AT&T Intros a Dell (But Not a Dell Phone)

Pundits hanging on for the long-rumored Dell Technologies (Nasdaq: DELL) smartphone are just going to have to keep waiting.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) -- the carrier said to be readying a Dell smartphone -- did introduce a Dell product on its network today. The largest GSM-based operator in the U.S. said Wednesday the Dell Vostro 1520, a laptop aimed at the small business market, can now be bought with AT&T 3G connectivity built in. In addition, Dell offers several other notebooks and netbooks that can be equipped with AT&T 3G embedded connectivity, such as the Inspiron and XPS devices.

A wireless laptop, however, is not the device that has been generating talk about Dell in mobile circles recently. A Dell smartphone has been rumored on and off for a years now. Last week, The Wall Street Journal restarted the rumor mill with a report that Dell is making a touch-screen phone using Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s Android operating system.

AT&T is the last major U.S. carrier without an Android phone -- or phones -- available to buy, or on its roadmap. (See Analyst: Google Mobile Search to Top $500M by 2011.)

If the the Dell-droid phone is coming soon, however, AT&T isn't saying anything yet. "We have no comment on that," a spokesperson tells Unstrung.

Dell is expected to launch the phone early in 2010 in the U.S.

The Dell Vostro 1520 laptop, meanwhile, starts at $633, if the small-business user purchases it with a two-year AT&T DataConnect 5GB monthly service plan.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung