Dell guns for Apple's territory with new XPS laptops

With the announcement of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL)'s new colorful laptops and the re-branding of some of its desktops, the computer maker is attempting to re-ignite excitement in its dull product lineup at the exact right time it needs to. I'm quite sure that Michael Dell's recent executive hires were given marching orders to get things underway as soon as possible, and here we are at the start of those results. I've referenced Dell's new strategy a few times in the last couple of days, but what's new here is what could be perceived as Dell's initial attempt to take on the "style and substance" market that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is famous for.

Dell's newer XPS laptops, as noted by Rob Enderle here, are more reminiscent of Apple MacBooks and upper-crust Sony laptop computer systems than kludgy and boring Dell laptop systems. This is a good thing, as even Apple does not have color options in its laptop selections right now -- it's either white or black. Same for Sony's venerable Vaio line, which has great design but few options for specific color personalization. What Dell has going for it is the mainstay of its business model for nearly two decades: selling direct to the customer. If Dell can sell many different options in terms of colors, materials and looks for its laptops direct to the customer and not attack retail (where inventory turns on custom products are really hard to predict), Dell may have a chance to become much more relevant that it has been in the last five years.

So, Dell may be starting, just this week, with a specific, multi-pronged approach: starting a small retail experiment with the world's largest retailer (as of June 10th) while simultaneously trying to court the "Apple-type" customer who may choose to opt for those new colors, aluminum plates and svelte lines in a laptop. The key difference here is availability: Apple's laptops, like the MacBook and MacBook Pro, are sold online and in stores and in Apple's retail stores (and other retailers). Apple's gems are also only available in white or black. By contrast, Dell's new XPS laptop systems are, for now, only available from the company's website (consumer direct sales), and will come in many more colors than just white or black. Will customers bite at these new Dell systems? Hard to say this week, but I'll be paying close attention.