Dell downplays Alienware acquisition rumor

Itsme · 03-15-2006, 07:00 AM

Dell downplays Alienware acquisition rumor
By Asher Moses
Special to CNET News.com

Published: March 14, 2006, 7:10 PM PST

Dell has moved to quash rumors that suggested the company has acquired rival PC vendor Alienware.

Speculation about a possible buyout has been rife since Rahul Sood, CEO of original equipment manufacturer Voodoo PC, posted his thoughts on such a move on his blog two weeks ago.

"The PC gaming market is threatening Dell's 'perceived technology leadership'--and ultimately the consumer space. The Alienware brand is cooler than Dell, and perhaps a likely candidate for Dell to take over based on size alone," Sood wrote.

Sood's speculation was corroborated by an anonymous source "at a high-end vendor" who told CNET.com senior associate editor Rich Brown that "the deal has been done...(and) his company has received an influx of resumes from Alienware employees."

Questioning the accuracy of the information, Paul McKeon, Dell Australia and New Zealand spokesman, said the original source--Voodoo PC--is unreliable since the company is an Alienware competitor.

"I'd suggest you take that speculation with a grain of salt given the origin stated in the blog (Alienware's competitor)--you can never be sure what the motivation is," McKeon told ZDNet Australia via e-mail.

He also questioned the reasons behind such an acquisition, stating that Dell has the potential to be seen as a "cool" company and is more than capable of building viable gaming machines without Alienware's help.

"Dell's XPS range already offers better performance and better value than Alienware's machines, and in the XPS mobile concept you've seen the potential of one of the cool new things Dell could do this year," McKeon added.

Meanwhile, Alienware released a statement to CNET.com that read in part, "At this time, Alienware will not comment on any speculative stories or rumors concerning Dell and Alienware's association. While we do believe that news stories like this are ultimately a strong positive reinforcement of the Alienware brand and the company's success, we will not comment on speculation or potential future events."

Roger Kay, president of research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, told CNET News.com that the deal would be somewhat surprising given Dell's historical reluctance to grow through acquisitions and the heavy marketing budget it allocated for its own high-end XPS PC lineup. Alienware makes distinctively styled PCs for gamers and PC enthusiasts that tend to be pricier than basic Dell systems.

zero2dash · 03-15-2006, 07:41 AM

Quote:

He also questioned the reasons behind such an acquisition, stating that Dell has the potential to be seen as a "cool" company and is more than capable of building viable gaming machines without Alienware's help.

"Dell's XPS range already offers better performance and better value than Alienware's machines, and in the XPS mobile concept you've seen the potential of one of the cool new things Dell could do this year," McKeon added.

True, XPS is a somewhat established line, and it's certainly a little cheaper than Alienware, but in terms of being more well known...I can't help but believe that "Alienware" beats out "XPS" in terms of brand recognition. Then again, I'm not really 'in the loop' 'cause I'd rather save money and build my own.

Quote:

Roger Kay, president of research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, told CNET News.com that the deal would be somewhat surprising given Dell's historical reluctance to grow through acquisitions and the heavy marketing budget it allocated for its own high-end XPS PC lineup. Alienware makes distinctively styled PCs for gamers and PC enthusiasts that tend to be pricier than basic Dell systems.

Pricier than basic Dell systems? I'm sure you mean 'pricier than Dell XPS systems'.

shocky123 · 03-15-2006, 09:04 AM

IMO:
Dell's pissed about the alienware thingy being leaked.
I guess they wanted to just put the dell logo on the AW boxes and try to bum-f**k everyone into beileving Dell was capable of producing systems of AW's quality.

AW will always have cool boxes, the silver Dell's are just leftovers from their white-line from the 90's.

DarkFury · 03-15-2006, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shocky123

AW will always have cool boxes, the silver Dell's are just leftovers from their white-line from the 90's.

Honestly, I've always thought that AW were WAY overpriced anyways as you were seriously paying for a "cool case" regarless of what was inside of it.

That was one of the reasons why back in the day I started building my own... I couldn't afford an AW setup, but I still could frag the folks who had them.

zero2dash · 03-15-2006, 10:20 AM

I thought the "alien head" thing was over with the downfall of the X-Files.

Then again, I could be wrong.

