Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is starting to de-emphasize its high-end XPS gaming PCs in favor of the Alienware brand it purchased several years ago, according to reports. This makes sense, as the XPS and Alienware brands seemed to almost compete with one another in many ways.

Gaming PCs, which typically sell for $2,000 or more, carry heavy margins and are very lucrative to Dell and other PC makers. Once some of the current XPS models are moved out of the way, there will be seven Alienware models that a product management group will oversee. Make no mistake: the gaming PC market is huge, worth about $12 billion annually.

This was a planned move, and it's one Dell should have made a few years ago when it acquired Alienware. For far too long it kept its XPS line of high-end PCs for sale, and in a way confused the buyers in this market: what's the difference between XPS and Alienware? Too many models and price points can be just as destructive as too little, but with Dell now in the midst of a corporate turnaround after losing the number-one PC spot to Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) last year, this is a timely, if not overdue, move.

Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is just starting to get a foothold on its turnaround, but until that is in full swing (possibly later this year), the company is at least seeing the increasing demand for laptop computer systems lead to increased demand for high-end gaming computers. These PCs are generally top-end systems that feature the latest in graphics hardware plus the best processors, both of which are needed for the latest in 3D computer games.

Although Dell's XPS high-end desktop product segment (along with its Alienware brand) are both sought after among the gaming crowd, competitors are not standing still either. Larger rival Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has both the Blackbird and Voodoo gaming PC segments and knows that fatter margins are to be had in this niche PC segment as well. With the average desktop computer selling for under $1,000 these days, computer makers are anxious to try and relive a little of older times by selling these high-end desktop systems for more than razor-thin margins. The good news is that they're succeeding, but at the same time laptop systems are cannibalizing traditional desktop PC sales as the normal performance gap between the two segments continues to narrow.

Is the future holding only laptop systems for HP, Dell and others? As the head of Dell's Alienware group puts it, "We always knew instinctively that if we could come out with a notebook as powerful as a desktop, it would be greatly accepted and would probably overtake our desktops." That may be happening soon, and as margins evaporate into thin air on normal desktop systems (and become lower on standard laptop systems too), manufacturers will need to seek out these lucrative niches, and even build new ones that customers don't yet realize they need.

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.