China Mobile (CHL) will be the first mobile operator to sell the much-talked-about Dell (DELL) smartphone. The Mini 3i, as its is called, is a slim, touch screen smartphone to be supported by China Mobile’s new OPhone and Mobile Market platforms. The 3.5-inch widescreen is intended to create a big-screen experience, adding to the clarity of [...]

(CHL) China Mobile to Market Dell Phone

Investors are going to need a lot more patience when it comes to Dell, writes Therese Poletti.

China Mobile (CHL) will be the first mobile operator to sell the much-talked-about Dell (DELL) smartphone. The Mini 3i, as its is called, is a slim, touch screen smartphone to be supported by China Mobile's new OPhone and Mobile Market platforms.

The 3.5-inch widescreen is intended to create a big-screen experience, adding to the clarity of images and videos. The Mini 3i is compatible with lot of applications like e-mail platforms and office productivity software. This new smartphone was produced through a year-long collaboration with China Mobile and also Dell is making substantial investment in smartphones.

Dell’s entry into the smartphone segment looks like a logical progression, as the company is already manufacturing and rolling out reasonably priced netbooks in the market. However, Dell is a late entrant into the market, unlike its peer Apple Inc. (AAPL), which has already grabbed a large share of smartphones such as iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

As per the technology research firm Canalys, third quarter 2009 worldwide smartphone shipments grew 4% year on year, to 41.4 million units. Nokia (NOK) maintained its worldwide smartphone leadership position with a 40% share of the market, up from its year-ago position, but down 5% from the previous quarter. Research In Motion (RIMM) was in second place, with a market share of 21%, almost flat sequentially.

Apple’s market share was 18% in the third quarter, up from the 14% share in the second quarter, with significant improvement in the iPhone 3GS supply across many countries. HTC retained the fourth position with a 5% share.

Dell’s third quarter results were not very encouraging, with revenue, gross margin and EPS declining on a year-over-year basis. Dell suffered from the PC market slowdown. Although there are signs of recovery in this market, the smartphone market is expected to witness much stronger growth rates. Therefore, Dell’s decision to enter this market at this point is a big positive. Although initial revenue may not be substantial, the company would benefit from the growth trends, if its smartphone is well accepted.

We believe that there is no reason why Dell phone should not gain popularity, considering Dell’s history of innovation -- although the success rate could vary as competition is intense. We believe that even if Dell is able to capture a small share of the smartphone market, the additional growth opportunity would be substantial.

China Mobile was a natural choice for Dell to launch its smartphone in the country. China Mobile has a registered capital of RMB 51.8 billion and assets of over RMB 700 billion. The company is aggressively developing the mobile communications industry in China and the company Listed among the Top Fortune 500 companies.
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Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CUR, CVM, DKAM, ENZ, IMUC, MFGD, NXOI, OMCM, ONEZ, PSID, XSNX Markets continued to carry momentum during the early stages of last week, as the absence of significant economic news led to a continuation of the upward trend characterizing the past few weeks, until an earnings miss [...]

China Mobile will be offering Dell?s Mini 3i smartphone by the end of November. The Mini 3i features Google?s Android operating system, as well as China Mobile?s OPhone platform, a 3.5-inch touch screen and a choice of two colors.China Mobile will be the first carrier to offer Dell?s inaugural smartphone,...

China Mobile will be offering Dell?s Mini 3i smartphone by the end of November. The Mini 3i features Google?s Android operating system, as well as China Mobile?s OPhone platform, a 3.5-inch touch screen and a choice of two colors.China Mobile will be the first carrier to offer Dell?s inaugural smartphone,...

DailyFinance: Hewlett Packard (HPQ), the Silicon Valley pioneer, reported a 14% jump in profit Monday night, thanks to cost-cutting measures that more than offset an 8% reduction in revenue. The results weren't a surprise: HP provided guidance earlier this month, ... Read more

In his recent column in Barron’s Technology Trader Eric J. Savitz writes that PC sales are yet to pick up the rush despite Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) recent launch of Windows 7. Microsoft claimed that Windows 7 was a runaway success. However, the rush does not seem to be visible in PC sales.

The recent 3rd quarter results of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) seems to indicate that. Dell’s 3rd quarter results were much below the Wall Street’s expectations. Dell’s margins are under pressure and it seems to be falling behind in notebooks sales.

While Savitz feels that IT buyers may rush back to purchase PC in the second half of 2010, he still has a caveat. The evidence of economic pickup must be clearer. Savitz is of the opinion that those investors who want to take positions based on PC sales rebound may also look at Hewlett-Packard Company (NASDAQ: HPQ) and Microsoft Corporation.

On “Pixi” – a lower price offering by Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), Savitz wonders why anyone should buy it, when its predecessor “Pre” is available at low prices. Palm’s Pixi is being offered by Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) – through a 2 year contract. Savitz writes that, Pixi’s price is too steep. For instance, Research In Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry Bold offered by AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) can be purchased for a small price on Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ: AMZN).