Alienware's cases are ok...I've seen a lot of third party cases that were pretty similar but (obviously) don't have the hefty price tag. I'd really like to gut out a Mac case (G5 or even a G4 like the Rotten Apple) but I don't think I have the patience to do all that grunt work. I like the cases that Dell puts the PowerEdge servers in too.

Bires · 03-15-2006, 12:53 PM

This thread reminds me of the snob car thread. I wonder why...

DarkFury · 03-15-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bires

This thread reminds me of the snob car thread. I wonder why...

So do snobs drive Alienware, Dells, or build their own?

Maarchk · 03-18-2006, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bires

This thread reminds me of the snob car thread. I wonder why...

really? It seems like everyone is talking about building their own... is that snobby? or clever or price saving?

mechmike0034 · 03-22-2006, 03:37 PM

http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D8GGSTL06.html

Quote:

Dell to Buy High-End PC Maker Alienware

Mar 22, 5:24 PM (ET)

By JOHN PAIN

MIAMI (AP) - Dell Inc. (DELL), the world's largest computer maker, said Wednesday it would buy Alienware Corp., whose high-ends PCs are widely acclaimed by video gamers for their fast performance and sleek, UFO-themed looks.

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, didn't announce terms of the deal.

Dell said Alienware "will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary following completion of the transaction and will maintain its own product development, product marketing, sales, technical support and other operations as well as brand.

"The management and founders of Alienware will continue to operate the company as a standalone unit of Dell," Dell said.

Miami-based Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila, two childhood friends. It is on track to hit $225 million in sales this year, up from $172 million in 2005, according to recent projections by Gonzalez, the privately held company's CEO. Aguila is president.

shocky123 · 03-23-2006, 12:00 AM

Man I love being right.

You'll never see a Dell box with an AMD chip lol.

~Kyle

Jeffbx · 03-23-2006, 06:00 AM

Wow - that's big news. I wonder if Dell will now drop the XPS line...

Itsme · 03-23-2006, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffbx

Wow - that's big news. I wonder if Dell will now drop the XPS line...

"........The deal also could mean that Dell has to rethink its consumer PC strategy, said Roger Kay, principal analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates. The company has sunk a lot of effort into building its XPS lineup of high-end desktops and notebooks for gamers and multimedia enthusiasts. Now, it looks like those systems compete with Alienware in certain areas, he said.

Alienware sells very powerful and very expensive PCs to the top tier of the gaming market. Dell, on the other hand, has a stronger identity with casual gamers who want a good PC but don't want to pay Alienware prices. Both companies have recently tried to appeal to gamers that fall in between those two groups, with Alienware reaching down and Dell reaching up, Kay said. It's unclear how those strategies will continue...."

http://news.com.com/Dell+to+acquire+...l?tag=nefd.top

Chgoman · 03-23-2006, 11:37 AM

I think Alienware and XPS cater to different crowds. That's why they are going to continue running Alienware as a seporate unit. I would guess most people who buy Alienware computers would scoff at buying a 'dell' branded computer. You'll have regular Dell's, the XPS will remain their mid-high range computer and Alienware will cotinue to be the high-extreme range computer.

zero2dash · 03-23-2006, 02:59 PM

Wonder if they'll rebadge the $10,000 XPS (Renegade I think?) as a "Dell/Alienware" and drop the "XPS" part. ?

I wonder if anyone's bought one of those yet.

zippyjuan · 03-23-2006, 03:16 PM

From another article http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/d...322212257.html

Quote:

Even though Dell has been offering its gaming personal computers (PCs) for quite a while now, given that they all were based on processors from Intel Corp., which have not won gaming benchmarks for years now, the demand towards such PCs could not be as high as expected. Since Alienware offers both AMD- and Intel-based systems, it may have much higher success in providing gamers what they need. Additionally, Alienware will be able to get computer components from Dell now, which means better costs.

Dell will finally start selling an AMD product- even if not under their own name.

