Apple: Dell "Rebranding"; "There is Little Original Here"


Apple has responded to Dell's announcement that it would become a 'one-stop shop' for digital devices, with a statement noted by the San Jose Mercury.

"It appears that Dell is re-branding one of the second-tier music services that will be announced soon, just like they are re-branding Creative's MP3 player. There is little original here," Apple said.

HP was similarly dismissive, arguing that "There's a big difference between putting your name on something and actually innovating. More and more of what consumers want solved won't be solved by a single product."

But Sony may be the company threatened by Dell's move, the Mercury argues. Sony's ability to innovate is stifled when the industry becomes locked into single standards, such as the Wintel monopoly.

Dell had yet to identify the product areas it will rebrand, aside from already-announced products, such as TVs/monitors and handhelds.

Analysis: It's true that Dell will purport to sell 'the whole widget', regardless of the veracity of its pitch. The question is whether Dell will loss lead in order to kill competition through predatory pricing. After all, when Dell sold the iPod for a while there, you could sometimes get an iPod at a lower price than Apple would sell you one. To establish itself as a consumer electronics brand, there's a fair chance that Dell might try the same thing.