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China Mobile will be the first carrier to offer Dell’s inaugural smartphone, the Mini 3i. In a joint statement on Nov. 23, the companies announced that the Mini 3i will be available by the end of the month, in a choice of Red Passion or Oiled Bronze. Pricing details were not announced.
The smartphone runs Google’s Android operating system, is compatible with quad-band GSM/EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) networks, and is built on China Mobile’s OPhone and Mobile Market platforms. It features a 3.5-inch touch screen with a resolution of 640 by 360 pixels, measures 4.8 by 2.3 by 0.46 inches and weighs 3.7 ounces.
For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 3GS, which has a 3.5-inch display with 480-by-320-pixel resolution, measures 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.48 inches and weighs 4.7 ounces.
“People today want to carry their lives with them-they want to discover, capture and share new content as they roam around the world,” Michael Yang, vice president and general manager for Dell’s Greater China Consumer division, said in a statement. “We believe Dell’s yearlong development collaboration with China Mobile will amplify those experiences better than anyone else in the industry.”
The Mini 3i includes GPS navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and a 3-megapixel camera with zoom, auto-focus, flash, video capture and photo-editing capabilities. It can access China Mobile’s Mobile Market suite of services for games, applications, ring tones and more, and run widgets on the home screen to personalize the device. Users can also personalize MP3 ring tones and set up shortcuts.
The Mini 3i can search contacts, appointments and e-mail from the home screen, and can support various messaging platforms and services, including e-mail, instant messaging, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and SMS (Short Message Service). There’s a MicroSD slot for up to 32GB of additional memory, as well as a Mini USB slot.
“This signals an important milestone in the long-term partnership between China Mobile and Dell,” a China Mobile spokesperson said in the statement. “We are excited for Dell to be among the first manufacturers to introduce new technology based on the OPhone platform. We look forward to working with Dell as it brings innovative new products and services to add value to our customers’ lives.”
China Mobile has more than 500 million subscribers. Earlier in 2009, the two companies created a 3G-embedded version of the Dell Mini 10 netbook for China’s growing number of mobile broadband subscribers-which is expected to continue to increase with the recent launch of the OPhone platform.
Later in 2009, Dell will also launch a 3G version of the Mini 3 on Brazil’s Claro network, which has more than 42 million subscribers.