“A long list of powerful companies have tried and failed to make much of a mark in the world of digital entertainment, where Apple reigns supreme,” Peter Burrows reports for BusinessWeek.
Burrows interviewed Chief Executive Michael Dell by email about Dell’s new plan. Here are some excerpts:
Burrows: To what degree is this initiative about taking on Apple? Can you make a dent in Apple’s share in iPods and iTunes?
Dell: This isn’t about Apple. This is about Dell innovating for our customers.
MacDailyNews Take: Translation: “This is all about Apple. This is about Dell not having iPod+iTunes and losing consumer PC sales to Macs because of it.”
Burrows: I understand you personally championed the purchase of Zing. Is this true? Why?
Dell: Ron Garriques [president for Dell’s Global Consumer Group and former head of the mobile-phone division at Motorola] and team deserve the credit for championing Zing—they are doing a great job evolving our consumer strategy and driving personalized technology and entertainment experiences to consumers. I’m an enthusiastic beta tester and believe Zing could be very exciting for our customers.
MacDailyNews Take: If Ron Garriques does even half the job he did with Motorola, Dell should immediately begin making plans to shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
Burrows: I’m told the company plans to bring out hardware devices designed to make use of the Zing technology to buy/play/share this content. How important will such hardware be for the company?
Dell: We’re watching the device space closely. Right now our focus is on testing services that allow consumers to link and share content across many types of devices and through multiple services. Consumers are seeking a service that lets them access whatever source of music or movie content they want on any device. We believe that an alternative to the single device and service model offering available to consumers today would be compelling.
MacDailyNews Take: Translation: “We don’t have an iPod killer because the only true iPod killer is the next-generation iPod. As for Zing, we have allowed ourselves to be deluded once again by outside influences, including failed Moto execs and quote-for-hire charlatans. We’ll blow huge chunks – of cash and other things – on this. Investors should be massing with pitchforks, but since I brought this company into the world, they’ll stand idly by and let me take it out, too.”
Burrows: It seems to me that if the strategy works, Dell could be the primary counterweight to Apple’s closed digital media model. Am I making too much of this?
Dell: I don’t think you are.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s digital media model is not “closed.” As for Dell’s response: iCal’ed.
Full article here.
Life would be very boring without people like Michael Dell.
It’s a lot more fun picking on him and Gates, Ballmer, Dvorak, Enderle, etc., than it is just reading boring old stuff about software updates (no matter how snappy they are).
To the person that doesn’t like iTunes:
iTunes is Apple’s killer app, it has enabled Apple to sell iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs. Just look at the general lameness that preceded it, winamp please.
Whoa, I was at a computer forum and a hockey game broke out!
Kudos on the vocab MDN.
Never thought I’d see the word charlatan used again! Ha ha ha… Perfect word for Enderle though.
Congrats, you guys are doing a great job here. Hysterical stuff.
–mAc
Does this mean we now have to endure Zing Tang too? Actually, that rolls of the tongue nicely….
Re: Skating to where the puck has been…
I, for one, don’t believe the stand alone MP3 player market is dying…. not as long as Apple continues this ridiculous policy of only building iPhones for the crappiest network in the country….
I have an iPhone now, and I can tell you, now I know first hand why AT&T;ranks LAST or SECOND TO LAST in EVERY region of the country for network quality according to BOTH Consumer Reports AND JD Powers…. Their network absolutely BLOWS!
As soon as my contract’s up, I’m getting a Touch and off to Verizon I go…. I’d rather have a Touch and a simple cell phone, rather than an iPhone that can’t even keep the call up! (and I have the first iPhone, not the 3G w/ the crippled Infineon chipset – why oh why would Apple be stupid enough to not use a Qualcomm chipset???)
MW: works – as in ‘a Qualcomm chipset works’