Dell Halts U.S. Smartphone Sales: Is The PC-Era Company Doomed?

Dell has canned its current mobile device strategy, ceasing all smartphone sales in the U.S. in an effort to align its long-term outlook with greater growth and high-margin products.

Dell will stop producing and selling its smartphones Venue and Venue Pro -- both of which run either Windows Mobile or Android. Dell says that the phones have been discontinued because they've reached the end of their lifespans. In an interview with PC World, a company spokesperson said, Mobility products have shorter life-cycles than laptops and desktops.

Other mobile products from Dell were expected to be released later this year reports Cnet, but Dell did not say whether the device would be a smartphone. Now that smartphone sales have been suspended, it appears that new mobile products from Dell will either be held back or be in the form of a tablet.

Dell entered the mobile-device market less than two years ago, but stagnant sales have forced the company to give up on its efforts. The company first broke into the smartphone market in August 2010 with the Aero smartphone and Streak 5 devices. Both were give less-than-favorable reviews.

Dell's failed attempt to break into the mobile device market isn't without precedent: HP has had several colossal failures in the mobile market and even successful players such as HTC and Motorola have had difficult times cornering the market in a way that Samsung and Apple have.

Dell, formerly a colossal force in the PC Era, has had difficulty finding its footing in the Post-PC Era. It recently discontinued its netbook line and has largely put its consumer business on the backburner as it focuses more on selling enterprise solutions.