Dell dumps Della, just wants to be friends

Looks like someone's gonna have to explain why there's a "no longer in a relationship" status update on her Facebook profile. Just ten or so days after Dell officially hooked up with its female counterpart Della, helping real womenfolk find computers that meet their recipe-finding, calorie-counting ways, she's now been thrown the wayside and all mentions of her have been replaced with (or redirected to) the similar, yet decidedly more androgynous "Lifestyle." Last we heard, Della was sitting on the couch watching Notting Hill with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, crying softly to herself and wondering what other female stereotypes she can best beat with a dead horse.

[Aaron @ May 22nd 2009 10:32PM]

Would it be too soon if I made a move on her?

[garrenteed @ May 22nd 2009 11:10PM]

no she's mine. don't touch my territory.

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 23rd 2009 1:49AM]

She's on the rebound. If she goes psycho, you've been warned.

[Ian @ May 23rd 2009 4:52PM]

"no she's mine. don't touch my territory."

Shotgun poon-tang!

[y3k.nik @ May 22nd 2009 10:35PM]

Dell cheated on Della with Adell... Give it a second for FB status to change.

[darkmax @ May 22nd 2009 10:39PM]

Hey! This is getting serious! Sexual discriminations! Why do ladies gets all the exclusive attentions?!

[loocas @ May 23rd 2009 5:25AM]

Because men don't give a shit...?

[GingerFox @ May 23rd 2009 8:15AM]

Correct!

[darkmax @ May 23rd 2009 9:45AM]

that still does not mean there should be such discriminations.

[lordmorgul @ May 23rd 2009 3:58PM]

@darkmax, so you're saying there should never be a website aimed at selling products to women? Why not? Please explain. Why is it necessary that every product be marketed as equally appealing to men and women, even if in fact the product IS equally appealing to men and women?

[darkmax @ May 23rd 2009 8:21PM]

@lordmogul,

This is just back to the ages whee by things are done only and exclusively for men, only this time it is women. this is sexual discrimination in the marketing society, targeting a particular segment based on perceived (and studied) behaviors... thus, stereotyping. And the negative to stereotyping is discrimination. In this case sexual.

[jollyllama @ May 23rd 2009 11:45PM]

Gah, I feel dirty for even entering this argument, but you're so ridiculous that it hurts. Look, marketing to a segment of the population is not discrimination. Not hiring someone because they're black? Discrimination. Not renting an apartment to someone because they're gay? Discrimination. Passing someone up for a promotion because they're old/young? Discrimination. Running an advertising campaign targeted at blacks/gays/old people? Not discrimination, you brain-dead idiot.

[darkmax @ May 24th 2009 4:43AM]

If something that should be meant for everyone, but only you get it, that's in itself discrimination.

Anyway, I'm just arguing for argument's sake. I'm a marketer! lol

[peepeepants @ May 22nd 2009 10:40PM]

I run a popular rumor site, and our sources have information that leads us to believe that Dell just changed the name and is planning a site relaunch soon. Della will now officially be known as, Vagina.

[TIMMAH! @ May 22nd 2009 11:19PM]

Oh I thought it was Mulva...

[Richard @ May 23rd 2009 2:19AM]

The mental picture of a vagina using a laptop is.... disturbing.

[redcard @ May 23rd 2009 6:34AM]

That comma at the end just totally destroys what was already a poor joke

[Ian @ May 23rd 2009 4:52PM]

New Vag-tops are coming.

[nikster @ May 22nd 2009 10:42PM]

I think my life would be better if I had never known Della existed. Thanks a bunch, Engadget!

[Premature ejaculation man @ May 22nd 2009 10:47PM]

Della should sue for half

[Michael @ May 22nd 2009 11:06PM]

prenup joke was for you but the comment responded to the guy below you

[sacapuntas @ May 22nd 2009 11:14PM]

I am pretty sure she is also changing her name to Heather Packard. She is too ashamed of her past.... so much emotional trauma...

[Sisyphus @ May 22nd 2009 10:55PM]

I'm a believer in Dell, but "Della" was way too fuckin' cheesy.

[Michael @ May 22nd 2009 11:05PM]

i'm pretty sure dell got a prenup

[Aaron @ May 22nd 2009 11:30PM]

I'm a believer in Dell, but "Della" was way too fuckin' easy.

[AMiSH PiRATE @ May 23rd 2009 1:49AM]

Holla! We want pre-nup! We want pre-nup!

[Phoenix @ May 23rd 2009 6:55AM]

I just want a pre

[Christian @ May 22nd 2009 10:56PM]

Where are all the ladies gonna go now for their recipes, cleaning tips, and shopping advice?

