Dell: Tablets Are Not That Great, Wearable Tech is Much Better
Sales for Dell's computers are sliding and the company is looking into wearable devices to boost earnings. It was not a secret that Dell is struggling with their computer offerings. In order to save their sales and improve company position, the computer maker is refocusing their investments on wearable technology.
Dell's global vice-president of personal computing, Sam Burd, hinted to the Guardian that the company is looking into such idea.
For the past couple of months since the announcement of Google Glass, the topic of wearable devices or computers has become hot. Many people have been testing head-mounted Glass system for weeks and the California-based Pebble sold over 85,000 of their "smart watches." There are also rumors on Apple releasing the "iWatch" along with other companies like Sony, Samsung, iPhone and LG venturing into the idea.
"There are challenges in cost, and how to make it a really good experience," the Guardian quoted Mr Burd.
"But the piece that's interesting is that computers are getting smaller. Having a watch on your wrist - that's pretty interesting, pretty appealing," he added.
Dell has also been working on privatizing the company involving a $24b buyout. The company admits that despite being one of the pioneers in the industry, the personal computer market has been shrinking rapidly. Dell is refocusing to explore other sources of income.
"Looking ahead five years, we expect devices and form factors to continue to change. There will still be a need for 'static' computing on desktops, but there will be a real need for mobile devices. There's a lot of discussion about how that fits into wearable devices like we've seen with Google Glass and watches. We're looking at a world of lots of connected devices.
"I don't see any magic new form factor like the iPad - I don't think anybody saw how that was going to change devices. But the number of [computing] devices per person is exploding," Mr Burd explained regarding wearables.