steve - I already know all that stuff, nothing new except for
the stuff your not supposed to talk about cuase you've signed
a NDA!!
Anyway, when the facts present themselves, Dell may well have
a $500 PC. I never said they "never" would, I just predicted
that they would emphatically state they not in that business
in their Q3 earnings announcement and the reasons why which is exactly what the did! Now is not the time... maybe never. I know their business strategy pretty well. I'll even alert everyone to Dell's entry into this business prior to their official announcement! Remember if if if if.
This is their official stance today from the Forbes article:
Dell is after the knowledgeable
consumer who knows what they want
and wants lots of it. Dell is not interested
in the low end of this market. Its
lowest-priced system for the home comes
in at $1,700. Contrast this with Compaq's
entry-level home system, a less powerful
machine priced at $1,080 with a monitor.
So-called sub-$1,000 machines made by
Compaq, Acer, Packard Bell NECand
others are flying off the shelves. Dell
knows it has no advantage there.
Dell does hope many low-end customers
will eventually want to upgrade to
higher-end machines. It expects that,
having become more computer- literate,
they will shop on the Internet. "It's my
belief that the replacement cycle of a new
sub-$1,000 customer is-at worst-18
months," says Dell's chief financial
officer, Thomas Meredith. "It's one of
the richest opportunities ever handed to
us," he says.
Won't customers who buy cheap
machines from Compaq and others stick
with those brands when it's time to
replace them? Replies Paul Bell, head of
Dell's new consumer division: "Our
research shows there just isn't a lot of
brand loyalty."
Remember, their is no hard evidence yet, today is not the same
as yesterday so history may not prove to be the best guide.
MEATHEAD |
