According to the Wall Street Journal reports, Dell will soon be marking its entry into the smartphone world, in competition with Apple and Research in Motion!

Next month, the PC giant - second only to Hewlett-Packard - is introducing its handsets, running Windows Mobile from Microsoft as well as Android from Google. Reports have it that Dell's initial offerings would include a device with a touchscreen, and another with a slide-out QWERTY keypad.

An under-performer for quite some time, Dell lost its top position of world's biggest PC maker to HP a couple of years back. After having lost nearly 60 percent of its market share to HP last year, Dell's stock has fallen even below $10 a share. In addition, the company is overwhelmed by job-cuts, hiring freezes and cost-cutting.

Attempting a turnaround towards more lucrative possibilities than PCs, the company is stepping into one of the most competitive technology areas.

Dell's venture into the new arena is aimed at reviving its business that has been whacked by falling sales of PCs the world over. The company has been toying with the idea of selling cellphones and even designing prototypes for nearly two years, with focus on high-end smartphones on the lines of iPhone and Blackberry.

Dell's plans are yet to be finalized, and WSJ says they may still be abandoned! CEO Michael Dell has a past record of dumping the company's earlier attempts to branch out into new areas!