Filed under: Cellphones

Ugh, make it stop. Every few months, someone in the media asks Michael Dell the inevitable question: “Do you plan on competing with Apple’s iPhone?” While speaking recently in the Citi Technology Conference in New York, the chief executive stated that “I think you will see us with small screen devices,” and he continued on to state that we the people will see Dell producing “smaller and smaller devices that have capabilities of the [iPhone].” Without missing a beat, he also proclaimed: “Not in the near-term.” Alrighty then — anything we didn’t already know?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Cellphones

Rumors of Dell playing a role in the smartphone industry have been around for what seems like ages, but each time the fire dies down, another can of lighter fluid emerges to get us all wondering again. In a recent interview with Om Malik, the bigwig had more than a few interesting things to say on the computing industry as a whole. Still, what intrigued us wasn’t the talk about being a founder or changing up Dell’s game in order to rebound — no, it was Michael’s remarks on the handset sector. When asked if there was a “desire” on its part to work with Android or Symbian, Mr. Dell stated that the company “is kind of working on that,” although it wasn’t ready to “publicly disclose” plans. Granted, he also asked us “not to expect anything anytime soon” when referring to a phone, but would you really expect any CEO with a trick up his / her sleeve to say anything different?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/Dell_states_that_he_could_take_Jobs_in_a_fight’;
Michael Dell’s been up on stage here at D for a solid 45 minutes and has yet to say anything particularly interesting (unless you consider rattling off numbers about unit growth, margins, etc. fascinating), but the man got his chance during the audience Q&A. Someone asked if he could take Steve Jobs in a fight, and Dell flatly replied, “Yeah, I could take him.” Now there’s a fight we’d pay good money to see.

[Thanks Seenew for Jobs’ Mii]

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/hardware/Dell_introduces_tiny_bamboo_covered_green_PC’; Michael Dell spoke at Fortune’s Brainstorm:Green conference today, and he took the wraps off this funky bamboo-encased eco-PC concept. Said to be Dell’s smallest-ever computer, the machine is 81 percent smaller than a standard desktop and uses 70 percent less power. There’s no word on what’s inside yet, but Dell says the machine is due to be released later this year, and should cost between $500 and $700. Hit the read link for a couple more shots, and check out a render after the break.

Continue reading Dell unveils tiny bamboo-cased eco-computer concept

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Looks like Dell’s plan to trim $3B in costs from its budget is going to involve even more job cuts than the 8,800 already announced — speaking to analysts today, Michael Dell said that his company’s management had “identified a very significant opportunity” to cut costs, and that it was “aggressively going after it.” That means even more jobs will be slashed, apparently — a further 1,000 this quarter at least, but Dell wouldn’t say what the total would be in the end, just that it would be more then 8,800. Dell went on to say that no part of the company would be considered sacred as cuts are considered, and that Dell’s brass thinks that it’s “begun the journey to transform the company.” Cutting jobs is one way to do it, sure — but might we suggest focusing on delivering great products would also help?

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

In the oddball acquisition of the day, Dell just swept up email services provider MessageOne in a $155 million cash deal. How odd? Get this, MessageOne was co-founded by Michael Dell’s brother Adam who now manages investment funds — the very funds with partial ownership of MessageOne which Michael and his genetic crew are investors in. As such, Michael, his wife, and kids will receive $12M from the deal, Adam about $970k, and their parents about $450k. For Michael’s part, Dell says that he will donate his family’s proceeds direct to charity and was excluded from negotiating the acquisition. Still, we can’t help but question the merits of such an acquisition when the only comparison that comes readily to mind is Apple’s dot Mac service — a service Apple is rumored to be shifting to Google in order to focus on core business. Don’t get us wrong, we get Dell’s whole Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business strategy, but do they really expect to compete directly with Google and MicroHoo while staying true to their PC roots?

[Via New York Times]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Dell fans, we’ve got some juicy meat for you to sink your teeth into. During Michael Dell’s keynote address at Oracle OpenWorld today, the company unleashed (or at least demoed) its forthcoming all-in-one PC, creatively named the XPS One. Of course, we’ve been hearing rumblings about the One for some time now, but Dell also whipped out its sparkly new Latitude XT tablet, which should please all the Gatesian types out there who think TPCs are the future. But wait — there’s more! The new Latitude isn’t just some plain-jane scratchpad. Besides being the thinnest in its 12.1-inch, convertible category, and having a screen which is 25-percent brighter than the competition… it’s multi-touch. At the keynote, the Dell folks demonstrated a multiple-finger paint program, which lets you draw five simultaneous lines, and also showcased a Surface-like photo viewer which allows you to scramble, resize, and generally get physical with your fond memories. Check the pictures of the tablet in action after the break and feel its magical vibes.

Continue reading Dell’s Latitude XT and XPS ONE make first public appearance

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!