Dell mobile chief Ron Garriques to quit

Dell has confirmed that the chief executive of its mobile division will leave the company at the beginning of next year.

The vendor said in a FORM 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Ron Garriques will leave on 28 January.

Dell is also reportedly planning to merge the mobile communications unit into its existing home, business, enterprise and government sections.

Garriques masterminded the move to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system for Dell's smartphones, and oversaw the launch of the Dell Streak tablet.

Jeff Clarke, Dell's vice chairman for operations and technology, will take over Garriques's role for mobile products.

Dell initially concentrated its mobile plans on the developing markets of Brazil and China, and its initial offerings in the US and Europe met with a less than enthusiastic response. Sales of its tablets and smartphones have been slow ever since.

Garriques was originally hired from Motorola in 2007, where he launched the hugely popular Razr handset. After a spell as head of Dell's consumer products group Garriques was moved to the new mobile division late last year.

Garriques organised a severance payment of $1.44m (£902,000) as well as a bonus of $378,000 (£236,000) and two $3.15m (£1.97m) consulting contracts next year.