Dell Says No Thanks To Notion Of Buying Motorola's Mobile Unit

Dell CEO Michael Dell said that his company is "more focused on the computer business" and not so focused on mobile phones. In other words, Dell doesn't want to touch Motorola with a ten-foot pole. But who would be interested in Motorola?I had to laugh when I saw the comments from Michael Dell. Dell has spent the better part of a year reorganizing itself after a string of bad quarters in the PC market. It's been focusing so closely on its PC business, that it has all but shunned any other sort of business. It killed off its PDA business, killed off its MP3 player, and has really hunkered back into its core competencies.

People have been saying for months now that Dell needs to re-enter the mobile market with a strong smartphone. The first rumors spoke of the sacred Gphone. But Dell quashed speculation that it was working with Google on a smartphone. Others thought Dell might buy Palm back when those rumors were running rampant. Now that Motorola's handset business is on the block, it seemed a logical question to ask of Mr. Dell. "We really don't comment on rumors and speculation," Michael Dell told Reuters in an interview. "We are more focused on the computer business." And that, as they say, is that. (Wouldn't Dell be kicking himself if HP were to buy Motorola?)

So if not Dell, who?

Not Nokia. It doesn't need Motorola. Samsung, LG, and Sony Ericsson are doing just fine on their own. Each has increased market share over the last 12 months. None of them needs Motorola's brand name, and they all already make quality handsets. Reports brought up the idea of a Chinese manufacturer picking up Motorola, but none of them has stepped forward publicly. That doesn't leave too many phone OEMs left.

Investors could certainly lump together the necessary funds and buy the division. As much as I'd prefer to see Motorola's handset business be bought by a company that already has its feet wet in the mobile industry, investors are probably who will end up owning Motorola.

Wait, I know. Why doesn't Google buy Motorola? That way it can compete better than MicroHoo.