DELL AND AMERICA ONLINE ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO ENHANCE ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR DELL CUSTOMERS BUSINESS EDITORS/HI-TECH WRITERS ROUND ROCK, TEXAS AND DULLES, VA.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FEB. 10, 2000-- DELL
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ROUND ROCK, Texas and DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Feb. 10, 2000--
Dell Consumer PCs to Offer AOL 5.0 With Easy Access
to Dell Services and Support
Dell to Offer One Year of Pre-paid AOL Service with Purchase of
Select Dell Consumer PCs
Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: DELL.O) and America Online, Inc.
(NYSE: AOL.N) today announced an agreement that will make it even easier
for customers to go online with AOL through Dell PCs sold in the
United States. The agreement will provide an installed version of
AOL's next-generation 5.0 software that features fast and convenient
access to Dell products, services and support.
Dell will offer customers a choice of the AOL service or its own
Dellnet Internet service program with the purchase of select
Dimension(TM) desktop and Inspiron(TM) notebook PCs. As a world leader
in Internet commerce and integration, Dell plans to begin installation
of the specialized version of AOL later this spring. Under the
agreement, Dell also will offer one year of pre-paid AOL service
included with the purchase of these select Dell computers.
Today's announcement underscores Dell's capabilities as a premier
provider of Internet infrastructure, supplying products, services and
direct relationships to meet customer demand for Internet access and
personalized content.
"With the addition of AOL to Dell's factory-installed ISP
offerings, Dell customers will be able to log on to the popular AOL
Internet service and still use Dell services tailored to their
individual needs," said Janet Mountain, vice president and general
manager of Dell's consumer division. "By maintaining this direct
connection to the customer, Dell is combining our world class customer
services with the industry-leading content and interactive services of
AOL."
When logging on to AOL with their new PCs, AOL members will find
it easier than ever to link to www.dell.com where they can access
services and information relevant to the Dell system they purchased.
Jan Brandt, America Online's president of marketing, said, "With
consumers increasingly buying computers specifically to go online, the
AOL software installed on Dell consumer computers will make it easier
than ever for consumers to go online with AOL. With AOL's
revolutionary 5.0 software on Dell's best-of-breed consumer computers,
people will enjoy the best possible online experience."
According to industry analysts(1), more than 200 million people
enjoy Internet access worldwide, and that number is predicted to grow
to more than 1 billion over the next 10 years. Furthermore, Dell
believes access to the Internet continues to be an important priority
for its consumer customers.
Dell is extending its Internet focus on customer relationships
through several initiatives such as affiliations with companies like
Homestead.com for personal home pages on the Internet; Music Match to
turn home PCs into stereos with MP3 music; and @Backup to remotely
store and back up important data over the Internet. Other offerings
include: E-Support-Direct from Dell; Gigabuys.com, Dell's online
superstore for computer accessories and more; and product bundles that
include Dellnet Internet access and AOL. |
