Dell Displays New TVs, Music Players

NEW YORK -- Dell took the wraps off its holiday lineup this week, showing new printers, plasma televisions, and music players that will soon be available through its Web site.

Dell's two new, 42-inch plasma televisions are the company's first entry into that market, where it hopes to undercut competitors. Dell's high-end W4200HD will sell for $3500 and support high-definition content, with resolution of 1024 vertical lines by 768 horizontal lines. Dell will also offer the W4200ED, priced at $2300, featuring resolution of 852 by 480.

"This is a logical extension of our flat-panel market," says Mike George, general manager and vice president of Dell's U.S. consumer business.

Dell already offers several smaller LCD televisions. It added a new model to that line this week, introducing the 19-inch W 1900 LCD TV, priced at $900.

New Digital Jukeboxes

Dell also introduced two new models in its Dell DJ (Digital Jukebox) line of digital music players. One of the new versions, the 4.4-ounce, 5GB Pocket DJ, is a lightweight player intended to rival Apple Computer's IPod Mini. Dell's Pocket DJ is larger than the IPod Mini, but it's also cheaper, with a retail price of $200 versus the IPod Mini's $250.

Dell's other new DJ is an updated version of its 20GB model. The company is adding Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol and Digital Rights Management technology, code-named Janus, to its media players; the technology will be added to existing DJs later this year and in early 2005 to the models introduced this week. Customers will be able to upgrade their DJs to incorporate the new software at Dell's Web site.

The new media players and the plasma TVs will be available for ordering later this month and will begin shipping in early November, Dell says. The plasma TVs can currently only be shipped in the U.S., excluding Alaska and Hawaii, but George says Dell is working to expand distribution to Europe and Asia.

Photo Printers Also Announced

Dell also spotlighted two new photo printers, both of which are now shipping. The Photo Printer 540, priced at $190, is a dedicated photo printer with a 2.5-inch LCD screen and a digital memory card reader that allows users to view and print images without an attached PC. The printer also includes a suite of photo editing software.

The All-in-One Printer 942 also includes a small photo screen and can print photos, though it is more geared for everyday printing tasks. It is priced at $150, and handles printing, copying, faxing, and color scanning.

Dell is holding its holiday showcase at the DigitalLife show here, where George says the "digital lifestyle" idea is one Dell will be focusing on as it crafts its products and advertising campaigns. The company is experimenting with four of its 80 Dell Direct stores (which do not carry inventory; shoppers can evaluate Dell products at the shops but still need to order them online), redesigning them around a digital life theme to show how Dell's products can work together in the home. If those prototype stores--in Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles--prove popular, Dell will expand the design, George says.