Why do you think Dell has the "ewww" effect?

I've never had the personal experience of owning a Dell laptop or desktop, but I really think there is one reason why Dell has the reputation they do. One of my friends had the last generation 17" notebook...I forget the model number. He was really satisfied with it for a while, then the hard drive messed up, then the graphics, then this, then that. Dell took a long time to fix it even though they eventually did. This experience really scarred his point of view on Dell as a company.

A lot of people in the word, even though it's becoming more high tech, are not properly informed about things. A lot of people know about the iPod because it's so common and so advertised. Everyone wants one and thinks it's the best mp3 player. With Dell, they are everywhere. Libraries have them, colleges have them, my grandma has one.

Of course, these are the crappy ones people complain about who don't understand computers. Realistically, if you took a survey, I bet that more than 3/4 of the people who were surveyed don't know that the XPS line exists, or maybe even the Latitudes. People are so used to seeing cheap Inspirons everywhere.

 

I don't know what your talking about, especially the "ewww" effect. I used to own Averix and Compaqs laptops. A dell is good. If you think you can build a better one, go ahead.

 

interesting thread. I think the "eww" effect is because aesthetically, Dell laptops have a build quality that is inferior to the competition (well, the Inspiron line anyway). Another reason is that they're just not as "cool" in general as for example Apple. But the new inspirons might change things quite a bit...

 

Build quality = aesthetic design? or strength and structure?

And do Inspirons have a bad rep when uncustomized only, or when customized as well?

 

Inspirons have a bad rep pretty much always, there are exceptions, however. Just lately, while they've been clearing out the old designs the e1501 has been the best budget notebook on the market. However, most computer-literate people I know at least faintly-dislike dell, even if they're cheap.

 

well, perhaps I should rephrase. build quality = quality of construction. design = aesthetics (looks) + build quality

 

Ooh makes sense now, thanks

 

lol this is a "loaded" poll.

By voting you admit to an "eww" effect.

 

Well, you can't really deny that their is an "eww" effect. I work in IT and I hear plenty of people say they wouldn't buy a dell if they didn't have too, simply because it's a dell. Why they say that is open to debate, but it's pretty hard to deny that some people just don't like dell.

 

Whats funny is most of these people will go on to buy a Dell too :laugh:

 

Well, as Dell's current market share proves, it's no longer "most".

 

lol I didn't deny it, just pointed out it's loaded in that voters are forced to admit it by voting, and not everyone actually does agree (well maybe not loaded- given the last option).

I actually think they are less "eww" than what I ordered- (at least their screens are centered!) I'm just a slave to a particular keyboard.

 

I don't think you can 'agree' or 'disagree' about a fact. I mean, what if I told you I disagreed that everyone in the United States drives on the right side of the road...?

Dells are perceived as "eww." Maybe you don't think they are, which is why I ask you to try and explain why others might think so. Read the question carefully

It was meant to be an exaggeration, but for real? Dell had over 50% of the market share at some point? I had no idea

 

No, but they did have a plurality (meaning more people went with dell than any other single company.)

 

So who's the biggest bad-ass in town now?

 

For PC's its HP. Though I think Dell may currently have a plurality for the laptop market, due to their aggresive price cuts this quarter.

 

thats because dell (consumer) is no longer in the computer business... theyre in the coupon business

marketing majors will know where im coming from

 

Whoa! I don't think I've ever used an HP - laptop or PC. My old printer was HP and it sucked, but...

 

Well, the old HP Pavilion laptops were widely regarded as the best mainstream laptops around, with the dv6000t being one of the most popular laptops in several years. I don't know as much about desktops, as I haven't bought a pre-built one in a while. HP printers are, in my opinion, overpriced, but they work great.

 

Wowza. Things change fast, no? Seemed like yesterday when compaq was a separate company and everyone was saying that HP was crapifying it. At least thats all I can find in my head under the keyword "HP"

 

lol thanks for providing an example contradicting your assertion that "I don't think you can agree or disagree about a fact".

W O W.

 

well i have a dell e1505 and i like it..I guess it can be the name Dell....the guy named Michael Dell named it after himself lol and the design is not that great........the notebooks and thick and heavier than the others in the price range. doh doh

 

You're saying people drive to the left of the median? Where do you live?

 

My problem with Dell from my standpoint is their desktops, I can build my own for much cheaper than the Dell with better components and it will be exactly as I like it. This hate for me just went over to their laptops. I was seriously looking at an Asus F3sv, but the Inspiron's were so cheap and with better specs that it only made sense to go for the Dell, and from what I've heard their laptops are actually pretty good.

 

You can always build a desktop cheaper than you can buy one. The extra cost pays for the manufacturer to make it for you.

 

As well as for a combined warranty and customer service plan, because some people can't diagnose a hardware problem without customer service walking them through it. In such a case buying a pre-built desktop is well worth it.

 

CS generally sucks
but more than anything their older desktops SUCKED. as in failures.
but since they have warrenties and whatnot..its not so bad
but iv grown to like dell because of their warrenties..and this new m1330

 

I don't know why people would want to buy a laptop with resale in mind. Computers are awful and worse than cars with respect to their status as a depreciating asset. IMO, when buying a laptop resale value shoudl be the last thing on one's mind.

Buy a laptop that will last you a few years... by then you should have enough money to buy a new laptop and should decomission your old one for use as a backup.

 

By the time a laptop is 1 year old, it is not worth much. If I bought a year old laptop right now, it would still have a Core Duo Processor. I really want to pay top dollar for a dated Core Duo processor. Those dated 2 MB caches are so popular these days.

 

That's not always a viable option for business that buy laptops in bulk, and know they will replace all of them in 1-2 years time. In that case, resale value is a very important feature.

 

How much can you get for a 1 year old laptop? I mentioned a 1 year old laptop will only have a Core Duo Processor and a 2 year old laptop will only have a Centrino processor. I know it is cheaper to keep a car until it dies than to buy a new one and sell the old one every few years. But, a well maintained car can easily last 15 to maybe 20 years or more. I am going to assume it is cheaper to keep a laptop for 4-5 years and let it die, than to sell it and buy a new one every year.

 

Actually, for business selling back to their wholesalers it's usually cheaper. It's not a good idea for an individual consumer to do this (unless that absolutely have to have the latest technology) but for business it works out pretty well. At least it does for the medical facility where I work.

 

the indians

 

Whats that supposed to mean?

 

"Why do you think Dell has the "ewww" effect?"
answer: the indians

the indians you always talk to you through customer/tech support