Dell brings MP3 player under brand umbrella
Published: 23 Sep 2003 16:30 BST
Dell is about to crank up the jukebox.
The PC maker is preparing to unveil a new consumer-electronics plan that involves selling two new devices, including a portable music player, under its brand name for the holidays.
Outside computers, Dell has put its name on only a limited number of product categories, such as printers, network switches, projectors and USB storage devices. But the company, which sells several consumer-electronics products via its software and peripherals business and online store, believes that offering more such devices can help it meet revenue goals.
Dell is expected to discuss its latest consumer-electronics plans during a press conference on Thursday, which will also outline an upgrade of its online store and touch on new Axim handhelds.
One of its first new consumer-electronics devices will be a hard drive-based portable MP3 player, sources familiar with Dell's plans said. The player, which is expected to include a 15GB drive, will compete with others in the market, most notably Apple Computer's iPod. Dell sells the iPod on its own site and is expected to continue doing so after the debut of Dell's own player.
The products are expected to ship in October or early November.
Dell is not likely to unveil many other details about the device -- or of any new products it intends to offer -- during the press conference.
However, Dell is expected to reveal that it is working on a line of LCD televisions and a pair two new Axim models.
Dell's new Axims are likely to include a slimmer model, dubbed the Axim X3 and a new wireless model, while the company's LCD TVs are likely to include a 17-inch model and a 30-inch model.
The computer maker already sells MP3 players and LCD TVs, as well as printers, from other companies. Dell is expected to continue selling those products despite its own presence in those markets.
Dell representatives declined to comment for this story, but senior executives including chief executive Michael Dell and president Kevin Rollins have indicated the company's interest in music players, wireless handhelds and LCD TVs several times in the past.
While Dell is likely to continue to emphasise business products such as servers and storage systems, the company sells a huge quantity of products via its software and peripherals business. Expanding sales of consumer-electronics market is another area the company can tap to further its goal of boosting revenue to the $60bn (£36.41bn) mark over the next few years.
Although Dell will seek to mine the consumer-electronics market, it's unlikely that the company's efforts will be as broad as competitors such as Gateway, which plans 50 new products this year -- most of them consumer-electronics devices.
In addition to selling its new products as standalones, Dell is likely to combine them with its PCs. Dell offered a number of special consumer-electronics bundles, which included its printers and Axim handheld, for the back-to-school season and is expected to offer more for the holiday season.
Brooks Gray, an analyst with Technology Business Research, wrote in a recent report that Dell's bundling strategy will only expand in the coming years.
"There is an underlying strategy to Dell's flat-screen TV initiative. As the industry has predicted for many years, the home will eventually evolve into a networked environment of consumer electronics and computing devices," he wrote. "Dell, along with many other vendors, is planning to capitalise on this trend. During the coming three years, TBR believes the company will begin to bundle more and more consumer electronics devices with its PCs and offer attractive home 'networked' solutions. Sony should be the most concerned about Dell's entry into the TV market."
Meanwhile, Dell is working on a related PC. Dell plans to offer a Media Center PC based on Microsoft's Windows XP Media Centre Edition 2004 software, code-named Harmony, which will come out on 30 September, CNET's News.com has reported.
CNET News.com's Ina Fried contributed to this report.
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