[Saad (the other one) @ May 22nd 2009 10:57PM]

della, ella, ella, eh eh, eh

[Jacob @ May 22nd 2009 11:29PM]

Damn you!!! *shakes fist*

[tekd @ May 23rd 2009 10:05AM]

First time in a long time I actually laughed out loud at a comment joke.

[BOGRASH @ May 23rd 2009 12:20PM]

meh, meh, meh would have killed it

[jnn4v @ May 25th 2009 12:41AM]

Or there's "Delllllaaaahhhhhh!" (go to 0:37 on this clip http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/stella!+street+car/video/x28fnu_stella_fun)

[JohnTitor @ May 22nd 2009 10:56PM]

www.Della.com

[Awjvail @ May 22nd 2009 11:01PM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVrU0JNAgqI

[NOB @ May 22nd 2009 11:07PM]

The problem with the della website is that dell's notebook selection sucks. Females like light and small notebooks that look stylish. Dell doesn't offer anything good under 500 dollars for that price. The two ideal "della" products would be the Studio XPS 1340 and Dell Adamo, both of which cost a fortune. Until Dell gives its lower end 13 inch models a diet and a bit of plastic surgery, any attempt to reach out to female notebook buyers will reach deaf ears.

[garrenteed @ May 22nd 2009 11:12PM]

stereotype.

[iChristian3G @ May 22nd 2009 11:19PM]

It must be pink as well.

[Nicole @ May 26th 2009 9:49AM]

I do?

[digitallysick @ May 22nd 2009 11:10PM]

Now how are women supposed to find recipes and ways to do house work since della is gone. Its a sad day

[Kaitian @ May 22nd 2009 11:53PM]

Wow a feminazi succeeded in making Dell dump their strategy? It would have worked just fine for Dell had they went ahead with it. Pretty dumb move imo.

[lordmorgul @ May 23rd 2009 3:57PM]

I kinda agree. I find it very hard to believe the vast majority of women buyers do not want to be marketed to as women. Stereotype bad mmk... or maybe just our society has gone anti-stereotype psycho? A stereotype is not always a bad thing, and there ARE many things which women do more often with a computer than a man does. There are things a man does more often with a computer than a woman does. There are things both do, but perhaps in the minority, and some that both do equally.

Are you all really so afraid to be stereotyped that you cannot recognize what is obvious? Maybe Dell had gone overboard with some of the site, I'm not a woman so I wouldn't know how being stereotyped as a woman would make me feel, but I know that when I see a website trying to sell 'man stuff' to me using plenty of 'man stuff' stereotypical imagery I do not think 'wow that is disgusting, what pigs'.

[VanillaSpice @ May 23rd 2009 9:36PM]

Are you guys serious? Women do not 'want to be marketed to as women'.

What women want, is to be treated as people, rather than as a different species to men. Men and women do not have different needs from computers. Women and men do not interact with computers in different ways. Therefore, computers do not need to be (and generally are not) marketed towards a specific gender.

It is complete nonsense (and rather offensive) to suggest that men and women spend the majority of their computer time doing different things. Word process, web browse, and play games, *both* genders use more than 90% of their computer time doing these things. That last one, playing games, was once thought to be a male-only province, but is now known to be nearly half female.

The problem with your 'man stuff' analogy, lordmogul, is simple - computers are neither man stuff nor woman stuff. This remains true even if some idiot puts a design on a notebook lid and declares that it is now obviously a 'woman's computer'. The only way you can think of computers as 'man stuff' or 'woman stuff' is to incorrectly assume that women do different things on computers than men, which is exactly what you've done.

[Zorque @ May 22nd 2009 11:53PM]

All joking aside, Della was pretty sexist on their part. Women generally tend to be rational enough to find a computer they like without the need for a softer site design and pictures of flowers.

[John @ May 23rd 2009 2:31AM]

HAHAHAH GOOD ONE.

[Nilay Patel @ May 23rd 2009 3:21AM]

@john
HAHAHAHA BANNED

[AJ in the East Bay @ May 23rd 2009 1:48AM]

@Aaron,

She's on the rebound. If she goes psycho, you've been warned.

[cormin @ May 23rd 2009 1:50AM]

this is why I love engadget! they make fun of it in a hilarious way!

[John @ May 23rd 2009 2:32AM]

this is why i love cormin! he points out the obvious in an adorably naive way!

[ED @ May 23rd 2009 2:03AM]

This article is a win, metaphorically speaking.