Dell this week stopped selling smartphones in the U.S. market. Both the Venue and Venue Pro smartphones are no longer offered and no replacements have been announced. According to a Dell spokesperson, both had reached the end of their lifespans. Dell had already stopped selling the Aero smartphone and the Streak 5 and 7 tablets in the U.S. The move confirms earlier reports that Dell would not release any Windows Phone 7.5 devices.
Dell will continue to sell its smartphones in emerging markets. For example, the Venue Pro is available in India while Streak smartphones and tablets continue to be sold in China.
Dell will introduce new mobile devices in the U.S. later this year. Among those will likely be Windows 8 tablets but it remains to be seen if smartphones will also return. A recent rumour suggested that the combination of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 (Apollo) could make it easier for PC vendors such as Dell to reenter the market in the future.
Dell’s first U.S. smartphone, the Android-based Dell Aero, was announced in March 2010 and launched that summer. It received a lukewarm response. It was followed up by the Windows Phone-powered Dell Venue Pro and the Android-powered Dell Venue.
Read more: PC World