InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[thelurker]

Somebody else we can sue...

Dell reportedly set to launch mobile phones with AT&T
New touchscreen smartphones will run on Google's Android operating system

By Rex Crum, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Dell Inc. reportedly is about to join the mobile phone fray with a new smartphone that will use Google Inc.'s Android operating system and run on AT&T Inc.'s wireless network.

The new Dell phone will launch in early 2010, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal that cited unnamed sources close to the matter. The phone is said to come with a touchscreen similar to Apple Inc.'s iPhone and will include a small digital camera.

Dell began hinting that it would enter the mobile phone market in August when it showed off a small, mobile device at an event in China. The new phone is said to be similar to that device, but with some new features and changes from the demonstration model.

It will be the first time Dell has launched a mobile phone, and the company is said to be in discussions with other U.S. wireless carriers about launching phones that use Google's Android operating system. The Dell device would be AT&T's first Android-based smart phone.

Currently, T-Mobile is the only U.S. carrier to offer smartphones running Android, but Google and Verizon Communications Inc. said on Tuesday they would soon offer mobile phones with Android.

Dell shares were down 20 cents at $15.31 after the reports came out. AT&T's stock was off by 55 cents a share at $26.19, while Google's shares rose $18.09 to $516.83.