03-15-2006, 07:00 AM	#1
Itsme Vice Admiral Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Southern California Posts: 4,813	Dell downplays Alienware acquisition rumor Dell downplays Alienware acquisition rumor By Asher Moses Special to CNET News.com Published: March 14, 2006, 7:10 PM PST Dell has moved to quash rumors that suggested the company has acquired rival PC vendor Alienware. Speculation about a possible buyout has been rife since Rahul Sood, CEO of original equipment manufacturer Voodoo PC, posted his thoughts on such a move on his blog two weeks ago. "The PC gaming market is threatening Dell's 'perceived technology leadership'--and ultimately the consumer space. The Alienware brand is cooler than Dell, and perhaps a likely candidate for Dell to take over based on size alone," Sood wrote. Sood's speculation was corroborated by an anonymous source "at a high-end vendor" who told CNET.com senior associate editor Rich Brown that "the deal has been done...(and) his company has received an influx of resumes from Alienware employees." Questioning the accuracy of the information, Paul McKeon, Dell Australia and New Zealand spokesman, said the original source--Voodoo PC--is unreliable since the company is an Alienware competitor. "I'd suggest you take that speculation with a grain of salt given the origin stated in the blog (Alienware's competitor)--you can never be sure what the motivation is," McKeon told ZDNet Australia via e-mail. He also questioned the reasons behind such an acquisition, stating that Dell has the potential to be seen as a "cool" company and is more than capable of building viable gaming machines without Alienware's help. "Dell's XPS range already offers better performance and better value than Alienware's machines, and in the XPS mobile concept you've seen the potential of one of the cool new things Dell could do this year," McKeon added. Meanwhile, Alienware released a statement to CNET.com that read in part, "At this time, Alienware will not comment on any speculative stories or rumors concerning Dell and Alienware's association. While we do believe that news stories like this are ultimately a strong positive reinforcement of the Alienware brand and the company's success, we will not comment on speculation or potential future events." Roger Kay, president of research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, told CNET News.com that the deal would be somewhat surprising given Dell's historical reluctance to grow through acquisitions and the heavy marketing budget it allocated for its own high-end XPS PC lineup. Alienware makes distinctively styled PCs for gamers and PC enthusiasts that tend to be pricier than basic Dell systems.

03-15-2006, 09:04 AM	#3
shocky123 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ames, Iowa Posts: 828	IMO: Dell's pissed about the alienware thingy being leaked. I guess they wanted to just put the dell logo on the AW boxes and try to bum-f**k everyone into beileving Dell was capable of producing systems of AW's quality. AW will always have cool boxes, the silver Dell's are just leftovers from their white-line from the 90's. __________________ "me awaits onslaught of estrogen fury." -CornMonkey "5. When your friend dates a woman that is absolutely terrible for him, and she's wrecking his life, it's your duty to openly hate her, and point out how evil she is." -ialsohaveadream

03-15-2006, 12:53 PM	#6
Bires Admiral Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 5,064	This thread reminds me of the snob car thread. I wonder why... __________________ Five years...

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03-15-2006, 10:20 AM	#5
zero2dash Commander Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fenton, MO - but I wish I was at the beach. ANY beach. Posts: 1,367	I thought the "alien head" thing was over with the downfall of the X-Files. Then again, I could be wrong. Alienware's cases are ok...I've seen a lot of third party cases that were pretty similar but (obviously) don't have the hefty price tag. I'd really like to gut out a Mac case (G5 or even a G4 like the Rotten Apple) but I don't think I have the patience to do all that grunt work. I like the cases that Dell puts the PowerEdge servers in too.

03-23-2006, 12:00 AM	#10
shocky123 Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ames, Iowa Posts: 828	Man I love being right. You'll never see a Dell box with an AMD chip lol. ~Kyle

03-23-2006, 06:00 AM	#11
Jeffbx Fleet Admiral Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,390	Wow - that's big news. I wonder if Dell will now drop the XPS line...

03-23-2006, 11:37 AM	#13
Chgoman Lieutenant Commander Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Mission Viejo, CA Posts: 696	I think Alienware and XPS cater to different crowds. That's why they are going to continue running Alienware as a seporate unit. I would guess most people who buy Alienware computers would scoff at buying a 'dell' branded computer. You'll have regular Dell's, the XPS will remain their mid-high range computer and Alienware will cotinue to be the high-extreme range computer.

03-23-2006, 02:59 PM	#14
zero2dash Commander Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fenton, MO - but I wish I was at the beach. ANY beach. Posts: 1,367	Wonder if they'll rebadge the $10,000 XPS (Renegade I think?) as a "Dell/Alienware" and drop the "XPS" part. ? I wonder if anyone's bought one of those yet.

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