The Low-Down on Dellienware

Iria · Mar 27, 2006, 06:10 AM

The amount of people who began to cry into their milk when it was announced that Dell has bought Alienware was a bit sad. "Ohh, this'll be the end of Alienware, Dell will screw it up" and suchlike, followed by coy winks and nudges about the AMD connection and Michael Dell's personal image ambitions... it's all a bit of a storm in a teacup, no?

For one, despite the "Willthey/Won'they?" speculation in recent weeks, the move itself makes perfect sense in an "it's inevitable" sort of way. Dell - the company and the personality behind it - has been desperate to push itself in the consumer end of the business, in which they've not been doing quite as well as expected. Dell has an image and a mindshare problem with gamers, and the obvious way to sort this out is simply to buy someone for whom the coin is flipped the opposite way.

As Alienware's vice president of marketing Mark Vena put it to me on Friday, "Alienware is branded like a BMW or a Porsche, while others are branded as Hondas and Toyotas. These are still great brands, but there's that difference."
Alienware, being the volume and branded leader in the high-end gaming field, is the obvious choice for Dell to acquire. Alienware has provided the most robust competition to Dell's own XPS range; the company has a cool image and plenty of mindshare. They're also of the same mind as Dell where selling is concerned, and Alienware follows much the same model as Dell; not selling in shops for example.

The cost of buying this makeover lock, stock and barrel is hardly more than pocket change for Dell - something they've outright said since the deal was announced, though exact figures haven't been revealed. In all the figures we can look at however Dell is like the Red Army compared to Alienware's merry band of partisans - the consumer end makes up 15% of Dell's business, and the company had sales of $55.9 billion last year, compared to Alienware's measly $200 million. Dell wants that end of the pool as a growth and image area, not because it needs it to survive.
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Read More / Source: TG Daily

Matth · Mar 27, 2006, 04:44 PM

Who hasn't reworked the Dell logo, substituting a "u" for the "e"?
Plaster the corporate logo as wallpaper and what do you expect?

Seriously though having seen the problems caused to would-be upgraders, by some of Dell's ludicrous OEM penny-pinching (an AGP "capable" motherboard with an empty space where the slot should be), I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Be very afraid of any company big enough to have "customized" OEM components, as those customizations are usually to THEIR advantage, not yours.

As for Alienware, it's just a name - weren't they rebranding generic "clevo" laptops at one point, and possibly still are?

pr0digal jenius · Mar 27, 2006, 04:56 PM

they are the clevo chassis, yes

Mar 27, 2006, 06:10 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	The Low-Down on Dellienware The amount of people who began to cry into their milk when it was announced that Dell has bought Alienware was a bit sad. "Ohh, this'll be the end of Alienware, Dell will screw it up" and suchlike, followed by coy winks and nudges about the AMD connection and Michael Dell's personal image ambitions... it's all a bit of a storm in a teacup, no? For one, despite the "Willthey/Won'they?" speculation in recent weeks, the move itself makes perfect sense in an "it's inevitable" sort of way. Dell - the company and the personality behind it - has been desperate to push itself in the consumer end of the business, in which they've not been doing quite as well as expected. Dell has an image and a mindshare problem with gamers, and the obvious way to sort this out is simply to buy someone for whom the coin is flipped the opposite way. As Alienware's vice president of marketing Mark Vena put it to me on Friday, "Alienware is branded like a BMW or a Porsche, while others are branded as Hondas and Toyotas. These are still great brands, but there's that difference." Alienware, being the volume and branded leader in the high-end gaming field, is the obvious choice for Dell to acquire. Alienware has provided the most robust competition to Dell's own XPS range; the company has a cool image and plenty of mindshare. They're also of the same mind as Dell where selling is concerned, and Alienware follows much the same model as Dell; not selling in shops for example. The cost of buying this makeover lock, stock and barrel is hardly more than pocket change for Dell - something they've outright said since the deal was announced, though exact figures haven't been revealed. In all the figures we can look at however Dell is like the Red Army compared to Alienware's merry band of partisans - the consumer end makes up 15% of Dell's business, and the company had sales of $55.9 billion last year, compared to Alienware's measly $200 million. Dell wants that end of the pool as a growth and image area, not because it needs it to survive. ___________ Read More / Source: TG Daily

Mar 27, 2006, 04:44 PM	#2
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	Who hasn't reworked the Dell logo, substituting a "u" for the "e"? Plaster the corporate logo as wallpaper and what do you expect? Seriously though having seen the problems caused to would-be upgraders, by some of Dell's ludicrous OEM penny-pinching (an AGP "capable" motherboard with an empty space where the slot should be), I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Be very afraid of any company big enough to have "customized" OEM components, as those customizations are usually to THEIR advantage, not yours. As for Alienware, it's just a name - weren't they rebranding generic "clevo" laptops at one point, and possibly still are? __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Mar 27, 2006, 04:56 PM	#3
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	they are the clevo chassis, yes