Recently Dell suffered a little humiliation regarding launching a smartphone when their design was rejected by its target carriers as being "too generic". This is ironic given its status in the PC and laptop world, however as it found out the hard way mobile is entirely different. So when recent rumours from an analyst with "inside knowledge" surfaced about its latest activities a few eyebrows were raised - not least of which because it is aparantly targetting the Chinese market. One  big suprise regarding this is how competitive the Chinese handset market is. This is offset by its sheer size, so no doubt Dells accountants and marketing experts are factoring all this up before anything firm is announced. China Mobile is after all the worlds largest carrier.

Dell is waiting for China Mobile to pick one or two models from smartphones it has offered and the two firms could reach a deal around August, Zhang Jun, an analyst at research firm Wedge MKI, said. A Dell smartphone could then hit the Chinese market by the end of the year.

China Mobile does have their own Android variant.  Termed OMS, Open Mobile System, it features apps and localisations specific to China Mobile, but in particular the next-generation network being rolled out in China throughout 2009: TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access). A further clue to Dell and China Mobiles intentions can be see in the imminent launch of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, in China, which again supports TD-SCDMA.

Other firms designing OMS phones include High Tech Computer (HTC), the manufacturer of the G1 smartphone, and Chinese telecommunication equipment providers Huawei and ZTE, Zhang said.

Dell are said to be pitching two designs at China mobile. if they are taken up, this will be a real baptism by fire for them, which if they come through unscathed will no doubt make them a serious player in the Android market.