Dell’s Mini 3i now official in China
Damn are our ninjas good. Dell’s Android-based China Mobile-bound Mini 3i, a smartphone that we first caught a glimpse of in mid-June, is now official. Unveiled today in Beijing, the Mini 3i (also apparently MINI3i) is an Android-based smartphone that runs on the Open Mobile System. Spec wise, the Mini 3i is not particularly impressive especially considering that it is EDGE-only and lacks Wi-Fi. Regardless, the handset is definitely a contender in the Chinese market where not even the carrier-pwner that is Apple can manage to release a Wi-Fi-enabled handset. Here’s the low-down on the specs:
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE class 12
- Size: 68.6cc
- 103g grams weight
- Dimensions: 58 x 122 x 11.7mm
- Display: 3.5″ nHD 640×360 LCD, 18-bit, 262K colors
- OTA capable
- Microsoft Exchange support
- Google, AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM support
- 3 megapixel auto-focus, flash, 8x digital zoom camera with 30fps video shooting mode, built in photo editor
- USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- A-GPS
- On-screen QWERTY keyboard, hardwriting recognition, multi touch UI
- MicroSD slot
Hit the jump for a few more shots.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
First…lame
looks almost like the new instinct mix with a lil iphone 3g curveness. but still looks good to me.
So much for the “Dell buying Palm” rumor.
That doesn’t look bad at all. And Dell is smart to get this into China ahead of Apple’s iPhone. Android in my opinion is a better option than Palm’s Pre. It’s already a good Phone OS with a lot of support. Why not just leverage that?
If Dell can sell them cheap enough here in the U.S. with WiFi and 3G / CDMA, they could have a solid cell phone business added to their portfolio.
wow edge only? surprising to me, i would of thought most of china was on 3g
Not a bad first offering. Lets see how it is received by Chineses consumers.
Glad to see Dell enter the ring. Now I’d like to see Dell make one for the US:
Unlocked;
UMTS 3G 850, 1700, 2100;
Qwerty SlideOut;
3.5 or larger Screen;
Camera w Flashs; &
3.5mm Headphone jack
WM6.5 or Android
IT DIDNT SOUND ALL THAT BAD TILL “EDGE ONLY” AND “lACK OF WI-FI” CAME INTO PLAY.
I just want AT&T to get an Android phone already.
Keep in mind, Apple had a lot of trouble getting into China because it had WiFi. It had to remove it. These specs are what is needed to get into the China market quickly.
Surely the U.S. version will be tied to the specs of the carriers in the U.S., meaning WiFi, 3G, CDMA EVDO Rev. A.
I wonder if his ninjas wear pocket protectors on their stealthy ninja suits? Probably throw plastic nerdy stars too. Time for me to do some herding…
Dell features low quality manufacturing and horrible support. Physically this device doesn’t look at all appealing.
Wow, I would have thought that having a flush touchscreen would be one of the first things on their to-do list.
This phone will be well received as the DELL brand is well respected in China.
This is a great phone for the mass market and should be a profitable product. It will also give DELL a great market share.
Hope to see in the US market at some point.
Not really a competitive offering with some of the smart phones coming soon (Snapdragons, AMOLED, 512MB RAM, etc). Maybe it is more of a mid range alternative like the HTC Click?
No wifi? When is this hitting verizon?
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Cincinnati North America
wow dell, fail fail fail.
what processor tho? since it’s android, i’d hate to hear more Qualcomm
I like it!
Dell is respected in China? Huh. You learn something every day. I can’t imagine why. After my first Dell laptop, Lattitude circa 1996, I’ve owned 3 dells and they all sucked. Really, really bad. And customer support? Talk about an oxyMORON.
to clarify, that first Dell laptop was a wonderful device. Everything since, crap. Maybe they’ve improved their products now. I wouldn’t know.
Looks Good; I’m no hater, But i have to say Blackberry for life…
I own the Blackberry Tour myself. But I have learned to never say never. For now, I don’t see anything on the horizon that can replace my Blackberry.
I do think Dell is wise to go after China right now, even before the United States. And I think it is also wise to go with the free Android OS as a foundation.
Good luck to them. They could use a break. So can their troubled investors.
I was in China for a year teaching English. Dell (and pretty much every other western brand) is well-respected there because of a perception of quality. Before jumping in with “That’s not my experience! They make junk!” consider this: the local (Chinese) computers mostly are junk (except for Lenovo- they’re awesome!), and they set the baseline for Chinese consumer expectations.
Price and Branding are the two primary factors in making a purchasing decision. In a setting without strong quality control or consumer protection laws, this leads to junk components and oodles of knock-off fakes. Dell provides branding (strange but true) and their quality is miles better than the local competition.