Dell not impressed with iPod or Mac mini

Dell CEO Kevin Rollins
thinks the iPod is a fad, the Mac mini
won't hurt Dell's sales, and that Apple is not in the same league as Dell, but he meant it in the nicest way
possible.

Drawing parallels between the iPod and Sony's Walkman he says, 'When I was growing up there was a product made by
Sony called the Sony Walkman – a rage, everyone had to have one. Well you don't hear about the Walkman anymore. I
believe that one product wonders come and go. You have to have sustainable business models, sustainable
strategy.'

If you ignore the iTunes Music Store, the thriving 3rd party iPod accessories business, and the fact that the digital
music player market hasn't been saturated yet, then Mr. Rollins makes a good point. I do find it odd that he doesn't
make one mention of the Dell Music DJ though, which seems to be in the same market as the iPod, but not so
popular.

The Mac mini most likely will not make a serious dent in Dell's market share because Dell is concentrating on
business sales, a market that the Mac mini certainly isn't targeted at.

After disparaging Apple new products Mr. Rollins makes nice and says, 'They've (Apple) done a nice job.'