Who would have thought five years ago that Hewlett Packard Co. (Nasdaq:HPQ) would not only be beating Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL) in the PC market but that it would also extend its lead?
As PC remained lackluster in the fourth quarter, HP managed to boost sales by 24% as Dell's sales fell 9%, the Associated Press reported, citing data from Gartner Inc. HP had 17% of the market to Dell's 14%.
"This level of decline is unprecedented in Dell's history," Gartner analyst Charles Smulders told Bloomberg News.
As a self-described technology idiot, I have a theory for Dell's problems: hubris. The last time my wife and I priced a PC, we went through Dell's Web site. Our friend did the same thing. We wound up getting different prices for the same machine. It was just too confusing to figure out.
When it was time to get an upgrade, we went with an H-P.
Wall Street is starting to lose its patience with Michael Dell and Kevin Rollins. Shares of Dell have plunged 16% over the past year while HP has soared 33%. Even Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW) has outperformed Dell.
I wonder what it will take for Dell to get out of Wall Street's dog house.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-18-2007 @ 1:47PM
Chuck said...
Hubris is right on the money, followed by poor customer service, shoddy workmanship and lack of consumer choices.
My next PC will be a Mac.
1-18-2007 @ 6:33PM
lode verhiest said...
I think you don't know what hubris means....
Next time try wikipedia when you want to use a fancy word to hide your shoddy writing skills.
1-19-2007 @ 11:22AM
Mark Blackburn said...
Dell's fall came with moving technical support to the cheapest provider it could find and then to India. Along with the cheap move, parts that were not of quality and non standard parts and integrated parts to boot. The Best became mediocre and it shows.
As a technical support analyst, I am frequently asked what computer should they buy, My answer has not been Dell for the last 5 years since they went out of the Computer business and into the computer salvage business.
1-21-2007 @ 4:54PM
R. G. Bond said...
In addition;
My Gateway PC went down and I called the DELL Customer Service to purchase a new one. With DELLS problems and being a Texan I wanted to help out.
The Customer Sewrvice answering message said " I am currently busy with another customer. "Leave name, phone number, etc and I will get right back to you within five hours!"Call never returned. Called Gatewaseveral days later, call went right to a Customer Service Rep. - very helpful. Bought new Gateway PC!DELLS problems are very basic!!! Michael; hope you are listening?