The computer tech giant, Dell Corporation, will be abandoning RIM’s BlackBerry smartphone platform, in favor of its own smartphones that are powered by Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 operating system, and Google’s Android mobile OS.

The company will start by replacing 25,000 BlackBerry smartphones with the company’s own Venture Pro smartphone, the company’s latest Windows Phone 7 device. Dell will later give employees the option of using smartphones powered by Google Android.

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Microsoft has confirmed the company would be releasing a sync tool for Mac computers that would allow Windows Phone 7 smartphones to sync with the Mac OS X operating system.

Mac users would be able to seamlessly sync various content in two-way sync capability, which would include sync support for contacts, calendar, photos and media, and among other content.

Competition in the mobile space has greatly intensified, and continues to do so, with a number of smartphones currently available from top vendors powered by a diverse group of operating systems, including Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS devices.

According to the latest computer sales figures from IDC Research for the third quarter of 2010, Apple is now the third largest computer maker in the United States with a market share of about 10-percent.

If Microsoft opted to leave Mac users in the dark when it comes to syncing, those people, in particular, business users, would probably not even consider purchasing a Windows Phone 7 smartphone, and instead, to stick with Apple’s iPhone that offers seamless integration with iTunes and Mac computers.

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Garmin, the maker of the popular portable GPS navigation units, is developing a Windows Phone 7 Series powered smartphone, coupled with its GPS application, the same version found on the company’s portable GPS units, according to a confidential source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans were not made public.

Late in 2009, Google announced it would release Google Maps Navigation, a free application for Android powered devices that provided turn-by-turn GPS navigation with its popular street-view imagery.

That announcement alone caused both the Garmin and TomTom stocks to tank.

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The world’s largest software maker, Microsoft Corporation, announced the company would increase its quarterly dividend by 23-percent to $0.16 per share, marking the first increase since two-years ago.

The Microsoft stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) has seen very little volatility over the last five-years, and anxious investors are looking for better returns as the stock price has provided marginal capital gains over a long period.

Investors who take long positions on the Microsoft stock as at November 18 will be eligible for the increased dividend distribution, which is scheduled to be paid to shareholders on December 9.

The increase in the dividend to stockholders indicates the company is confident that the economy is and will continue to improve, and that it will have sufficient cash from operations to fund capital, research & development, among other cash requirements.

For fiscal 2011, Microsoft is now expected to distribute $5.66-billion to shareholders, up from $4.6-billion in fiscal 2010.

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Microsoft Corporation today unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series, the operating system that will power the next generation Windows Mobile handsets.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona officially unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series. Mr. Ballmer told the crowd, “Windows Phone 7 Series marks a turning point toward phones that truly reflect the speed of people’s lives and their need to connect to other people and [accomplish other] seamless experiences.”

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