Dell to discontinue selling its branded music player

[D-Rod]

Ahhhhh!


http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/St...newsfinder&siteid=google&guid=%7BF4DAAE88-4855-41C0-BAA1-E4D5AF60A3C9%7D&keyword=



Dell to discontinue selling its branded music player
By Mark Boslet
Last Update: 11:27 PM ET Aug 23, 2006

PALO ALTO, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Dell Inc. (DELL) said it would discontinue selling its Dell-branded DJ Ditty MP3 music player and direct the financial resources to core consumer products, including its personal computer and television lines.
The retreat from the DJ Ditty product line, which was unveiled a year ago to take on Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL) popular iPod Shuffle, became the latest blow to the Round Rock, Texas, computer maker.
The company last week announced the recall of 4.1 million laptop batteries because they can overheat and catch fire, and posted a quarterly profit that tumbled from a year ago due to intensified competition with PC rival Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ). The Securities and Exchange Commission also began to informally look into the company's revenue recognition practices, and on Tuesday, market researcher IDC said that Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) regained the No. 3 ranking in the server market from Dell during the second quarter.
With problems mounting, some on Wall Street have begun losing faith in Chief Executive Kevin Rollins.
Dell spokesman Venancio Figueroa said Wednesday that Dell intends to use the resources it devoted to the Ditty line elsewhere in the organization. The company will continue servicing DJ Ditty products and sell MP3 players produced by other manufactures, including SanDisk Corp. (SNDK).
As of Wednesday, DJ Ditty machines were still available on the Dell site as the company worked down inventory.
Analysts said they were not surprised by the end of the line. "Apple owns that market," and the Dell products were not selling well, said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc.
The decision once again shows Dell has not had an easy time selling devices such as MP3 players, handheld PDAs or even printers, Kay said.
Figueroa declined to elaborate on DJ Ditty sales. "People bought them," he said.
-Contact: 201-938-5400

[MGS_forgot_password]

So you think they'll start selling iPods again?

[elmo3]

so, what--you get perverse pleasure in watching other companies decide not to sell music players? You get perverse pleasure in perceiving that someone else failed in the same marketplace that Apple is in?

You know, competition is good. You don't want competition?

You get pleasure out of some VERY weird things. Does Apple pay you to get such pleasure?

[DharmaDog]

Competition is good, but usually someone wins a competition. Looks like Dell lost.

Regardless of emotional impact, I do find it interesting when a business plan or strategy does not work. I also find it interesting when they do work.

As someone in the server business, I can tell you that our competitors do keep us on our toes, but we also get some satisfaction when we see one our strategies take a bite out of them.

I don't think that's perverse it's just competition.

[Silencio]

Dell entered the MP3 player market with such fanfare and arrogance, more or less publicly stating that they would push Apple aside. Instead, they fell flat on their faces.

Is arrogance acceptable for Dell, but not for Apple?

[vision63]

I get a perverse pleasure in watching the struggles of a company that claims that they innovate on a daily basis, yet hasn't innovated a single thing. They collect existing parts and technologies and mash them together. I don't wish them ill (jobs etc.), but there "is" a pleasure in it.

[Article Accelerator]

[quote elmo3]so, what--you get perverse pleasure in watching other companies decide not to sell music players?
Yes, omigod, yes!

You get perverse pleasure in perceiving that someone else failed in the same marketplace that Apple is in?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

You don't want competition?

Not against Apple.

You get pleasure out of some VERY weird things. Does Apple pay you to get such pleasure?

The pleasure is the pay. I can't help myself. I can't stop.

[MEG]

When it comes to Dell, MS and the Washington Redskins, schadenfreude baby!