So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodnight! That is the song Dell is singing to US smartphone customers right now, having announced the discontinuation of its Venue and Venue Pro handsets, which could be equipped with either Windows Phone 7 or Android operating systems. Dell had already discontinued its Streak 5 phablet, and discontinued the Streak 7 at the end of 2011, leaving these two phones Dell’s only, well, venues, in the smartphone market.
Dell did not shut the door entirely, saying that it will introduce more mobile products in the US before the year is out, but failed to specify if that means smartphones, tablets, or what exactly. My guess would be some variation on the tablet—having done away with its netbook line, a Windows Phone/Windows 8 tablet could be just the ticket.
According to Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates, Dell is hitting the “reset button” on its smartphone and tablet business, saying that Dell’s limited marketing push made things difficult for it. “If you’re not a Motorola, RIM, or Apple, people won’t take you seriously,” he said.
Dell continues its sales of the Venues and Streaks outside the US, and no plans to nix them have been announced. Dell is down right now, but not out of the game entirely. Don’t be surprised to see a revamped Dell mobile series coming out in time for Christmas 2012.
[PCWorld]
