Dell Suspends Mobile Device Development (Updated)

Following up our story on the lack of Android Honeycomb 3.2 for the T-Mobile Dell Streak, Dell executives have quietly confirmed that it is suspending mobile development in the short-term with no timeframe on when it will resume operations. The suspension affects new products that were being developed with Android and Windows Phone 7 to follow up its previous products in the Dell Streak  and the Dell Venue series of smartphones as well as current devices.

While the specific reasons are unclear, sales data for the Streak and Venue series suggests that both lines were much less successful than Dell’s own projections. Faced with the prospect of even further losses and decreasing returns on investments, the company has decided to cancel all mobile development until it can make the necessary internal changes to ensure success in the highly competitive market.

Dell’s current product in the Venue Pro will continue to be supported, with both the unlocked and T-Mobile versions slated to receive the Mango update within the next two weeks, but the suspension will affect Android powered Venue devices, with those devices being abandoned in terms of short and long-term support.

Update – Dell Director of Global Consumer PR Matthew Hutchison has responded to the report with the following statement provided to PhoneNews.com:

“We remain committed to expanding our reach beyond PCs with a targeted set of tablets and smartphones. While we cannot comment on future roadmaps at this time, I can confirm that the speculative nature of the article is inaccurate.”