Dell unveils luxury brand PC for tech-savvy homes

• Dell Inc., which became the world's largest supplier of personal computers by pushing down prices, unveiled a luxury brand yesterday aimed at an expanding market of tech-savvy households.
• "We're consistently hearing a call for performance, power and style as more consumers see the value of expanding the computer's use for productivity and entertainment," Michael Dell, the company founder and chairman, said at a news conference in New York.
• The premium brand is called XPS and the least expensive version will sell for more than twice the price of Dell's entry level desktop PC.
• But while technology enthusiasts may be calling for more speed and storage, many other customers are increasingly content with what their PCs can do today and hardware makers face a challenge of finding ways to keep them upgrading their equipment.
• Dell's XPS brand, which includes sleek styling and an enhanced level of service, will try to use a luxury image to entice more customers to upgrade in what has become a commoditized marketplace, analysts said.
• "The industry has always had price points, but it hasn't really broken off something as a different brand in that kind of Lexus-like way.
• And I think they're likely to get a fair amount of traction," Mr. Kay said.
• I do think there is a status play here," he said.
• Although Dell's consumer division generates just 15 per cent of overall revenue, the Round Rock, Tex.-based company is trying to boost sales in all areas after setting a goal of $80-billion (U.S.) in revenue in four years, up from $49.2-billion in fiscal 2005.
• Mr. Dell said the XPS lineup will have sufficient memory and power to run Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation operating system, called Vista, which is expected on the market some time next year.