BANGALORE (Reuters) - In recent months, personal computer
maker Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), has been testing a digital music
player that could go on sale as early as September, the Wall
Street Journal newspaper said, citing several Dell officials.
Dell's new foray would put it into an Apple-led (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research)
market that has defied assaults.
Companies like Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Sony Corp
(6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) have tried -- and failed -- to make a dent in the
market dominated by Apple's iPod players and iTunes store, the
Journal said.
The music player which Dell has been testing features a
small navigation screen and basic button controls to scroll
through music play lists, the Journal reported.
It would connect to online music services via a Wi-Fi
Internet connection, and Dell would likely price the model at
less than $100, the Journal said. Dell's first foray into the
music market in 2003 was a huge disappointment. It withdrew
from the music-player market after its DJ Ditty player failed
to make major inroads.
This time, if the company goes ahead with the music player,
the strategy is different, Michael Tatelman, Dell's vice
president of consumer sales said, according to the paper.
Instead of simply selling a piece of hardware tied to
someone else's music service, as it did in 2003, Dell is
working on software for a range of portable PCs that will let
users download and organize music and movies from various
online sources, the paper added.
From : http://uk.reuters.com/
