“163.com is reporting the news and has a source telling it that the launch is imminent, ‘in the middle of this month.’ Though details on the phone itself are sparse… here’s what we know. It’ll run on China’s proprietary 3G standard TD-SCDMA, and it’ll be a founding member of the OPhone platform, the specialized version of Android that China Mobile is hoping to establish as a major new player in the smartphone marketplace,” Eaton reports. “Unlike Palm’s slow efforts to jumpstart a developer community for WebOS, the OPhone’s Software Development Kit and Software Developer Network are already up and running, ready to drive the brand forward with dedicated apps.”
“One truth that’s hard to ignore: Dell may have chosen a China-only route for its product, piggybacking off China Mobile, because it’s decided it can’t compete with the iPhone elsewhere in the world. Just look at Palm Pre’s issues,” Eaton reports.
Eaton proffers, “This alliance between network and manufacturer is likely to be a potent one. Dell’s OPhone product, along with Lenovo’s and HTCs–both upcoming–are likely to be big sellers in China. It may even beat the iPhone there.”
Full article here.