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Dell Set to Axe XPS Gaming PC Brand, Focus on Promotion of Alienware Gaming PCs.

Category: Other

by Anton Shilov

[ 05/12/2008 | 11:27 PM ]

Dell, one of the world’s largest suppliers of personal computers, reportedly plans to cease manufacturing of its Dell XPS-branded PCs for gamers and concentrate on popularization of machines from Alienware, a brand that specializes on enthusiast-class desktops and laptops which Dell acquired in 2006. While the report is important for the market of gaming PCs, it may mean that Dell readies substantial revamp of other product lines too.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Dell plans to abandon its high-end Dell XPS lineup in order to focus on its premium line of systems – Alienware. The move will allow Dell to ensure that there is no competition between its own-brand expensive machines for gamers and Alienware, something, which might confuse customers. The lineup of from Alienware is now expected to cover all segments of gaming PCs, from machines that cost around $1000 to haute couture desktops that cost from $10 000.

Dell’s move is completely logical: in other industries, luxury and premium brands of one owner never overlap. Considering that gaming machines nowadays have a number of peculiarities that make them completely different from high-end workstations or desktops, computers designed for video gaming should form one lineup.

Abandoning of Dell XPS-branded desktops and laptops may be a part of bigger plan to rebuild the whole product lineup and eliminate any internal competition between product families.

Currently Dell offers Inspiron desktops for home market, OptiPlex and Vostro desktops that are offered for small, medium and large businesses as well as Precision desktop workstations. The family of mobile computers contains Inspiron, Latitude, Precision and Vostro lineups.

Dell did not comment on the news-story.