Dell Smartphone Is A Dumb Idea

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According to reports originating from the Wall Street Journal, Dell is planning to market it's oPhone (currently available only in China) here in the United States.

The oPhone is a smartphone that uses Google's Android operating system.

In addition to the lame me-too oPhone-instead-of-iPhone name, it's just a bad idea.

Here's why:

1. Dell is apparantly working a deal to use AT&T as the carrier. Make that the oNOPhone! AT&T is straining with the overwhelming bandwidth demands from all those 9 million iPhone users that they have exclusive rights to in this country. Groan!

2. There's iPhone and Blackberry and "everyone else" in this country when it comes to smartphones. Dell doesn't need to be duking it out for crumbs of marketshare in the "everyone else" category.

3. Google Android, nice as it is in my opinion, just hasn't excited that many people.

4. Memo to Dell; you are starting to do some interesting things in the Notebook market. Wouldn't it make more sense to go crazy with a netbook through one of the carriers, rather than a smartphone?

Renee Oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio