Dell Gives up on Android, Doubles Down on Windows 8

Dell Gives up on Android, Doubles Down on Windows 8

Dell doubles down on Windows 8.

Dell vice chairman Jeff Clarke made a less than shocking announcement at this year’s Dell World Conference in Austin. The company is officially giving up on Android phones and tablets. From a hardware perspective its not surprising consumers didn’t embrace Dell’s lackluster attempts at mobile devices, but you could also make the argument the company predicted the rise of mammoth smartphones, a market Samsung ran away with. The 5” Dell Streak you may recall predated the Galaxy Note by more than a year.

So why dump Android? According to Clarke, “It’s a content play with Android”. “Amazon is selling books and Google is making it up with search. So far we couldn’t find a way to build a business on Android.” Underpowered, uninspired hardware could also have had something to do with it, but we aren’t surprised they didn’t list this as a reason. 

So if Dell is giving up on Android, what comes next? The company claims its doubling down on Windows 8, and the enterprise market. The Dell XPS 12 hybrid is an example of what they have in mind on the customer side, and so far at least, it has been generally well received by the media. It’s a risky move giving up on an obvious growth market, but then again, it’s also a market that Dell can’t seem to execute well in.

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