Dell has been dipping its toe in and out of the smartphone market for some time now, with its initial attempts to break the pocket-based market scuppered after carriers showed no interest in its handsets.

But a new model, the Mini 3i, was unveiled in China in August, and a new report from Venturebeat suggests a modified version of the same hardware is now making its way to the US.

The modification is likely to be reinstatement of wi-fi, which the Chinese government won't allow unless it meets a proprietary standard - something non-native hardware tends to struggle with.

Powered by a customised version of Google's Android platform, the Dell device is a big issue for the internet serach engine giant, as a deal between Dell and AT&T now means Android will have a presence on each of the four major US networks.