B y now, most of you probably know that Dell is following Appleis footsteps, and entering the music download/music player space. The company is set to start selling a rebranded MP3 player made by Creative and a rebranded music download service, also produced and managed by a third party, MusicMatch (see TMOis full commentary for more information).
A piece in the Austin American Statesman -- Dell is based in Round Rock, TX, which is a satellite of Austin -- quotes a Dell exec as saying that price is the number one concern for consumers in music players. This despite the fact that the #1 selling music player, Appleis iPod, is more or less the most expensive player on the market. From the Statesman:
Dell will continue selling iPods through its Web site, a Dell spokesman said, even though the two companies now are competing directly in the MP3 player space.
But Dell is confident in its own product.
"The number one feature is the price," said Adam Mucci, a senior manager in Dellis consumer product group. Dell says its research showed price was the top concern of customers, followed by ease of use.
It chose the Windows Media Audio format, which is the secure file format used by every legal download service except Apple.
"We didnit want to do the iTunes thing and say you have to buy our" player, Mucci said. "We try to push open standards as much as possible."
Thereis more in the full story, including a comment from the reporter to the effect that Dellis player has been "much anticipated by music lovers, who covet the ability to carry their entire music collections with them to the gym or the car but have been put off by the high prices of players."