According to a Friday confirmation from Texas-based computer-maker Dell, the company is set to venture into the smartphone market arena – with its first device, the Mini 3, scheduled for a late-November launch in China; followed by an end-of-the-year launch in Brazil. The company has not yet disclosed any timeline for the introduction of its smartphone in other markets.

The forthcoming Dell Mini 3 will run on the Google Android operating system, and will essentially be consumer-oriented rather than business-oriented. The carriers of the phone will be China Mobile, the biggest mobile carrier in the world in terms of subscribers, as well as America Movil's Claro.

Dell is initially banking on the emerging markets, rather than the US, for launching its first smartphone; thereby avoiding competition from existing smartphone market biggies like Apple and Research in Motion (RIM). 

Dell said in a recent blog post that decision to begin the launch of the Mini 3 in China and Brazil largely resulted from the fact that the company already has telecom partnerships in these countries, which boast a fairly large subscriber base.

Commenting on the forthcoming launch of the first Dell smartphone in two foreign markets, Avi Cohen, managing partner of Avian Securities, said: “I think it's going to be difficult for anybody without a big wealthy software and app base of support to get customers interested, at least in the US and Europe.”