Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/24/walmart_gets_a_dell/
Dell goes direct into Wal-Mart's clutches
Low prices meet always low prices
Posted in Hardware, 24th May 2007 18:26 GMT
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The dream of walking into a single store to purchase a messenger style diaper bag, an easy listening Piano Tribute to Coldplay CD, an engagement ring and a Dell computer for under $1,000 has become a reality.
Dell peered into consumer hearts and materialized this secret fancy with mega chain, Wal-Mart. The PC vendor, which has until now relied solely on direct sales is offering its wares at 3,500 Wal-Mart stores in the United States and Canada as of June 10.
Wal-Mart will sell two Dimension desktop bundles currently available through Dell direct for under $700. Dell will offer Dimension E521 desktops without a monitor and E521s with a 19-inch flat panel on store shelves.
Dell has been promising [1] to "ramp up" retailer and reseller partnerships worldwide to combat lost sales to computer makers such as HP and Lenovo who offer their products in stores. Last year, Hewlett-Packard overtook Dell as the No. 1 computer seller worldwide.
The company makes a point on its blog that retail offerings will not replace its core direct business model, even though more retail announcements are coming.
Dell Ubuntu systems unveiled
Rumor-hounds have had a rough idea [2] of the systems Dell would vend loaded with Ubuntu — but now they're officially official.
Two desktop models and a laptop will be sold, factory installed with the open-source operating system. The XPS 410n (starting price: $849), Dimension E520n desktop and Inspiron E1505n notebook (both starting at $599) will be available today from Dell with the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux distribution.
A XPS 410 with Windows currently starts at $899 at Dell. A $50 markdown is a small, but welcome sight to Linux fans who were actually paying paying more [3] for the free operating system over Windows during Dell's original short-lived Linux offering in 2000.
Dell said the Linux systems will be available on their website to US customers beginning today. ®