nexus S

Google today noted that they have begun to release Android 4.0.4. The release is intended to be a bug fix release, no new features are added. The company will begin issuing the update on HSPA+ versions of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which Google controls in terms of firmware release and maintenance updates. Similarly, Google noted that they are resuming the rollout of Ice Cream Sandwich for the unlocked versions of the Samsung Nexus S.

Both the Verizon 4G LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus, and the Nexus S 4G on Sprint will require carrier testing and approval before offering these updates. Unlike the unlocked versions of the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus S 4G with Sprint were released with carrier certification. As such, the carrier must approve each and every software update.

Quoting Google’s Android Google+ posting:

Some of you will be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich for the first time, while others will be receiving an update to your existing Ice Cream Sandwich experience with stability improvements, better camera performance, smoother screen rotation, improved phone number recognition and more.

On the tablet front, owners of the Wi-Fi version of the Motorola XOOM will also be receiving the update starting now. Similar to the Verizon Galaxy Nexus, 4G LTE-enabled versions of the Motorola XOOM on Verizon will need to wait for carrier testing and approval. Motorola has not issued the update for the DROID XYBOARD family of tablets that succeeded XOOM.

Android 4.0.4 may be the final update before Google begins shipping the first LTE phone on Sprint, also a Galaxy Nexus variant. The version on Sprint is expected to be unchanged from the Verizon version, with the difference of Sprint’s LTE radio bands. Also, the Sprint version is expected to not have firmware restrictions against using Google Wallet through its NFC transmitter. Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on Google’s own device, as the carrier continues to sort out plans for its own NFC mobile payment system. Rival Sprint however has embraced Google Wallet, promising several supporting NFC smartphones to be released throughout 2012.

Sahas Katta Smoked Windows Phone, Microsoft Tells Him to Go Home

Sahas Katta Smoked Windows Phone, Microsoft Tells Him to Go Home

Sahas Katta Smoked Windows Phone, Microsoft Tells Him to Go HomeMicrosoft over the past week has extended their “Smoked by Windows Phone” web campaign into an in-store contest. Offering a series of challenges, the store pits customer’s own devices against a Windows Phone. If someone wins, they are entitled to a fully-featured HP laptop valued at over a thousand dollars. Losers get a chance to swap their phone out for a free Windows Phone, in a second-place giveaway.

Ice Cream(ed) Sandwich

Sahas Katta, armed his Galaxy Nexus with a few Android 4.0 settings he knew of, and went into the store. Knowing Windows Phone’s infamous Live Tiles feature would be in play, he disabled the lock screen of his device. This is a new feature in Android 4.0, and one that Microsoft planners seem to have forgotten about (or simply weren’t aware of) when planning this contest.

That feature gave just about any Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich owner, an actual clear edge in most of the contests. Since, most of the contests revolved around calling up Live Tiles on the Windows Phone side, one simply needed to place several widgets on the home screen to have information like weather, news, and sports appear instantly.

Mr. Katta was asked to load up weather in two different cities on his phone, as quickly as possible. And, the competition, he claims, began. While the Windows Phone was still being unlocked, Mr. Katta claims he declared himself the winner, since his home screen was instantly unlocked, and he had swiped to two Weather widgets, displaying weather in two cities via: SpaceMobiles.NET

 

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