Is Dell dialing up a smartphone?

The prototypes, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cited anonymous sources, might include a touchscreen-based model and another with a slide-out keyboard. Apparently, Dell has had engineers working on the phones for more than a year, the sources said.

To achieve anything near success, Dell would have to produce a smartphone that could compete against the likes of Apple, Nokia, Samsung, Research In Motion, Sony, HTC and Palm, among many more. But hey, didn't another computer company just make the leap? That would be Apple, of course, whose iconic iPhone has set the bar for the smartphone space.

Dell did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

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