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Dell will no longer make XPS computers

arstechnica.com

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Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#31

Post by lizknope »

legitster wrote: post #13

I really appreciate when brands just name things like they are. Nothing is less fun than cross-shopping products and there are a bunch of arbitrary brand differences. "Precisions are their portable workstations . Latitudes are their ultrabooks. Duh! XPS is their premium consumer laptop!". Marketing departments tend to get addicted to the smell of their own farts. But I don't think consumers care about particular sub-…

Product names make no sense. Some web sites make a "product selection tool" where you answer a bunch of questions and it tries to direct you to models that will suit your needs.

I was recently buying a Seasonic power supply. What is the difference between Prime, Vertex, Focus, or Core series? Then there is Prime TX, Prime PX, Prime GX. I have no idea what all this is. I ended up just picking something in the 800W range with the modular power outputs that I needed.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#32

Post by 0x457 »

crooked-v wrote: post #9
InvisibleUp wrote: post #4

I feel like the headline is burying the lede here: every Dell sub-brand is going away expecting for the new “Pro” and “Pro Max”. Reminds me a lot of how Apple in the late 90s got rid of their Performa/Centris/Quadra/etc. for more obvious, matter-of-fact names.

I find it funny how much they've just completely ceded branding standards to Apple in that move.

Because it's just simple and makes sense. Mostly, the only confusing apple product is iPad Air because it doesn't match what Air means in MacBooks.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#33

Post by xnx »

I got a refurb XPS from the Dell store on eBay. Its problems are numerous, but not fatal. I do appreciate that it has a 17" display. I'm not sure anyone(?) does large screens on laptops anymore.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#34

Post by jsheard »

razakel wrote: post #27
legitster wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

XPS was never their professional product line. Latitudes were their workplace fleet devices that mostly went head to head with ThinkPads. This is probably good evidence that they needed to simplify their branding. Having their halo consumer product compete for market mindshare against their professional products is counterproductive. Especially when everyone wants to cross shop against MacBooks. In contrast, ThinkPad…

Inspiron is their consumer line, Latitude their business line, Precision their pro line, Alienware their gaming line, so what exactly was XPS meant to be? Their fashion line?

XPS pre-dates them acquiring Alienware, it made more sense at the time. That was their premium consumer/gaming line.

Dell bought Alienware in 2006 though so they took their sweet time before cleaning up the product lines.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#35

Post by alrs »

unethical_ban wrote: post #11
InvisibleUp wrote: post #4

I feel like the headline is burying the lede here: every Dell sub-brand is going away expecting for the new “Pro” and “Pro Max”. Reminds me a lot of how Apple in the late 90s got rid of their Performa/Centris/Quadra/etc. for more obvious, matter-of-fact names.

It's a transparent ripoff of Apple's branding. Should I get the "Dell Pro Max ", the "Dell Pro Max Plus", "Dell Pro Plus", or the "Dell Premium"? I understand cleaning up the model lineup, but jeez.

Marketing things as "pro" is nothing new. I'm sure others could go back farther than this.

1980 Koga Miyata Pro https://www.speedbicycles.ch/velo/193/koga_miyata_pro_racer_...

1978 Centurion Pro Tour https://vintagecenturion.com/models/touring/protour.shtml

1969 Brooks Professional Saddle https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/standard-professional.ht...

As for "rip-offs," the design language of every aluminum Macbook has basically been Leica rangefinder.

https://www.rustmag.com/gear/2020/12/16/4-reasons-to-buy-a-l...

Which is a double "rip-off," as the IBM Thinkpad goes back a lot farther and it was intentionally made black-with-red-accents to pay homage to Nikon while having the form factor of a bento box.

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/m...

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#36

Post by kwanbix »

"They’re replacing all of these old brands with Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max, and within each of these, there will be three tiers: Base, Plus, and Premium."

I am a Lenovo guy myself, however I like what they are trying to do. If they actually do a good separation, that would be great. If they only do 9 level of computers, that would be a good change.

Kinda ThinkPad T, X, P. But more clear. And again, I only use ThinkPads T, P, or Xs.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#37

Post by kwanbix »

lizknope wrote: post #31
legitster wrote: post #13

I really appreciate when brands just name things like they are. Nothing is less fun than cross-shopping products and there are a bunch of arbitrary brand differences. "Precisions are their portable workstations . Latitudes are their ultrabooks. Duh! XPS is their premium consumer laptop!". Marketing departments tend to get addicted to the smell of their own farts. But I don't think consumers care about particular sub-…

Product names make no sense. Some web sites make a "product selection tool" where you answer a bunch of questions and it tries to direct you to models that will suit your needs. I was recently buying a Seasonic power supply. What is the difference between Prime, Vertex, Focus, or Core series? Then there is Prime TX, Prime PX, Prime GX. I have no idea what all this is. I ended up just picking something in the 800W ran…

I call it the Toothpaste Dilemma: When you go to buy toothpaste, like Colgate or most brands, you're bombarded with so many options. It gets worse when you read the labels—everything seems either identical or has massive overlaps. It's frustrating and unnecessarily complicated.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#38

Post by dkasper »

alrs wrote: post #35
unethical_ban wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a transparent ripoff of Apple's branding. Should I get the "Dell Pro Max ", the "Dell Pro Max Plus", "Dell Pro Plus", or the "Dell Premium"? I understand cleaning up the model lineup, but jeez.

Marketing things as "pro" is nothing new. I'm sure others could go back farther than this. 1980 Koga Miyata Pro https://www.speedbicycles.ch/velo/193/koga_miyata_pro_racer_... 1978 Centurion Pro Tour https://vintagecenturion.com/models/touring/protour.shtml 1969 Brooks Professional Saddle https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/standard-professional.ht... As for "rip-offs," the design language of every aluminum Macbook h…

If it were just pro that would be one thing, but when I saw “Pro Max” I instantly thought of Apple.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#39

Post by pc86 »

xnx wrote: post #28
legitster wrote: post #13

I really appreciate when brands just name things like they are. Nothing is less fun than cross-shopping products and there are a bunch of arbitrary brand differences. "Precisions are their portable workstations . Latitudes are their ultrabooks. Duh! XPS is their premium consumer laptop!". Marketing departments tend to get addicted to the smell of their own farts. But I don't think consumers care about particular sub-…

Apple has its share of naming problems but not attempting to artificially split their laptop product line between consumer and "enterprise" is something they should get credit for.

I mean they do have "Air" and "Pro" monikers for the laptops, as well as a page dedicated to helping you choose which one to get - https://www.apple.com/mac/best-mac/ - so they're not using "consumer" or "enterprise" but it's still there.
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