Dell ups ante in printer battle
Published: 23 Jun 2003 07:50 BST
Dell plans to add three printers to its lineup on Tuesday, bulking up its bid to wrestle buyers away from market king Hewlett-Packard.
The new models -- a laser printer, an inkjet printer and a $89 (£53.41) multi-function device that acts as printer, scanner and copier -- bring Dell's lineup to seven. Their release is scheduled to come three months after the direct PC seller launched its first printers as part of an effort to take on printer leader HP.
Like Dell's previous printers, the new devices are manufactured by Lexmark, the second-place printer maker.
"The reception by customers to our entry into the printer market has exceeded our own expectations," Tim Peters, vice president and general manager of Dell's imaging and printing unit, said in a statement.
A Dell representative said the company has sold twice as many printers as it had expected to sell, but would not say how many printers that was.
The new devices include a new top-of-the-line model for Dell: the Workgroup Laser Printer M5200n. The networked monochrome laser printer promises speeds of 35 pages per minute (ppm) and sells for $999.
The other models are aimed at individuals. The $99 Personal Inkjet Printer J740 is designed to work at speeds of up to 18 ppm for standard text, and 14 ppm for colour. Dell's Personal All-in-one A920 is an entry-level device that combines printer, scanner and copier functions for $89.
The products will be available in the United States starting on Tuesday, and elsewhere in the world, later this year.
As it has with previous models, Dell is offering free recycling of an old printer, regardless of manufacturer, with the purchase of a Dell machine.
Separately, Dell also plans on Tuesday to introduce two redesigned flat-panel displays. The Dell UltraSharp 1703FP and UltraSharp 1901FP are 17-inch and 19-inch liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitors with height-adjustable stands. They both have four USB 2.0 ports and can be pivoted to either portrait or landscape mode.
The monitors can also be mounted on a wall and are available with a "Sound Bar" speaker system for an extra $39. The 17-inch model should be available this week for a starting price of $499, while the 19-inch version is expected next month at a price of $740.
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