Dell Computer Corporation is one of the world's leading computer systems providers and deals in direct sales to the public and businesses via its Internet presence - http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/default.htm (US) and http://www.euro.dell.com/countries/uk/enu/gen/default.htm (UK) among others - and while I guess you can also arrange purchase over the phone (0870 907 5680 between 8am and 8pm weekdays, 10am to 4pm Saturday), the online ordering process is clearly their preferred route to the market. Obviously if you haven't already got net access, i.e. you're buying your first system, you'll need to use the phone line, but it's much easier to make your purchase via their site.
They're undoubtedly a slick operation who have got their act together in a thoroughly impressive manner and market with wonderful effectiveness, enhancing their brand image with all their advertising, which is focused on putting over an extremely professional feel. That's understandable because Dell relies for a large chunk of their revenue on the business market and their Optiplex range is extremely popular in the sector.Among my work responsibilities in the NHS is management of my Trust's IT procurement and our machine of choice for an awfully long time now has been the Optiplex. Its all round excellence and value for money marks it out clearly as being streets ahead of the competition
and I think the authoritative PC Pro magazine make the point far better than I can in recent reviews - "Dell is enjoying an incredible run of success in our business-focused Labs: it's won awards for the last three business PCs group tests. The common factor in all its products is a great warranty, as is exemplified by the three year, on site, next business day cover included with the Optiplex GX150 ... the sum of these parts is a well balanced office system that is a wise choice for those wanting more than just a beige box with minimal support."
The business sector contributes around two thirds of Dell's overall turnover, but they are also thoroughly committed to the home buyer and offer three ranges, the Dimension 2100 Affordable, the Dimension 4300 - Advanced Performance and the Dimension 8200 - Cutting Edge, which vary in both price and spec.When you go onto the Dell website you can access the full range of details for each particular model, review the standard configuration and then configure your perfect model by dropping in the required upgrades in a number of areas. It's quite an efficient way of doing things and you can make your purchase there and then on the site. The delivery charge is around £58 including VAT.
Let's give an example now of what this means -The Dimension 2100 model comes with a range of processors - Intel Celeron up to 1GHz and Pentium III up to 1GHz, combined with up to 512MB RAM and a 40Gb hard drive. The recommended model is to the following spec - Intel Celeron Processor 1GHz, 256MB SDRAM, 40GB HD, 17" Monitor, DVD, Sound, Speakers, Modem, Printer, Quickcam & Worksuite 2001 with a fully inclusive price of £729.68. You can upgrade your standard offering with variables in the area of processor, monitor, software package and all manner of other things
It's a cleverly put together ordering system and you can put together pretty much whatever sort of system you want by building up from one of the standard packages. An excellent service, this, very user friendly and flexible.Now clearly Dell are an extremely popular brand and very well respected. To establish exactly how well respected I had a quick scan of a consumer opinions website to assess things. There were 37 opinions on Dell in general, 12 of which recorded maximum scores, while in the area of desktop machines there were 36 opinions, with a massive 21 of them giving full marks - quite impressive, all things considered.
There are also a number of complaints and moans, but by and large Dell get consistently good write ups from consumers to go alongside their high regard from the professional community.It's rare indeed for any mass marketing organisation to get such strong support and Dell are clearly a force to be reckoned with. They got excellent results in PC Pro's recent annual awards and these are among the highlights - Dell's market share over the last three years has remained stable at between 15 and 16% - they have 30% of notebook sales in 2001 - 87% of those who own a Dell would buy from them again - Dell are second behind IBM for PC reliability - Dell were ranked fourth for PC service and support behind Evesham, IBM and Gateway.
Pretty good, eh?The Dell website provides enormous quantities of info about the organisation, which is based in Texas. Selected highlights - the world's leading direct computer systems company - Company revenue for the last four quarters totalled $32 billion - Dell is No. 2 worldwide in marketshare - approximately 40,000 employees around the globe - ranks No. 1 in the United States - founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the computer industry's longest-tenured chief executive officer, on a simple concept: that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, Dell could best understand their needs, and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs.
They certainly seem to live up to those boasts and it's rare indeed to find anyone saying a bad thing about Dell. I tried to find some info to put the other side of the argument, but I'm afraid that I drew a total blank - Jeez, there must be some kinda conspiracy going on...
by (3%):
by (3%):
22.10.2002 19:35
I couldn't agree more. Dell are by far the best laptop maker around.
06.12.2001 16:57
I agree with you, Dell is a first class operation. Don't own a Dell anymore, but used to and it was great. Well done. Lisa
06.12.2001 00:24
I once had to order 48 Dell PCs for a project I was working on. Dell 'forgot' to stagger the deliveries as requested and they all arrived together in a fleet of trucks. The stores manager wasn't best pleased and Dell took some hassling to take them back. Having said that, the quality of the machines has always been excellent and I would never be unhappy about being given a Dell to work on.