Dell showcased a selection of its most promising and innovative products during a press conference today at The Palms in Las Vegas.
“At Dell, we’re putting the customer in the middle of everything we do,” said Paul Henri Ferrand, Dell’s Chief Marketing Officer. It’s evidently been working; according to Ferrand Dell is the “Number one technology site” in the world, with one in twelve people having purchased a Dell product on their website.
Dell announced its new Streak 7, a 4G tablet running Android 2.2 designed to take advantage of T-Mobile 4G network. The Streak 7 features a Tegra dual-core processor, a robust 7″ multi-touch screen, and both WiFi and Bluetooth capability. With its video chat capability assisted by front- and rear-facing cameras, the Streak 7 is clearly designed for high-performance social networking.
The Streak 7 is part of Dell’s targetted marketing strategy aimed at three specific groups. The Streak 7 and new Venue smartphone are designed to appeal to “Gen Y” youths addicted to social media and texting. Its all-in-one computers and XPS laptops are aimed at families seeking intuitive household entertainment systems, while high-power Alienware systems like the M17x and Aurora desktops target dedicated gamers with severe graphical and performance requirements.
The XPS laptops also challenge traditional assumptions about laptop performance by incorporating 3D displays and high-quality speaker systems developed in partnership with JBL.
Dell is also pushing its marketplace presence through both expanded retail opportunities and an enhanced selection of mobile devices on Dell.com through its Mobility Hub, shipped ready-to-use within 24 hours of purchase.
Trauben’s Impressions
Dell wants to dethrone Apple.
Once you look past the usual boastful PR smokescreen the press conference’s real purpose seems clear: it’s throwing down the gauntlet for Apple’s profitable “style” niche. Their new tablets, laptops, smart phones, and all-in-one even look a little bit like their Apple equivalents, with smooth sides, a simple, minimalistic aesthetic, and a heavy focus on audio/visual quality and social media. And they do this while still running Android or Windows 7 on powerful hardware tailor-made for a variety of audiences, something Apple sometimes has trouble with outside of the casual audience.
All told, the various goodies shown off at the press conference were quite impressive. I’d always thought of Dell’s main lineup of products as workhorse machines, high-power but fairly pedestrian systems intended for bulk purchase or users without the confidence, interest, or patience to build their own systems. I never thought they’d enter the “gadget” market to rival Apple, but the Streak 7 looks just as impressive as any iPad I’ve ever seen, and their cross-product support through the new Dell Stage software seems very promising as a cross-platform sharing system.
I would never have thought that Dell would be making a serious bid for Apple’s customers a few years ago, but I can’t say I’m sad to see them giving it a shot.
Huneycutt’s Impressions
This was the prettiest declaration of war I’ve ever seen. Big, sexy, full of bass, and without preamble. I pride myself on the ability to translate Zig Ziglar Big Business Bullshit, and I was fully expecting to flex those muscles today. Dell is a company that bears a stigma not easily shed. While Mommy and Daddy have always appreciated their budget attitude, Timmy the hardcore gamer has always associated Dell with cheap proprietary junk. I myself have at least 3 codifiable negative experiences with Dell hardware (and in admittedly limited experience) and I expected an industry-standard level of double-talk, smoke and mirrors from this conference.
We have come a long way from: “Dude, you’re getting a Dell.”
And Thank God, both from an investor and consumer standpoint. The new Dell is sleeker, sexier, and far more credible than I would ever have expected. The product line is totally sans-fluff and is, from a completely technical standpoint, very impressive. While their new tablet line will inevitably be (and likely already has been) coined an iPod clone, it’s both stylistically and technically impressive, and a smart and defensible business move.
And smart characterizes the presentation as a whole. I have an extremely low tolerance for double-talk, and my sensitivity wasn’t touched off. Sure, there was the standard self-congratulatory report on last quarter, and a few specifically and narrowly quoted statistics, but that’s canon at this point. Honestly?
I’m impressed.
This is something of a confession. I’ve hated, reviled, detested, and mocked Dell for years. And I walked into their conference fully expecting to roll my eyes far more often than I took breath. I left with a very different impression than I walked in with. I won’t belabor the analysis with undue specificity, especially given the twenty minutes of video we’ll be providing you with, so in short:
Dell has grown up: We have a new, sleek, efficient, and cleverly-managed organization that has efficiently analyzed the market and targeted specific demographics with logical solutions. They’re price-point competitive with a massive product-line and one of the largest e-tailer websites in the world.
But ultimately what I gathered from today is that Dell is gunning for not just market-share, but dominance in every major aspect of the industry. Their phones, while untested, look sexy and functional and their tablets are convincing. Their XPS line has been their most solid standard and this year looks no different, and Alienware is without peer in its niche. Their budget entries are as convincing as ever, and the fact that all of these devices have a transferable mock-OS sharing system is functionally exciting.
So, the question of the moment for this industry is: who’s going to meet this hyper-aggressive stance, and how? Whatever the answer, it’ll be a fascinating year.