The Wall Street Journal Reports that HP profits are up 51% thanks mostly to rising success in PCs and printers. This on the heels of yet another gloomy forecast from Dell.
According to the Journal:
"The results also highlight how H-P is now on a different trajectory than one of its biggest rival, Dell Inc. Last week, Dell, which for years had bested H-P in areas such as personal computers, warned that it would miss its fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales forecasts, causing its stock to drop precipitously. Dell is now likely to get more aggressive in discounting its prices to sell computers, which could have a ripple effect on the PC industry over the next few quarters.
Did bloggers make this happen? Of course not. The blogosphere simply amplified and connected a rising dissatisfaction with Dell service and disappointment in quality. The blogosphere was simply and early warning system that Dell chose to ignore.
Want to gage which way Dell is heading? Try this two step test:
- Ask people if they use a Dell.
- Ask them if they plan to buy a Dell next time.
I've been doing this and the drop off rate is over 50%. The price war they are initiating will not help. It is more like building the scaffolding of their own gallows.
What if Dell teamed with Apple?
Posted by: Stephen | May 16, 2006 at 08:14 PM
I dunno. We just bought a Dell (our first) and so far, so good. Granted, I've heard that some guy name Jeff had some customer service issues. ;) But, the computer geeks I respect gave good comments about Dell.
The Dell replaced, ironically, an HP. Nothing wrong with HP. Just got a good deal on the Dell. So, maybe the discounting has begun.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Driehorst | May 17, 2006 at 05:38 AM