"The MID takes them into a different space than the traditional PC installed base. Netbooks would be closer to what they are selling," Gold said.

Selling MIDs would be similar to selling smartphones, so Dell would need significant partnerships with wireless carriers who provide Internet access services like WiMax, Gold said. It would also need strong partnerships with companies like Intel, which is pushing WiMax, to subsidize the hardware.

Dell's limited smartphone presence could hurt its attempts to sell MIDs, and it may be better off reselling devices from other companies than making its own.

"There's so much stuff in the market. Even Hewlett-Packard's having trouble selling their smartphones," Gold said.

This is not the first rumor surrounding Dell working on a mobile device. Dell has been rumored to be looking at smartphones, with speculation reaching fever pitch earlier this year when rumors surfaced of Dell showing an Android-based smartphone at the GSMA Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. However, the phone never materialized.