A rumoured smartphone family from PC and laptop manufacturer Dell has been sent back to the drawing board based on a lack of carrier interest.

The devices, which were first speculated on several years ago, have finally made their way into reality but have unfortunately met with a poor response on the part of mobile phone operators, who do not seem to interpret Dell's inaugural step into the mobile market as a convincing one.

According to Vnunet, Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu said: "From our conversations with supply chain and industry sources, it appears that it ultimately came down to lack of carrier interest." Though Dell never officially commented on the rumours about its mobile venture, leaked pictures have led many to believe that the company is developing smartphones.

The two most widely-known devices are said to run Google Android and Windows Mobile respectively, though it could be many months before either device makes it onto the market. It's possible that the lack of interest from carriers like T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile indicates a sentiment that Dell is not yet ready to take on main players in the smartphone market, such as Nokia, the iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry family.

These developers are considered at the peak of their game and are continuously working to develop their products and offer consumers innovative features and functionality. However, it is still expected that Dell will take its wares back to the drawing board and work on redesigning each smartphone until it is up to industry standard - a move which could then see the company entering the market on good form and throwing a tough challenge in the faces of the current market kings.