From a business sense, the high profits on typical smartphones make it a very appealing category for Dell. However, Dell has a poor track record of success when entering into categories where it is unfamiliar.

Dell is already offering a version of the oPhone built by Marvell in China and Reuters cites a source close to the matter who claims Dell is set to bring a version of its oPhone to America running the Android OS on the AT&T network. AT&T is certainly on the lookout for Android phones, where it is lagging well behind the competition.

Reuters reports that the Dell Android device could hit the AT&T network as early as 2010. The Dell smartphone has also reportedly been certified for the AT&T domestic network. Neither Dell nor AT&T will comment on the rumors of the smartphone coming to America.

Despite the poor global economy smartphone sales are booming with growth for the year projected to hit 27.9% for the smartphone category, while the cell phone market as a whole is predicted to shrink by 12.3%. Analysts feel that Dell has a hard road ahead to bring a smartphone to the U.S. market with all the competition already well established.

Dell spokesman Andrew Bowins told Reuters, "We are deeply engaged with our operator partners around the world to deliver mobile broadband enabled computing devices." He continued saying, "We haven't announced anything around voice or Android although we continue to explore opportunities in those areas with operators around the world."

An AT&T spokesman would only say, "We expect to sell Android phones in the future." The Marvell oPhone platform is for manufacturers who want to get into the cell phone market, but don't want the expense of designing their own device.

The trick for Dell will be setting its device apart from the peers already on the market. Analyst Shaw Wu form Kaufman Bros. said, "They've been working on a phone for awhile. But it's going to be really hard for them to differentiate from what's already on the market."