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Dell hopes style sells

Company unveils machines aimed at rekindling sales to home = users.

By Dan=20 Zehr
AMERICAN-STATESMAN = STAFF
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Dell Inc. added a splash of color to its notebook computer lineup = Tuesday,=20 part of the company's first major push to spruce up its consumer = products and=20 shake off its lackluster reputation among home users.

With models strutting down a catwalk at Macy's flagship store in New = York,=20 Dell unveiled its new take on consumer style =97 laptops in eight = colors, from jet=20 black to flamingo pink. It also released a thin high-end notebook, = smaller=20 desktop computers and a new pair of flat-screen monitors. =

=20

DELL INC.

(enlarge=20 photo)

New Dell laptops come in eight colors, from jet black = to=20 flamingo pink.

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"Technology used to be about speeds and feeds," said Zita Cassizzi, = vice=20 president of Dell's consumer marketing. "The technology is there, so how = do we=20 personalize it for every single customer so they can get the most out of = their=20 technology?"

While outward style has become a vital part of Dell's new consumer = designs,=20 she said, the company also updated many of the internal features. The = new=20 notebooks include built-in Web cameras, mobile broadband and technology = that=20 gives users access to photos and music without booting up the computer. =

Dell also announced free one-year access to its new data-backup = service,=20 which gives home users an online back-up for their hard drives.

"It's not just about style," Cassizzi said, "but all the features in = the=20 technology."

Dell's changing approach to the consumer market comes as it tries to = reignite=20 sales to individual home users, computer buyers who increasingly have = turned to=20 rival Hewlett-Packard Co., Apple Inc. and other smaller vendors. = Tuesday's=20 release was the first full-scale rollout of new consumer products since = Michael=20 Dell returned as chief executive in January and said the company would = put new=20 energy into its consumer business.

Dell hired Ron Garriques, who helped Motorola Inc. launch the Razr = mobile=20 phone, and put him in charge of the computer maker's consumer business = in=20 February. Since then, Dell increasingly has made the unit independent = from its=20 much larger commercial business, separating most of its design and = marketing=20 operations and giving the division more autonomy.

Roughly 85 percent of the company's revenue comes from commercial = sales, but=20 consumers have fueled the PC industry's growth over the past two years. =

Dell has made some dramatic changes to tap into that market. It has = started=20 selling computers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and it has said it plans to = expand=20 its retail strategy beyond the discount chain.

The company also has wrapped almost all of its mainstream desktop and = notebook PCs under the Inspiron brand name, spokesman Bob Kaufman said. = The=20 company will eliminate the Dimension desktop name in all but its retail=20 locations, Kaufman said. The new move will simplify Dell's consumer = marketing:=20 Inspiron for mainstream, and XPS for higher-performance home models. =

Dell is trying to move away from the straightforward, corporate = design that=20 spawned the derisive nickname, Dull Inc.

"If they came out with another white, black or silver notebook at = this point,=20 it would just be boring," said tech analyst Roger Kay, president of = Endpoint=20 Technologies Associates Inc. "Simply having the color creates some = buzz."

Although the new colors mark a step in the right direction, Kay said, = consumers typically haven't strayed beyond the usual PC color palette. = Some will=20 gravitate toward the greens, reds and yellows, he said, but not enough = to=20 suddenly make Dell the hip brand among consumers.

For now, that title clearly belongs to Apple. It has taken an = approach=20 different from Dell and other PC makers, creating a stylish image by = offering=20 consumers a limited set of catchy designs.

H-P also has tapped into the active consumer market, especially among = notebook PC buyers. It has created a look and feel that's uniquely H-P, = Kay=20 said, and the brand has resonated with consumers who can see its models = at=20 retail stores such as Best Buy.

"Dell shouldn't imitate H-P" or Apple, Kay said. "The point in brand = space is=20 to come up with your own thing. Be distinctive, then people will relate = it to=20 you."

That will become increasingly important as the home-computer market = matures=20 and style becomes a larger factor in purchasing decisions, according to = a new=20 report from Forrester Research. Much as car-buying decisions have become = more=20 influenced by issues other than what's under the hood, computer makers = will have=20 to adapt to a new "age of style," said J.P. Gownder, a technology = analyst and=20 author of the report.

Catering to more style-conscious consumers will mean different things = for=20 different computer makers, Gownder said.

Apple and its limited set of stylish PC models, for example, fits a = high-end=20 niche comparable to Louis Vuitton in fashion or Audi in automobiles, he = said.=20 H-P's image is based on new types of computers, such as its TouchSmart = PC that=20 features a touch screen and is designed for high-traffic areas, such as = a=20 kitchen counter.

Dell can set itself apart in the age of style by relying on its = ability to=20 customize a customer's computer, he said.

The company's new consumer marketing slogan is "Yours is Here," but = Gownder=20 said that has to include aesthetic options, not just choices of memory = loads and=20 processor speeds.

"Color is just the first step, although Dell has given a lot of = options with=20 the eight colors," he said. With direct sales model, "I can put together = a PC=20 that resembles my personality, but also fits the setting in which I use = it."=20

As consumers buy three or four computers for their homes, he said, = the design=20 and function for each will become more specific.

Computer makers will start to design models in stainless steel to = match the=20 kitchen appliances, for example, or build PCs for the living room that = look more=20 like stereo components than computer towers.

"Most technology." Gownder said, "is getting to the point where = people can=20 make their own combination that's sensitive to the setting and the = application=20 they want it to be in."

dzehr@statesman.com; 912-5932

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Dell hopes style sells

Company unveils machines aimed at rekindling sales to home = users.

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