Dell 'planning cellphone foray'

Dell Inc is planning a foray into the cellphone market as early as next month, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The company is reported to be hoping that the move will revitalise a business walloped by crumbling PC sales, however it will potentially pit it against iPhone maker Apple.

The world's No 2 maker of PCs, which has been designing prototypes for over a year, is focusing on smartphones – the class of devices that encompasses the iPhone and Research in Motion's Blackberry, the newspaper cited people familiar with the matter as saying.

The phones will be based on Google's Android operating system and Microsoft's Windows Mobile software, it said.

One model will even feature a touchscreen, not unlike the iPhone's, the Journal reported.

However, Dell has not finalised its plans and may still abandon them, the Journal added.

Dell spokesmen declined to comment.

Microsoft and Google were not available for comment.