Probably best known for their home computers, Dell have always been a reliable, safe choice for those that kind of know what they want – the sort of stand alone, all in one, no add-ons PC your granny could use. Stories have been rife for a while that Dell have been cooking up a smartphone  somewhere in a secret laboratory (probably in the Home Counties, nextdoor to IKEA), but recent rumours suggest they might be putting in a challenge to the iPod Touch instead, powered by the Android open source platform. But can they really take on Apple?

Apple have really got the run on cool. They are your archetypal modern business – high on design and presentation, and without doubt at the forefront of technology – Mr S. Jobs Esq runs a slick outfit. OK, so they might annoy you with the way they pretend to be  some kind of über-independent when we all know they are just as ruthless as Microsoft in their quest for Bond Villain-esque world domination (those hippy-chick songs on their adverts don’t fool me), but, you can’t deny their stylish take on contemporary life. Which is what makes it so difficult for competitors to get a proper foothold in the market.

But by using Android, Dell might be on to a winner here. We all love new ideas and innovations and as an open source platform it offers a huge amount of experimenting potential. We can only hope that they can combine this along with their undoubted ability to produce user friendly technology to come up with something cool. The rumours suggest we could be seeing this on the streets by the end of 2009. Fingers crossed, hey.


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