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Dell To Enter PDA Market
soundsop writes "CNET News.com reports that Dell is poised to enter the PDA market. Michael Dell states that announcements for US PDA products are coming "really soon". Will I have 50 configuration options on my Dell PDA?"
I guess they are trying to work around the poorer and poorer PC sales.
Now, they'll have a hard-time against Sony, HP(aq), Palm and also Sharp whose Zaurus is really the kind of programmable gadget one may look for.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
Oh yay, Dell getting into the PDA business? Why? Does the already bloated PDA market NEED yet another Windows CE device (and you KNOW that Dell wouldn't even consider doing anything else)?
Does anyone know what exactly will Dell be selling? Will it be PDAs that they made themselves (ala Martha Stewart), or will they just be rebranding some other companies PDAs (like they are apparently going to with Lexmark printers)
:0), the one thing Dell can always be relied on is to care about quality. They don't just stick any old crap on the shelves and sell to my mother, so hopefully they'll manufacture them themselves.
Personally I hope they make them themselves. While I don't want to get into an argument of white-box versus brand name computers (damn, I mentioned it, here come the flames
Plus like the story says, being able to customize my PDA a million billion ways (if only my iPaq could have 512MB RAM) is just plain cool
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You know that guy who stole your girlfriend away from you in the summer of '95? He's going to die.
I wonder why Dell considers this a good move. It has potential - like Apple, they can offer you a handheld gizmo (ipod) with your computer... but is Dell really going to put out their own line of handhelds? Or just offer handsprings (or something) in a bundle?
If they're just going to offer handsprings, their revenue stream will be severely limited, since their main business model is to sell hardware fairly cheaply. If they put enough of a markup on the handheld hardware, people won't want to buy them (I hope) because they'll be able to purchase them elsewhere for less.
If they put out their own piece of hardware, it's a major departure from what Dell already does. It has massive potential, if it's a good piece of kit, but it will be coming into a saturated market no matter what. Right now, Dell is a value added reseller. I'm not sure they would want to try to be something else.
The only other option that I could imagine them thinking is that they will be able to 'guarantee' that whatever handheld they sell will work with whatever desktop they sell, due to software they pre-load on both.
Er... wait. Actually that's a great idea. Dell, do that. They won't get the hardware geek market, but then, they never have. They'll get the home family market, and rake in money for software that pretty much already exists. It's good sense on their part.
... If Dell is doing this without the expectation of making lots of money. I think they see PDAs becoming more mainstream every year, and they are getting their feet wet now just so they don't have to play catch-up in a couple of years.
any thoughts?
... and a purchaser of serveral large PO's for business in my area, i have always found Dell to be top quality, pretty Linux (at least SuSE) friendly, and offering great support options. i see no reason why their PDA offering would be any different, and i'm honestly curious to see just how Dell's track record with servers, desktops, and appliances translates to a rather specific market full of *very* picky users.
that said, i'm a skeptic, and with Palm and Clie and Zaurus out there, Dell is going to have to be damn near perfect in their first offering, otherwise it's just a foray into a fashion trend like the Web PC.
when it rains, it gets real soggy. when it pours, i'm under the tap just _waiting_ for the joy
Somehow I think Dell is gearing toward the corporate market rather than the personal one, making all those "I'm not getting one" comments moot. As a personal gadget addict, I agree with them - I wouldn't get one. But I build my own computers too.
Dell may be going for the bulk computer/PDA sales. Imagine companies and government agencies buying PDAs like they buy (and probably at the same time they buy) computers from Dell. Maybe they believe IT departments disburse these like they disburse computers. Imagine if Dell included better support for their PDAs in their desktop support contracts that they would for standard Palms/PocketPCs.
The day you realize Anonymous Coward isn't the name of a really prolific user, then its time to create your own
Now don't tell me they're going to use their fancy build-to-order supply chain system on this!
It says here that
Dell is seeking an ODM [google cahce] like Compal or HTC to make a device for their entry to the handheld market.
The good: The Dell handhelds will be similar to iPaq and the T-Mobile PocketPC Smartphone.
The bad: Nothing really new or different but a sticker on the devicel
The ugly: Steve..."Dude, is that a Dell in your pocket, or are you just happy to get one?"
I had a conference about storage with our Dell rep last week. He noticed that I had just bought a Toshiba e740. He told me to save my reciept because they are going to be price cutting everyone. The price he quoted me was $250... Now, he may just be blowing smoke up my ass, because he is a salesman after all. FYI...
Dell makes some really nice computers. Good hardware and excellent service. But what Dell does better than most others is marketing. You all know the "Dude" commercial.
PDAs need marketing. The only ones I've seen in use are by my teammates and other nerdy types. They need to be more mainstream, like telephones. Marketing will help increase the installed base, lower production/consumer costs, and increase application.
Dell may piggyback the PDA marketing with thier highly sucessful computer ads. I'd love to see a PDA for under $100. Marketing can do this.
E-Week PRINTED magazine had this story about a week or two ago that Dell would be going into the PDA market. How is a PRINTED magazine ahead of the game by that much???