At last, the
much rumored Dell cellphone has made its first official appearance. The 3.5-inch 360 x 640 pixel device with capacitive touchscreen was on display in China running the Android-based Open Mobile System (OMS). The Mini 3i was on-hand as part of the launch of China Mobile's new Application Platform that offers music, video, and app downloads to mobile phones from Nokia, Samsung, LG, and apparently, Dell. The candybar device lacks WiFi (or Chinese WAPI) and is strictly 2G GSM (no 3G) but does come with a 3 megapixel camera, microSD slot, Bluetooth, and 950mAh battery. Guess now we know why the early prototypes were met with a
collective meh by mobile carriers earlier this year. No idea when this will ship but it looks China-bound for at least the near future. A few more pics after the break.
[Via
Cloned In China]
Read -- China Mobile's Application Platform
Read -- Dell cooperating with China Mobile
Read -- Dell Mini 3i unveil
posted Aug 17th 2009 4:54AM
What genius's idea was that last photo?
10minutehobo , i think she/she was trying to take the picture discretely
iPhone rip off. Obviously, Michael Dell has no shame!
Obviously you have no shame Harold. Not every post needs to be about Apple or Microsoft.
10minute, it was my idea. I'm so sorry.
ive had one of these phones for about 3 months now. and their awsome, user interface is much more friendly than the iphones.
eh
Meh
But...but..but...but Dell is buying Palm, right!? They CAN'T have their own smartphone!
Right!?
Er...right?
It looks like an iPhone and a Pre smashed together into something that will never be on the same level as either
Don't you think it's a bit early yto draw these kind of conclusions based on two cell-phone snapshots?
Maybe because people remember Dell DJ. ;)
The Dell DJ was an MP3 player, not a phone you. You're comparing Apples to Oranges!
@ProfessorDex
+1
@ProfessorDex
Damn! I'd rather compare Peaches to Oranges. So tired of Apples...
mmmm.....peach.
Looks rather surprisingly nice - not very original, but nice.
Why don't you just say it! Yeah, they copied iPhone! I just said that for you! :)
Because it doesn't really look like just an iPhone, obviously?
I am no fan of Dell but this Smartphone looks alright to me. It maybe lacking some features but then not everyone needs every feature under the sun in a phone. I hope it does well.
I think the lacking features are mostly due to the China-only release - China doesn't have a 3G network yet, and the Government only allows some obscure version of WiFi, hence Dell left out both I guess. But other than that, it seems pretty OK to me, I've certainly seen worse devices from HTC and the like.
Does anybody know the price of it, relative to other devices?
Actually, I don't usually draw comparisons to things visually, but that does look like an iPhone to me...With terrible specs.
The 950mAh battery seems smallish. Both the G1 and iPhone use an 1150 mAh battery.
It will not make too much difference considering calls will only be made via 2g...
forgive me, that's right nobody uses a phone for calls anymore these days.
Any word on price? W/o 3g or WiFi its just a large screen LG Cookie, will it be at least priced similarly??
Could be alright for a decent price. The design's not amazing, but having wifi and 3G neutered on the Chinese version is fairly normal.
When I read the article I got all excited; "3.5-inch 360 x 640 pixel", "running the Android-based". But then I remembered: "aww right, it's a Dell".
why did dell even bother? now future dell smartphones have lost all of their potential hype.
I dunno.... i like how it looks. Maybe its the lighting ???
Specs are dud though.... i do hope Dell spruces it up if they ever try to bring it out of China....
"Meh", indeed.
Then again... meh.
What's a "meh"??
http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=What%27s+a+%22meh%22%3F%3F
Meh indeed.
I'm bored
A 950mAh battery and no 3G? Then again you get that awesome Dell afterservice /sarcasm. Even a turd can give better customer service then those hobo's at Dell
Maybe in the US their support is awful, but in Germany it beats Apple and in fact EVERYONE else (including Lenovo) hands down, in all surveys, and my own experience. No other company would replace a display that has been faulty 3 times in 2 months without the technician seeing the defective display, because it was working at that time. Oh, and I was in Finland at that time, and the day after I contacted support a technician was there. It's really hard to beat that level of customer support.
This phone though is a bit meh... tiny battery, no 3G, no WiFi...
Well, i live in the Netherlands, and they say it has one of the best Customer Support to date. Lets just say, i had loads of arguments with Dell Employees. Spare parts are gonna cost you, and it costs alot. Its just plain bullshit when you buy a laptop, it doesnt start, and they dont do anything for you.
Maybe i was unlucky with all employees i spoke with, or you were just lucky to get the good informed people on the phone.
I've only ever called Dell support once, and the service was great. No nonsense, just a native English speaker who took care of my issue quickly. This is in Canada btw.
We got an option here to get an european Dell employee on the phone. Maybe i will choose that option for a change.
I mean, its just a Hero meets and iPhone with a fancy screen and some questionable, but on the level good looks. Wait, thats one hell of a just. Still no keyboard, no va.
Is anybody even remotely excited about this?
Maybe, I mean if it gets a larger battery, wifi, and 3g
Putting a 3G modem in this device would be a waste of money as China Mobile doesn't have a rolled out 3G network. If it ever gets picked up by a european or american carrier, I'm sure they will include the proper modems.
This is bullshit in a basket on a porch on a hot freaking day!
Just like their computers, Dell just spliced together off the shelf shit, slapped on their name and off they went. Nothing special here.
It really looks like a device manufactured by HTC with Dell branding slapped all over it; at least it's running on Android, it's a definite plus.
From the Dell Consumer Electronics meeting late last year:
"See, what we'll do is make our first release have the latest operating system, but on hardware inferior to every other competitor, even though we're a freaking computer company. That's how we'll test the waters."
"But, sir, it looks like this doesn't even have current data standard technology. How will that improve our brand?"
"Please have this Apple-troll removed"
"But.... i own a Pre"
"Exactly. Get out, now" "er... what is a Pre?"
More Dell crap in the world. First they make crappy printers, then they load their computers with crappy bloatware, and now they are releasing (i won't say crap because I don't know much about it) a cell phone? Given their reputation - they should not be making phones. No one looks respectable or cool carrying around a Dell phone.
I wouldn't compare this to the Dell MP3 players...that was obviously just a side business excursion for Dell.
I would however compare this to the Dell Axim PDA which IMO the X51 was an incredible product. It's too bad that market started it's rapid decline and Dell decided to pull the plug on a successful product line
People, are you missing the biggest, & best, improvement that this phone offers, The 3.5" screen. I love the Android OS but hate that every phone offered so far only has a 3.2" screen. Funny how small a battery they can use when there's no worries about wifi drain. Obviously it won't sell worth a darn in the US without it though.
Am I the only one who even likes this thing? It resembles an iPhone, but looks like it has improved on various subtle details. The red looks good too. And it has Android. We should rejoice, not criticize. All that's left to be asked is price and US availability.
i insist it looks the same then the iPhone only with Dell logo instead of the apple =| anyway i like it
What is said to be true by Dell? I remember when Dell Mini came, it was only rumors on the Internet, on sites like http://dell-mini.com but it was later confirmed to be true.
just a heads up for you guys , dell never intended to compete in the phone market against the big giants
china ask the these specifications from dell (or smth like that)
so....yea......its only meant to cater to china