Dell partnering up with Baidu to produce tablets, phones
Dell confirmed on Tuesday its plans to work with Chinese search engine Baidu to develop tablets and smartphones for the newly-announced forked version of Google's Android mobile operating system, called Baidu Yi.
Baidu, which has risen to become the sixth most-visited site according to Alexa, announced its Android spinoff in Beijing last week. Baidu Yi will replace Google's apps with in-house developed alternatives that target the Chinese market.
Reuters reports that Dell has quickly pledged its support for Baidu's efforts, especially as they relate to tablets.
"We have a partnership with Baidu and you know we have the Streak 5 tablet, so the partnership will be in that space," said a Dell spokeswoman.
The 5-inch hybrid tablet/smartphone was discontinued in the U.S. in August after a self-declared "great ride."
The company also indicated it will cooperate with Baidu on mobile handsets. But, it will likely face stiffer competition from Apple beginning this fall, as the Cupertino, Calif., iPhone maker is expected to begin offering its popular handset on both China Mobile and China Telecom in addition to its original partner China Unicom.
Baidu Yi will feature a self-developed Maps app, a Google Places rival, an iBooks-like ebook reader and a custom music player. Its current Android apps, such as a Chinese character input tool, will also ship bundled with new devices.
"I don't think Baidu is targeting the low-end segment of the market, if they are there are plenty of local Chinese vendors they can work with...This could mean that Baidu may have ambitions for the international market because Dell is an international brand which they can leverage," said Shanghai-based Gartner research director Sandy Shen.
Dell did not state when the first devices from its partnership with Baidu would reach the market, but Chinese media have cited sources who claim they could arrive as early as November. The partnership could be a reaction to Google's recent decision to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion and get more directly involved in the hardware side of the industry.
The PC and mobile industries are currently in the midst of a significant shake-up as companies adjust their alliances and enter and exit markets. Nokia is set to release its first Windows Phone 7 devices from its partnership with Microsoft later this year, while Hewlett-Packard has killed off its webOS hardware division and is looking into spinning off or selling its PC business.
Baidu, which has risen to become the sixth most-visited site according to Alexa, announced its Android spinoff in Beijing last week. Baidu Yi will replace Google's apps with in-house developed alternatives that target the Chinese market.
Reuters reports that Dell has quickly pledged its support for Baidu's efforts, especially as they relate to tablets.
"We have a partnership with Baidu and you know we have the Streak 5 tablet, so the partnership will be in that space," said a Dell spokeswoman.
The 5-inch hybrid tablet/smartphone was discontinued in the U.S. in August after a self-declared "great ride."
The company also indicated it will cooperate with Baidu on mobile handsets. But, it will likely face stiffer competition from Apple beginning this fall, as the Cupertino, Calif., iPhone maker is expected to begin offering its popular handset on both China Mobile and China Telecom in addition to its original partner China Unicom.
Baidu Yi will feature a self-developed Maps app, a Google Places rival, an iBooks-like ebook reader and a custom music player. Its current Android apps, such as a Chinese character input tool, will also ship bundled with new devices.
"I don't think Baidu is targeting the low-end segment of the market, if they are there are plenty of local Chinese vendors they can work with...This could mean that Baidu may have ambitions for the international market because Dell is an international brand which they can leverage," said Shanghai-based Gartner research director Sandy Shen.
Dell did not state when the first devices from its partnership with Baidu would reach the market, but Chinese media have cited sources who claim they could arrive as early as November. The partnership could be a reaction to Google's recent decision to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion and get more directly involved in the hardware side of the industry.
The PC and mobile industries are currently in the midst of a significant shake-up as companies adjust their alliances and enter and exit markets. Nokia is set to release its first Windows Phone 7 devices from its partnership with Microsoft later this year, while Hewlett-Packard has killed off its webOS hardware division and is looking into spinning off or selling its PC business.
Comments
And you thought Google was bad for privacy!You won't catch me dead with a Baidu Snoop Phone.
With the minimum 600 million possible clients thus 2x the size of the US total population I don't think Baidu has you in mind.
