Report: Dell to go into handhelds

By Margaret Kane, CNET News, 21 June, 2002 15:14

NEWS

Is Dell getting ready to enter the handheld market? A new report from market researcher ARS speculates that the PC giant is getting ready to place an order with a contract manufacturer in Taiwan. The report says Dell's systems are likely to be based on Microsoft's Pocket PC platform. Dell executives could not immediately be reached for comment. Dell has not previously shown much interest in the market for handhelds, in part because those devices are usually sold through retail channels, where the company doesn't have a presence. The ARS report speculates that Dell might have reversed itself to try to push further into the enterprise market, where handhelds are quickly becoming as ubiquitous as notebooks for traveling office workers. Sources close to Dell told CNET News.com that although no decisions have been made, the company has been evaluating communicator-style handheld devices that combine the features of cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), in the manner of Handspring's Treo. Communicator-style devices, available from several companies, are considered to be the future of the PDA market. They are typically priced at the high end of that market, at around $500 to $600, though Dell would probably try to undercut its competitors. Dell currently resells Palm OS-based handhelds from Sony, Palm Computing and Handspring, and resells PocketPC-based devices from Casio, NEC and Hewlett-Packard. ARS says the Palm licensees, which largely target the consumer market, would not be the focus of Dell's competitive energies. In going after corporate buyers, the company would be going up against a well-established player. "HP/Compaq will be Dell's primary target," the ARS report says, "as a Dell PDA will aim to compete with the iPaq, which has been a huge success in the handhelds industry." On Monday, HP plans to announce two new iPaqs, the first products under that name since it completed its merger with iPaq maker Compaq. Dell will also be on the lookout for Toshiba, ARS said. The Japanese company's new e740 Pocket PC incorporates Wi-Fi wireless capabilities. "As wireless connectivity between handheld devices and corporate networks/servers continues to grow out of the infancy stage, Dell must be prepared (as HP is today) with a branded device," the ARS report said. In January, Dell's chief financial officer revealed that the company had briefly formed a group to study the handheld sector, although he said the group was eliminated in 2001. "We had a small business group that looked at it. At the time, we weren't convinced there was big enough profit pool in it," chief financial officer James Schneider said at a conference. "Profit pool" is a concept Dell uses to size up a new market. If the available revenue is considered large enough, Dell often partners with a third party to enter the market swiftly. It has taken that sort of action recently in network switches and digital projectors. In keeping with its overall strategy, Dell would likely get into handhelds with a lower-priced offering than its competitors in an effort to quickly gain market share. It launched its projectors, for example, at $2,500, at least $500 less than rival products. News.com's John Spooner contributed to this story.

If it moves, we cover it. See ZDNet UK's Mobile Technology News Section for the latest news, reviews and price checks on mobile phones, PDAs, notebook computers and anything else you can take away. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

2 hours ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

4 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

9 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

18 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

2 days ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Report: Dell to go into handhelds

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Dell considers entering printer business

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

PHP Web Developer - html, css, javascript

Java Developer, Online Gaming, London

Quant Dev, Hedge Fund, FX, Excel VBA

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Business of IT / IT Strategy

Report: Dell to go into handhelds

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features