“For the past 22 years, Dell has laid waste to mighty rivals with one of the most groundbreaking business innovations of the past half-century: selling technology products directly to customers via the telephone, and later the Internet, instead of going through retail stores or resellers. But now the remaining competitors, such as Hewlett-Packard, have narrowed the gap in productivity and price,” Louise Lee writes for BusinessWeek.
“That leaves Dell in a tight spot. Rollins and Michael S. Dell, founder and now chairman, must either come up with another breakthrough innovation or face a future of slugging it out on near-equal footing with rivals. ‘Michael broke the paradigm about how to run a computer business, but they haven’t been so great at finding the next paradigm,’ says David Yoffie, a professor at Harvard Business School. ‘That’s the big challenge for Dell the company and for Michael,'” Lee reports. “The world is clearly changing around Dell. The once-torrid growth in sales of personal computers has slowed, to about 5% a year. More surprising, consumers seem less enamored of buying their tech wares over the Web or phone. According to researcher NPD Group, the percentage of PC sales done via the phone and Web fell last year, and the share of sales through U.S. retail stores rose, as people flocked to shops to fiddle with new gear such as digital-music players, digital cameras, and slick laptops.”
“Consumers’ buying habits are a reflection of a broader shift in the technology world. People are mesmerized by new digital gear with unique features and style. Commodity technologies, such as plain-vanilla PCs, are passé. That’s a difficult development for Dell. It spends less on research and development ($463 million) than Apple Computer ($534 million), despite being four times Apple’s size. ‘Not investing in R&D works great in the commoditized PC world,” says Vinnie Muscolino, general partner with Babson Capital Management. “It doesn’t work as well in other areas,'” ” Lee reports. “Putting more money into R&D. Selling through retail stores. Breaking with Intel. None of these steps sound anything like Dell. The fact that analysts are raising these ideas underscores how dramatically the times are changing. If Rollins and Dell want to keep up the company’s image as one of the great stock market performers of all time, they may have to think different.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s simple: SIDAGTMBTTS. Note that Apple Retail Store grand openings continue unabated.
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When the only ‘innovation’ you have is a cheaper price, it’s only a matter of time before the gap closes and you are left with nothing to differentiate your product. Dell and Apple. Two companies that couldn’t be more different in philosophy.
INSERT TRITE “SELL THE COMPANY” REFERENCE HERE
may plummet but they’ll still be around forever, and they’ll always be a GREAT place to get cheaply made, troublesome machines lacking a decent software bundle, along with so-called “coupon” headgames that make you feel like you’ve gotten a great deal on your ho-hum stripped-down box that has one or two yummy-sounding specs (usually Ghz) on the surface and a whole lot missing under the skin. A good, cheap ticket to virus-land, until it breaks down, which Dells have a history of doing. Cheap parts kinda have that effect! Just like they make Dell laptops twice as thick as a MacBook. Boat anchor, anyone?
Go Dell!
One of my clients was about to purchase a whole bunch of Dell PCs when I threw a spanner in the works. For £10 a unit less, they could get higher spec units from HP. They were really shocked, as they’d always believed HP to be far more expensive.
IMHO, Dell kit is not suited to business. You don’t know whether two boxes side by side have the same parts or not. And their customer support stinks.
If you must go PC, buy HP. If you have a real choice, try a Mac.
Dell will “still be around forever”?? I wouldn’t count on it. There are dozens of computer manufacturers who were just as large who no longer exist. Innovate or perish.
http://musobs.blogspot.com/
i’d rather like to ask this question: can Apple continue to ‘think different’? More importantly, can Apple continue to produce ‘insanely great’ products not just ‘different’ products. How long can Jobs stay CEO? who’s there to replace him if he steps down? Everything from Apple seems to have his ‘fingerprint’. What happens if he leaves? Will Apple still have the people in place to continue to produce ‘insanely great’ products?
Apple has absolutlely NO advantages other than Steve Jobs. They are just like any PC maker, plus Steve Jobs. And there are no other visionaries at Apple or in the world, so when Jobs retires, Apple can no longer make great new products.
Oh, wait, none of that is true
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One day Jobs will pass the torch to someone with a different vision. One day. And maybe it will be a better vision? How do we know?
What we do know is that Apple has a ton of cash and a ton of growth and a ton of great products nobody can come close to matching. That means if they ever have some screw-ups again, they can survive them until better leadership comes along. Just like the survived their so-called dark days 15 years ago.