It's so crazy how quickly the "non-Apple" side of mobile tech is changing and "borrowing" ideas from Apple. Seems like knee-jerk reactions. Meanwhile Apple continues to cruise along at its own pace, not too worried about what's happening around it. They compete with themselves.
Didn't you know that that kills innovation. <sarcasm>
Keep in mind Lenovo is dominating in the business world here in US after buying IBM. Why not have a fellow Chinese company make your phones and take over the US market while creating a brand name at the same time. Seems very un-chinese to me.
* The wooden bookshelves
* The reflective shelf under the home screen
* The rounded-square icons?especially that slick Contacts icon and the Phone icon.
* Folders of the same shape, that show rows of 3 smaller icons on gray with a metal edge.
* Those awesome sliders and buttons.
* The way the CD covers kind of ?flow? in perspective.
I?m glad Android is here so that companies can truly innovate and not have to clone Apple. Let?s hope Baidu does go international with this exciting UI!
So.. why not partner with ZTE if they want to sell in China. Dell does not even register on the radar over there.
Keep in mind Lenovo is dominating in the business world here in US after buying IBM. Why not have a fellow Chinese company make your phones and take over the US market while creating a brand name at the same time. Seems very un-chinese to me.
Lenovo didn't buy IBM. IBM sold their PC Subsidiary to Lenovo.
Baidu + Dell
Google + Moto
Microsoft + Nokia
Apple + Apple
I'll go call the solicitor. Might as well get a head start, because Apple sure as hell will
I'll go call the solicitor. Might as well get a head start, because Apple sure as hell will
Man, the Chinese sure can copy stuff. You gotta give it to them. I've said it before, hand them the Roswell debris and we'll have flying cars by the end of the decade!
I'll go call the solicitor. Might as well get a head start, because Apple sure as hell will
Oh, no. The Baidu phone has FIVE icons at the bottom of the home screen while iOS only has FOUR. That's true innovation and proves that they didn't copy Apple.
Man, the Chinese sure can copy stuff. You gotta give it to them. I've said it before, hand them the Roswell debris and we'll have flying cars by the end of the decade!
Or by 2015 as stated in Back to the Future II. Ferrari Air anyone?
Oh, no. The Baidu phone has FIVE icons at the bottom of the home screen while iOS only has FOUR. That's true innovation and proves that they didn't copy Apple.
5 instead of 4? That's amazing!
TAKE MY MONEY! I MUST HAVE ICON++
I'll go call the solicitor. Might as well get a head start, because Apple sure as hell will
In 2011, given all the admirable things that the country has achieved, you'd think that a large, well-known, successful Chinese company would actually want to invest in helping shake off the image that they belong to a country and a business culture that just copies stuff. They certainly have the resources and the talent.
What a sad state of affairs.
In 2011, given all the admirable things that the country has achieved, you'd think that a large, well-known, successful Chinese company would actually want to invest in helping shake off the image that they belong to a country and a business culture that just copies stuff. They certainly have the resources and the talent.
What a sad state of affairs.
"When in Rome..."
Those Baidu Android screenshots so some really cool interface innovations!
* The wooden bookshelves
Aldiko and other eReaders had this "innovation" long before apple adopted it.
* The way the CD covers kind of “flow” in perspective.
Apple LOST a lawsuit over cover-flow. Clearly, they're not the inventors of it.
I’m glad Android is here so that companies can truly innovate and not have to clone Apple. Let’s hope Baidu does go international with this exciting UI!
I'm so glad apple is here so that it can truly "innovate" and not have to adopt existing tech.
I mean, without apple, how could we ever have:
-folders
-multi-tasking other than just "keep everything running" (hint, android has save state, most apps use it, though Apple is a bit more restrictive in what it allows)
-Notifications that don't suck, such as an un-obtrusive pull down window
-weather widgets
-OTA updates
-etc.
The difference is, I'm not claiming that Apple is simply "copying" things here and that this is somehow wrong. They're adopting the popular tech their competitors use just like every other company in the history of competition. No company is an island. While apple might've come up with these things eventually, do you really think the growing popularity of Android had NOTHING to do with them looking and saying "how can we get some of those features and incorporate them into our OS?"
Apple has brought some true innovation to the tech world. But so have other companies. To deny that is to be blind