On “post - transaction marketing”, Savitz writes that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has recently released a report on this phenomenon. Three Connecticut companies - Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty – were behind the spread of this marketing strategy. Buyers ordering through the Internet are offered a bait. Those who fall for it, find that they were enrolled for services which they do not need.

The report indicates that these 3 companies and the retailers have garnered $1.4 billion through this way. The retailers list includes United Online, Inc.’s (NASDAQ: UNTD) Classmate.com which collected more than $ 70 million in revenue using this strategy.

BloggingStocks: Dell, Inc. (DELL) has been beaten up verbally recently, and its stock price has plummeted as well. The company's latest quarter was nothing to write home about, and there is talk that Dell's edge has long since been dulled and the company is a ... Read more

Kris Tuttle submits:

Dell (DELL) showed the industry a new way to do business in personal computers. It was revolutionary at the time and created a very large, very profitable franchise in computing. A one-trick pony is plenty when the trick is good enough. Unfortunately the trick is no longer unique.

There’s no point in rehashing the misfortunes of Dell customer service and the legendary “Dell Hell” that was created for customers and users. When Michael Dell came back to run the company in 2007, it offered hope for a new chapter in Dell innovation. So far, though, it’s hard not to be disappointed with what the company has done. Dell has made two fairly large acquisitions:

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China Telecom (CHA), the largest Chinese fixed-line operator, has revealed plans to augment its wireless handset portfolio. The company is currently in talks with overseas handset vendors and targets to offer Research in Motion’s (RIMM) popular BlackBerry handset and Palm’s (PALM) smartphones in China in late 2009 or early 2010. This move represents a part of [...]

(CHA) China Telecom Boosts Handset Portfolio

Markets generally adopted a slightly more defensive tone on Friday. In the US, utilities and consumer stables managed small gains, but financials, consumer cyclicals and IT fell.[More...]

DELL Inc. (DELL) delivered short of the market expectations in its quarterly earnings last week, after the market hours on Thursday.

DELL Inc. (DELL) daily stock chart stopped just a shade above 200 days MA, at $14.29 on high volumes. However, the stock has started showing improvement and has moved further up to $14.57.

The DELL stock is likely to remain range-bound this week.

Technology stocks advance across the board , riding a wave of broader market optimism as gold and other commodities rise sharply and the dollar retreats against most rival currencies.

China Telecom (CHA), the largest Chinese fixed-line operator, has revealed plans to augment its wireless handset portfolio. The company is currently in talks with overseas handset vendors and targets to offer Research in Motion's (RIMM) popular BlackBerry handset and Palm’s (PALM) smartphones in China in late 2009 or early 2010. This move represents a part of China Telecom’s efforts to boost its share in the domestic wireless space. 

China Telecom is the market leader in fixed-line phone services in one of the world’s fastest growing telecom markets. Being one of the incumbent telecom operators in China, the company is well positioned to benefit from the country’s rapid economic growth coupled with aggressive wireless expansion. 

With roughly 700 million subscribers, China is the largest wireless market in the world. China Telecom added mobile operation to its service offering in October 2008 through its acquisition of China Unicom’s (CHU) CDMA wireless business for approximately RMB43.8 billion (US$6.4 billion). However, China Telecom’s wireless CDMA operation accounts for only 7.5% of mobile phone users in China, well behind in terms of market penetration in this segment. The company is currently the smallest of the big three wireless carriers in China. 

To boost wireless market share, China Telecom’s rivals China Mobile (CHL) and China Unicom are increasingly focused on broadening their mobile handset offerings. Leveraging its new 3G services, China Unicom recently launched Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone in mainland China. 

While China Mobile is still considering selling the iPhone, it is currently rolling out android-based handsets (“Ophones") and will launch Dell’s (DELL) first smartphone in the near future. In contrast, China Telecom is yet to clinch any high-end handset contract from a major overseas vendor. Under this scenario, an opportunity to market two of the world’s most sought after cellular handset brands may lift China Telecom’s fortune in wireless. 

China Telecom hopes to increase its total mobile subscriber base to over 100 million by 2011, representing over 15% of the total Chinese wireless market. Additionally, the company plans to sign up 35 million new 3G users in 2009 and address 97% of the urban population by the end of the year. China Telecom’s expanding handset range supported by the upcoming premium smartphone offerings will help it to reach this goal.
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Quiet week for stocks heading into a holiday shortened trading week.

Dost thou desire an Android phone in Red Passion or Oiled Bronze? Begin thy journey, brave Sir Knight, to China where you will be able to purchase the Dell Mini 3i with 3.5-inch touchscreen for a few coins of the realm. The Mini 3i, as you'll recall, is Dell's first smartphone in almost half a decade and runs the Ophone platform, an Android-based system that will eventually brand most of China Mobile's phones.