Dell’s China caper
Since writing about China YouTV, we’ve heard that Dell is now aiming to flex its muscles in China with a super-cheap PC aimed at 90% of population who don’t already own one. The price, at $339, is nearly 70% cheaper than the lowest price model on Dell’s China web site.
But what can the company reasonably offer at that price? If it’s just a box for pulling in email and checking the news, fine. But computers at this price will not help the country build a PC-educated workforce. No one can learn MS Office (like it or not, the standard for business productivity software) on Ubuntu Linux or other freeware.
Affordability vs national-building necessity - in other words, what you can get vs what you need - is a tough call for those who want to see a more equal pattern of wealth distribution around the world. Dell, of course, just wants to sell computers. But unless the company has developed a cheap computer that’s a real PC, this launch sounds an awful lot like a gimmick.
March 28, 2007 at 7:59 am
Regarding Dell’s cheap PCs in China: the more, the better, in my view. I don’t know what’s on offer in Dell’s economised box, but something even very basic that brings more PCs into homes is a good thing. Low PC ownership and computer literacy is a major barrier to higher internet penetration in developing countries, and most would agree that ability to use the web effectively is today an important contributor to educational and business improvement (and arguably to democratisation in less than open societies). The average price of DSL broadband access has declined substantially in most countries in the past few years (in some places it’s cheaper even than dial-up), but too many cannot readily use it for lack of a PC. Internet cafes are a godsend, but not much beats browsing to your heart’s content on the home computer. Basic, relatively cheap mobile phones have changed the way people and businesses communicate in developing Africa and Asia. Let cheap PCs do their work, too.
August 7, 2007 at 9:38 am
I agree, but I must say in China different rules apply.
http://www.computer-deals.com.au