"Dell's comback machine" analysis

John Fortt has an article on Fortune/CNN about how Dell is going to make a comeback. Let's take a look at this.

Huh? Surely this must be some sort of joke. Everyone knows that buttoned-down Dell (DELL) doesn’t do business pink.

If Dell thinks that colors are going to help them innovate their way out of a slump they are in for a big disappointment. Other changes are being made to their flagship line of laptops, sure, but when you are touting colors you are already 2 steps behind.

For instance, Dell realized its designers can no longer craft Latitude laptops simply to satisfy IT managers. Design director Ken Musgrave tells me that as tech-savvy Gen Y’ers have entered the workforce, they’ve brought a sense of digital entitlement; they don’t want to use equipment that isn’t cutting edge and cool, and Dell’s brand doesn’t have credibility with them yet.

Mr. Fortt makes an excellent point here. Young people who are entering the workforce do want something cool. I don't think colors are going to tip them over the edge, though. Let's see what else Dell shows him.

The payoff: it tips the scales at just a kilogram - 2.2 pounds. (A full range of Latitude sizes is available.)

Finally, some changes that have some substance. I'm sure the 2.2lb machine is lacking of some hardware, but it's a good place to start. Lighter than the MacBook Air even, but weight doesn't really solve the problem of "digital entitlement" that Ken Musgrave mentioned above. It sounds like Dell is wanting to head the right way, they just don't control the whole widget to do it. One of the reason Apple's products are seen as this "digital hub" or "center of your entertainment world" is because of the software. They provide iLife, iWork, etc. Dell needs to realize that these things can't all come from hardware.

There are some surprises beneath the surface of the Latitude line as well. One is an optional Linux-based low-power mode called Dell Latitude On, which boots in two seconds. It offers more than a day’s worth of battery life for basic tasks like web surfing, Exchange e-mail, and viewing e-mail attachments, and runs on an ARM-based (ARMH) chip rather than the main Intel processor.

Most users (Mac and PC) have something close to "One" already. It's called sleep mode. When I wake my MacBook Air from sleep it is "on" in about two seconds. Now I like the idea of a lower power mode that offers extra long battery life, but not when it comes at the expense of so many features. Even so, it is an interesting move and a decent way to differentiate themselves.

Dell says they want to pick up these "Gen Y'ers", but by providing a somewhat intriguing feature
with One they have eliminated what the Gen Y'ers love, their movies, music, and photos. Being able to surf MySpace and Facebook sounds like it might be limited in the low power mode. Will Flash work? Quicktime? Windows Media Player? These things are important to the people Dell says they are trying to gear these new machines towards.

All of which bodes well for Dell’s chances of extending its comeback with the Latitude launch. The company seems to be doing everything right – courting Gen Y, minding design, and still managing to keep IT managers happy.

Doing everything right? What have they done?! They have made them in colors, lighter, and provided a bare bones method to check email and web surf. That's it. While these might be features Gen Y'ers think are nice, they don't make the computing experience better. A lot of what they need to do is out of their hands because it's about the software. I don't think Mr. Fortt or Dell understand. Today, hardware is all basically the same inside. Colors don't provide the user with a better computing experience. Software does that.

I'm not arguing that design isn't important, but changing the color of the case isn't design. Even slimming down a machine to 2.2lbs by stripping some metal casing isn't design, its engineering. Design and engineering are not the same thing.

Thoughts?