Well if Dell keeps selling laptops substancially below Apple’s combined with a secure Windows Vista, Apple could be in a lot of trouble.’
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=155
“who’s there to replace him if he steps down?”
Steve may be the one with his hand on the tiller but he has a very good crew of officers and seamen on board with him. Steve doesn’t write the code or actually design the circuits or packages. Other great minds do that. But he gets to say “Go make me this” and then choose from what results. Steve is a powerful force no doubt but his greatest asset is he ability to keep he customers focus and attention.
Isn’t it interesting… Dell never was really on the same playing field as the rest of the industry. Then, the rest of the industry became like Dell and offered their computers for competitive prices. Dell no longer has anything to set itself apart from your average computer company. While they do have this mystique that they are cheaper than everyone they really are not so. In fact the only company that can’t relly distinquish itself from the rest of the industry is Apple. They were just a few years ahead of the curve. It will be interesting to see how Dell tries to sell the Dell name brand to consumers. However, at least they try to unlike Apple.
The article read…
That’s a difficult development for Dell. It spends less on research and development ($463 million) than Apple Computer (AAPL) ($534 million), despite being four times Apple’s size.
You Get What You Pay (your computer manufacturer) For!
MW: Didn’t, as in. Michael didn’t learn to think different.
Into the toilet with Dell, that’s where turds belong!
Dude, I’m beginning to smell
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HAHA
seriously, kiss my ass.. the yale business school can analyse something that happened 20 yrs ago but can’t come up with any advice for Dell?
brilliant!!!
I’ve never seen the words “Secure” and “Windows” used in a sentence before without an ironic or otherwise humorous undertone.
MacDude, I really hope you’re kidding because you said something that was bull and then linked to a bull article to defend it..
Where’s that article that proves it wrong now.. I forgot, but it’s somewhere.
Are you people serious? You honestly think that even when Jobs steps down from CEO, he’s just not going to be involved in the company one bit anymore? You must be kidding.
Jobs would probably be willing to help out Apple when he’s 90. Not lead anything, but give suggestions, help with design, help with software, hardware, whatever. He’ll always give guidance, he just won’t be the CEO. Too bad.
Jobs revived the company. He set them on the right track. They will always follow what he wanted for the company even if he left, which I highly doubt he ever will.
Anyway, Michael Dell wouldn’t know what to do with his company of somebody offered to do it for him, much less him doing it himself. Dell won’t go anywhere and they won’t change anything. Let them lose their lead, they’re all arrogant, incompetent and unwilling to adapt. We don’t need a PC maker like that.
“Well if Dell keeps selling laptops substancially below Apple’s combined with a secure Windows Vista, Apple could be in a lot of trouble.”
1) Considering that Windows Vista is not yet released, if Dell is selling such machines then Dell is obviously engaged in fraud.
2) Dell, and others, have been selling laptops “substantially below Apple’s” for some time. Apple is still selling laptops.
People who shop rationally when making major purchases, place value not price (or looks) at the top of their list.
Dell is waste.
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Is Constant Change.
Innovate or DIE
Dell is a one trick pony that will dissapear as fast as it arrived….
Apple’s growth will be superior to Dell’s from now until its demise.
“More surprising, consumers seem less enamored of buying their tech wares over the Web or phone.”
That’s the interesting part.
I think so many people have been burned with phone tag, machines that are DOA, etc. that they’re going back to shopping in the store for these things. It also means that consumers are a bit more tech-savvy and understand that just because it says, “Works with Windows” on the box doesn’t mean it will actually work with Windows. They want to see a real person and ask them questions.
With all the problems that Windows users are having, it’s really no surprise that they’re eschewing the on-line world and preferring the meatspace approach. And that’s where the Apple Stores shine.
“If Rollins and Dell want to keep up the company’s image as one of the great stock market performers of all time, they may have to think different.”
Note: DELL image is great stock market performer.
Apple image: “Innovator, trend setter, stylish, top quality”
From which company would you rather purchase you next computer?
leodavinci
I agree however for most people price is the most important consideration. With the exception of those win users that have very expensive windows apps I don’t think price is the reason why people don’t go with Apple. It has more to do with familiarity (same computer as the office) , because it is likely what their friends use, or because they have to use customized biz win only apps.
