“Dell Design” No Longer an Oxymoron
by John Paczkowski
Posted on March 17, 2009 at 6:10 AM PT
Dell’s new high-end laptop is called the Adamo, but a better name for it might be the Anomaly, its design is such a departure from the crude aesthetic for which Dell (DELL) is known. Positioned as a rival to Apple’s (AAPL) MacBook Air, the device boasts an etched designer aluminum chassis and a 13.4-inch screen. Less than two-thirds of an inch at its thinnest point, it’s thinner than the Air, which, at 0.76 inches had previously laid claim to the title of world’s thinnest laptop. It is, however, a full pound heavier than the Air–four pounds to the Apple device’s three–though, like the Air, it lacks a standard internal optical drive (adding one will cost you $120). And like the Air, its heavy emphasis on design and craftsmanship comes at a price: $2000 for starters. “It’s for an affluent crowd, and somebody who’s fashion forward, style conscious–who wants to project an image of success and style,” John New, senior product marketing manager at Dell, told IDG. “They probably have a fine watch, and nice, name-brand accessories, and we want this to be one of them.”
A reasonable aspiration. But Dell’s unwieldy, Cro-Magnon designs have never really inspired that “gotta have it” impulse in consumers. Which, as ZDnet’s Larry Dignan notes, could prove problematic. “The problem is that you need a customer base that covets that approach and I’m not sure Dell has it,” he writes. “Apple’s strength is that it has a few million customers that will buy anything it puts out—because it’s either a fashion statement or the brand says something about them. The turn Dell is trying to make is a tough one right now.”
Comments
Dignan simply doesn’t get what Apple’s strength is. Same with Dell.
“Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs
Posted by Eric Welch at March 17th, 2009 at 8:30 amFools!
They should have tucked a thin Mylar strip out the back and claimed the machine was “microns” at its thinnest point.
Yeah, the mee-tooisms only turn failure to innovate into a comedy act.
Posted by Mac Beach at March 17th, 2009 at 3:46 pm