Tuesday, October 8, 2002
Why you should wait for the Dell Pocket PC
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "ARTICLE" @ 06:30 PM
http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2882305,00.html
Most journalists shy away from recommending a product that isn't here yet, as do I. But waiting on Dell to do something is like waiting for the microwave to ding. You know it is going to happen. The article goes on to tell you how Dell gets it money from you well before it pays for anything. It is one of the few company in the world that does this.
The benefit to you is Dell can drive the price down. In 2-3 months you should be able to buy a Pocket PC with a bit more power than the original iPAQ 3600, with integrated expansion slots, for about half the original selling price of the iPAQ. HP is forced to follow suit with the iPAQ 2200 and I'd wager that either the ViewSonic release date was stepped up or the price stepped down (or both) to be competitive with the Dell. Good for all PDA enthusiasts. Want a device with more power? One with some integrated wireless capabilities? Well, it is going to be hard for OEMs to charge double or more for these devices. This will drive the prices down across the board. The trick is to sell enough volume that you make the same amount of money on more units. Can Dell pull this off? Is grass green? Thanks to Steven Cedrone for the link.
Most journalists shy away from recommending a product that isn't here yet, as do I. But waiting on Dell to do something is like waiting for the microwave to ding. You know it is going to happen. The article goes on to tell you how Dell gets it money from you well before it pays for anything. It is one of the few company in the world that does this.
The benefit to you is Dell can drive the price down. In 2-3 months you should be able to buy a Pocket PC with a bit more power than the original iPAQ 3600, with integrated expansion slots, for about half the original selling price of the iPAQ. HP is forced to follow suit with the iPAQ 2200 and I'd wager that either the ViewSonic release date was stepped up or the price stepped down (or both) to be competitive with the Dell. Good for all PDA enthusiasts. Want a device with more power? One with some integrated wireless capabilities? Well, it is going to be hard for OEMs to charge double or more for these devices. This will drive the prices down across the board. The trick is to sell enough volume that you make the same amount of money on more units. Can Dell pull this off? Is grass green? Thanks to Steven Cedrone for the link.