Hey Mac Dude try going to Dells web site and purchase anything close to an Ibook . I believe Dell had a special that they advertised in Parade magazine 2 weeks ago for a $430 lap top. To make the thing usable with productivity software a decent size hard drive virus protection software comparable RAM and Dell 3 year mail away of hope forever service you’re talking $1300.Think you can find an Ibook for that price??? And good luck trying to find something like the sudden motion sensor technology in a Dell. That feature alone plus the more durable plastic case of the Ibook is worth over $500 in non future repairs. I had a 12″ G4 867mhz pwr book that I had literally dropped from heights of 2 to 4 feet on hard wood floors to concrete and although the outer case looked like crap and the magnetic catch barely closed the damn thing still booted flawlessly and this is a vintage product 2001 before Apple admitted it had this technoly in it’s laptops. Most Dell products are way too fragile.
Here’s a cool story of how awful Dell hardware and software is. A friend of mine was having trouble with her NEW Dell printer and DELL computer.
The error message we were getting was the printer was busy. This was the first time we tried the NEW equipment. Every time we tried to get the printer to work, all the error message would say was “printer is busy” Well it couldn’t be busy because we couldn’t print anything. So i started hitting buttons and hit a calibration button on the printer and this is “really” what the printer weant to inform us of. Instead of straight out telling us to “callibrate printer” it really didn’t tell us anything and wasted a lot of time. Real nice programing. Gop figure they only spend that much on R&D? Hmmm!
Is Jobs the only one with ‘vision’ at Apple and everyone is just doing what he says or is there autonomy and decision-making there? If he’s surrounded by a bunch of amazing managers and engineers who are followers, once Jobs leaves, it’s not going to be pretty.
I think it’s price and the fact that people just don’t want to learn yet another thing. the general jane just wants to get things done and not have to learn something new even if it’s ‘better’. It took a lot of time for my family members to get used to OS X. But now that they have, they’re never buying Windows again.
I’m sure many of you have heard the old saying, “No one gets fired for buying IBM.” (It was fairly accurate until the mid 80s.)
Well, for the past 10 years I’ve had a standing policy that anyone who buys Dell equipment for the company gets fired on the spot.
The reason? I lead the technical areas of an aerospace company doing some fairly cutting edge stuff. We are pushing the technology forward. That is what the company is about: expanding our horizons and moving us (we humans) forward. Maybe that’s one reason why all the executives had standardized their personal computing on Apple systems long before joining the company and why the majority of computers in the company are Macs.
Why would we support any company (in this case Dell) that is so minimally interested in doing the same? The simple fact is we are not. If they’re not interested in pushing the technology forward then we are not interested in them.
Thus… during the intake briefings the very first morning any person starts work they are bluntly told, “Buy any Dell product for this company and you’re fired. Period. No exceptions.” If they can’t agree with that condition of employment they are free to walk out the door right then and there and we’ll gladly pay them for the couple hours they’ve been there as well as happily watch them walk away.
If overall online computer sales are down, but Apple’s online sales are up- what does that say about the state of the Macintosh?
Emeril says crow goes better with hot sauce Mr Dell.
http://www.heavenlyheathotsauce.com/page/HH/prod/HH141
If overall online computer sales are down, but Apple’s online sales are up- what does that say about the state of the Macintosh?
Emeril says crow goes better with hot sauce Mr Dell.
http://www.heavenlyheathotsauce.com/page/HH/prod/HH141
If overall online computer sales are down, but Apple’s online sales are up- what does that say about the state of the Macintosh?
Emeril says crow goes better with hot sauce Mr Dell.
http://www.heavenlyheathotsauce.com/page/HH/prod/HH141
If overall online computer sales are down, but Apple’s online sales are up- what does that say about the state of the Macintosh?
Emeril says crow goes better with hot sauce Mr Dell.
http://www.heavenlyheathotsauce.com/page/HH/prod/HH141
I tried to think different, but my head just started to hurt. Then, I thought, wow, like thinking can be really painful. So, I gave up thinking altogether, and you know what, no more neurospasms! This thinking business is over rated.
Now that Apple has gone the way of parts bins to get their computers, Dell will crush them like a bug. By the time developers get their applications finally ported to Intel there will be so may viruses and malware packages running around that no one will buy a Mac. It is obvious by the lack of any information from Apple that they are overwhelmed by the attacks and have no plan to fix them. This is the computer company you want to bet your business on?
Any company that plans on staying in business for more than a week purchases equipment from companies like Dell. They are reliable, fast, and on-site technical support is available. When you Mac breaks you get to stand in a bread line hoping to get in to see a “Genius” before the end of the millenium. Not the way to show customers how important they are to you. This isn’t even counting the horribly overpriced extended warranty from Apple. Virtually every other computer company charges maybe $100 for three years (and that is on-site) but not Apple – $300+ and you get to stand in line to watch your computer disappear for a month.
