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Dell disclosed yesterday that it was preparing to enter the Smart Phone business, adding to the escalating competition as mobile handset and computer makers converge on one of the only parts of the personal technology market still showing strong growth and profits. Confirmation of Dell’s long-rumored intentions in the mobile market came as China Mobile showed off a model of a Dell Smart Phone running Google’s Android operating system. Dell described the handset as a “proof-of-concept prototype” and said that the company was working with the Chinese mobile operator on launch plans. Dell did not disclose further details or timing.

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Technology companies like Sybase (SY) and VeriSign (VRSN) are looking to tap robust growth in the nascent US mobile banking market as text message use rises and banks aggressively explore ways to save. Mobile banking services typically allow users to make payments, check balances, transfer money between accounts and generate statements of recent transactions on their handsets. In the deepening recession, mobile banking is seen as a cost saver for banks, as customers who use mobile banking make fewer calls to customer service.”The big banks are all moving aggressively,” said Steve Kietz, chief executive of Mobile Money Ventures, a joint venture between Citigroup Inc (C) and top South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom (017670.KS). Text messaging, initially slow to catch on in the United States, has been getting more popular with Americans, especially younger ones.

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