Rumor Mill: Is Dell (once again)working on a PDA?

Dell may have unceremoniously dropped its Axim PDA, but rumor has it that Dell is hard at work on a smartphone heir to the throne. DigiTimes is reporting that Quanta Computer, the Taiwanese contractor that builds Dell laptops, is prepping a Dell-branded smartphone for a late 2007 launch. The usual "industry sources" describe a device running on "the Windows Mobile 6 Professional platform and supporting HSDPA. It probably will feature a QWERTY keyboard, though feature details have yet to be determined." It's not out of the question, since Dell could use a killer consumer product to help bolster its flagging image. While these rumors have garnered a lot of ink, the report is certainly still in rumor-mode, but it dovetails nicely with ex-Motorola executive Ron Garriques' recent appointment to head Dell's global consumer group.

For more on the rumored smartphone:
- see this DigiTimes article