Dell Announces New Music Player, Download Service

gotr00t writes "It appears that Dell Computer Corp. has announced that by the end of the year, they will have released their digital audio player, known in short as the 'Dell DJ.' Along with the player, there will also be a digital music download service. Looks like Dell is also joining Apple in the consumer products category."

Comments

dude...

[foobar31337]

so now can i get the Dude You're Gettin a Dell song from them for only $1? No way dude! I'm gettin a dell now!

Holy crap that thing's ugly

[noewun]

In more serious news, Dell will need to have Apple's marketing savvy to have Apple's success, and I don't think they do.

Another "Apple is our R&D dept." idea.

[General Sherman]

I don't know how many times people have seen this, but if it's ANYTHING like other PC companies that have tried to copy apple, they're usually quite terrible (such as www.buymusic.com).

I highly doubt that this will have any effect, if any, on the iPod.

Re:Another "Apple is our R&D dept." idea.

[piznut]

Dell is being smart, they are letting Apple basically test the market for them.

I think Apple's original strategy with iTMS was to create a cool premium service that you coudld get only by buying a Mac...then later launch it for windows in order to capitalize on the whole market.

Trouble is, the lag time waiting for the PC version of iTMS is so long that a smart competitor (Dell) has decided to step in and try to steal the hype.

From a Houston Chronicle article:

"Apple has said it will make the program available for the Windows operating system by the end of the year"

It looks like there will be some interesting competition by the end of the year. That's never a bad thing for consumers as far as I can see.

Re:Another "Apple is our R&D dept." idea.

[LionMage]

In a recent Newsweek article, Apple let slip that iTunes for Windows has been moved up, apparently because development has progressed faster than expected. They're citing an October release, now, less than a month away:

And Apple, NEWSWEEK learned, quietly informed some music insiders that it's moved up the date for expanding its current Mac-only iTunes for the vast universe of Windows-based PCs to mid-October. Apple couldn't be reached for comment.

i bet it was the interns

[obsid1an]

You know it was the interns that thought this idea up.

Apple blew this one...

[Skyshadow]

I can understand why Apple decided to release their service as a Mac-only affair for the first couple of months, but I absolutely can't agree with it.

Apple's stockholders should be storming Infinite Loop right now with pitchforks and torches -- in excluding Windows users, they went out and squandered the sort of lead (time-to-market wise) that CEOs have wet dreams about. And do you think they sold any more Macs than they would have otherwise? I doubt it...

All in all, I think Dell is in a great position on this one *assuming* that Microsoft doesn't get away with another violation of antitrust law ("You must include a desktop link to our music software or we won't sell you any copies of Windows").

I wonder what Dell will become if they escape from being Just Another Wintel vendor...

Re:Apple blew this one...

[goat_attack]

Apple's working on a PC version of iTunes as we speak. It should be out in October I believe.

A simultanious PC release of the iTunes Store probably would have led to widespread problems. (BuyMusic.com anyone?) And it would be tough to recover from the PR fallout of a disasterious launch. Better to do it right first, than fix it later (if only more companies worked this way...)

Dell copies Apple AGAIN

[Phroggy]

Any details on how the music download service will work? Subscription with free downloads but strict DRM, subscription with paid downloads and no/light DRM, paid downloads with no subscription but strict DRM, paid downloads with no subscription and no/light DRM?

Pricing of the Dell Digital Jukebox? Less than $299? I hope so, considering how cheap it looks (compare cheap buttons and scroll wheel vs touch-sensitive buttons and wheel with no moving parts).

Is Dell the new Microsoft?

[weez75]

In the same way Microsoft decided they would try to be all things to all people, Dell appears to have its heart set on dominating all things electronic. An iPod wannabe, a flat-screen TV, and other home electronics? Microsoft once sold operating systems. Then came an office suite, servers, mice, games, ERP suites, and now a fabulous media center for the whole family.

I'll stick to my iPod...

Re:Compared to Apple's own

[emilymildew]

Intelligent reasons why I'd choose a Mac over another machine? I get more done. I don't know how to explain it, but I get so much more done on this than I ever did on my PCs. And you know, there's something to be said for asthetics. I hear people make fun of this reason all the time, but why shouldn't I want to look at something pretty if I am going to be looking at it for long periods of time? What's wrong with wanting to see something asthetically pleasing when I sit down at my computer?

Lighting a fire under Apple's....

[Ibanez]

I wonder if this means Apple will get a Windows version of iTunes out sooner. With this announcement, and Dell's already well established consumer base, Apple's hopes of trying to capture the PC market might be thwarted if they don't act fast...

Blake

Re:Yet another music service?

[Hamhock]

What, may I ask, is draconian about the iTunes music store's copy-protection measures? I can put the files I've bought on my three Macs, I can burn as many CDs as I want and give them to my friends and family to listen to (or listen to them [the burnt CDs] on any other computer), and I can put them on my iPod. No, I can't share them with complete strangers, but I'm not likely to that with anything else I own either. It's pretty darned reasonable in my eyes.