When is Apple going to grow up into a real computer company that can deal with consumer and corporate issues?
ShadowSelf
Very well stated, 2-ché
MW;Job, as in, <sic>
Dell was never about being a computer company. They were a business model — one that’s played out.
I can’t imagine they’ll go away, though. They’ll stick around like 7-11.
Can Dell learn to just plain THINK?
Uh, yeah, Dell is the gold standard for quality… Uh.. Right. Say, could you pass the crack pipe over here? I’m not feeling it…. LOL
“More surprising, consumers seem less enamored of buying their tech wares over the Web or phone.”
you’ll buy commodity stuff over the web, a steven king book etc, or a commodity good.. not consumer electronics.. NOT without someone telling you exactly what brand/model etc.
that’s why dell fails at CE where they abandon the retail segment
People are afraid to stay at home and purchase via the web because they don’t know what a pissed off kitten might do to them. Out in the mall, kittens are not allowed.
Never, NEVER underestimate the killing potential of a paraplegic kitten.
Somewhat fairer comparison between Apple.com and Dell.com, trying to buy comparable systems with comparable features. Note, that it’s almost imposible to match perfectly, so it’s not perfect, but the surprise cam eto me when comparing servers – Apple’s way cheaper.
Ultralight
Apple: iBook G4 (1.33GHz, 512MB, 12.1″ LCD, 40GB, ATI 9550 w/32MB, DVD/CDRW, 6hr Battery Life) $999
Dell: Inspiron 710m (1.7GHz P-M, 512MB, 12.1″ LCD, Intel Shared GFX,40GB, DVD/CDROM, +Corel Office, 5hr Battery Life) $998
Summry; Dell has a faster CPU and slightlyy higher res (1280×800 vs 1024×768) but no dedicated graphics means you’re stuck in productivity land; even Quake 2 might be too much for it. Why does no one else have a 12.1″ notebook with a graphics chip but Apple… hmm? Anyone? That and a longer batterlife, tough case and better included apps, the iBook is a narrow winner. I think the MacBook Solo will be hugely better when it comes.
“Pro” Laptop
Apple: MacBook Pro (Duo 1.83GHz*, 512MB, 15.4″ LCD, 80GB, DVD/RW, ATI x1600 128MB, ) $1999
Dell: Inspiron E1705 (Duo 1.83GHz, 512MB, 17″ LCD, 80GB, DVD/RW, nVidia 7800 256MB, +Corel Office) $2019
Summary: A little more for 667MHz RAM, a little more for the graphics chip, etc, and even though it’s 17″ it’s the same resolution as the 15.4″ MacBook (1440×960), meaning the Mac will look shaper. 256MB nVidia is actually only comparable to the x1600 (different games will fare differently) but for HD video Avivo’s hard to beat. (*) Apple is currently offering a minor CPU upgrade that offsets this slightly. Also consider that the Dell is 1.5″ wider, 1.5″ longer, 0.6″ thicker and 2.1lbs heavier. Winner, MacBook Pro.
Server
Apple: X-Serve G5 (Dual 2.3GHz G5’s, 4GB RAM, 3x74GB Raptors, 7TB X-Raid, FibreChannel and PCI graphics, 4U total) $19598 (Note, Apple has no CAL’s)
Dell: PowerEdge 1850 (Dual 3.0GHz Xeon’s, 4GB RAM, Windows Std R2/x64 w 5 CALs, 2x146GB Maxtor 10K, PowerVault 220 4.2TB 14x300GB Dual SCSI/320, 4U total) $23321
Summary: Ouch. 3 more terabytes on Fibre not SCSI with an OS that has far less overhead and no CALs, which add up quickly. For a 100-person company, the Dell would cost about $3400 more for CALs. That and the Apple’s brushed metal look is just so much cooler and clean looking than black. Winner: duh.
Well – I think the belief that Mac’s are expensive is being quickly eroded. Yes, you can get a Dell laptop, Duo even, for far less than that, but ask yourself what you’re loosing in the process. The Dell “Pro” already doesn’t have a lot of what the Mac did – what else can you live without?
Bottom-line, Mac’s for the nuts-and-bolts are priced competitively, and when you consider the amount of software in Macs, the ruggedness of Macs and Apple’s vastly superior support (Dell used to be so good at this too!), its easy to see why they MV has shrunk to well below Apples. About time I say!