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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

#91

Post by vel0city »

imiric wrote: post #87
vel0city wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's four potential model numbers/names. Latitude 6420 Latitude 5540 Inspiron 5555 2011 Dell Pro 14" 2024 Dell Pro 15" 2024 Dell Pro Max 15" Which ones are the recent bigger laptops? Which is the older smaller laptop? Which is better, Inspiron or Latitude? Which is better, the Dell Pro or the Dell Pro Max? Which naming scheme makes these things way more obvious?

I personally don't care about the year of release. The display size is good to know, but it doesn't tell me whether it's an IPS or OLED, which I care more about. Besides, I'm much more interested about the CPU, RAM, disk size, etc. So should all of these be part of the product name as well, just to please me? Probably not. Yet if the manufacturer segmented their product by arbitrary brand names (which could also be "…

I totally get the naming scheme of practically every technical feature being exposed in the model number, but outside of selling to techie people you'll quickly lose people in trying to remember what was recommended. I don't have a problem remembering what model Supermicro board is on my router build, but I totally understand someone not having a clue what an X11SBA-LN4F is or have any clue on how to begin to compare that to some other Supermicro board.

When it comes to selling to the mass market for a single big consumer electronic good like a laptop or phone or game console or whatever, it seems to me to be way simpler to just have a few decent SKUs. Having someone try and remember "Bill said I should get the CSS326-24G-2S+RM, or was that the 3326, wait is this the one with +RM or not, hmm this is complicated I guess I'll just get something else" is a lot more challenging than having someone remember "Bill said I should get at least the Pro version; oh, that's the listing for the 2023 model I want the newer one, there we go."

You'll really burn a customer when they get confused by the naming scheme and think they're getting one thing but then when they get it home it doesn't work like their friend's because their friend is rocking the 7730-G3-M-QQ-7i gizmowidget as opposed to the 7730-G3-N-QQ-7i gizmowidget.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#93

Post by imiric »

vel0city wrote: post #91
imiric wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally don't care about the year of release. The display size is good to know, but it doesn't tell me whether it's an IPS or OLED, which I care more about. Besides, I'm much more interested about the CPU, RAM, disk size, etc. So should all of these be part of the product name as well, just to please me? Probably not. Yet if the manufacturer segmented their product by arbitrary brand names (which could also be "…

I totally get the naming scheme of practically every technical feature being exposed in the model number, but outside of selling to techie people you'll quickly lose people in trying to remember what was recommended. I don't have a problem remembering what model Supermicro board is on my router build, but I totally understand someone not having a clue what an X11SBA-LN4F is or have any clue on how to begin to compare…

Sure, I agree with that, but surely there's a middle ground between cryptic model names and simple ones to the point of being meaningless. If you have to add the year and display size to your product name, then it's probably not unique enough.

Like I said, this middle ground to me are standard product line names with some meaningful product identifier, so this change by Dell seems like a regression.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#94

Post by chad1n »

So when I buy a Dell laptop now (won't happen), I need to ask for Dell Pro Premium package and make sure that the seller doesn't mistake it for Plus version or Base. Why would you go for "easier" names and go for 3 subcategories with the same name within 3 other categories. Just sell Dell/Dell Pro/Dell Pro Max (even the names are copied from Apple) with different specs, why give them subcategories

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#95

Post by yread »

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…

Another variant of this is the washing machine nonsense:

Bosch WGG244ZANL

Which btw is a Series 6 machine (note the missing 6 in the type name)!

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#96

Post by jay_kyburz »

normie3000 wrote: post #21
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.

> Should I get the "Dell Pro Max ", the "Dell Pro Max Plus", "Dell Pro Plus", or the "Dell Premium"? I thought you were joking, but these do seem to be options in the new, simpler branding!

It's designed to make the basic option still sound special.

People on a budget don't want to be presented with the option of the Dell Basic, the Dell Standard, and the Dell Premium.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#97

Post by yread »

LeftHandPath wrote: post #64

To be replaced with "Dell," "Dell Pro", and "Dell Pro Max"... Those tiers seem oddly familiar. They also throw away what I thought, as a proud long-time Dell Precision owner, was decent branding of their different lines for various market segments. But maybe it's a good thing - most major brands seem to offer too many laptop choices. Shopping for a laptop recently has left me, ironically, running for Mac. The experie…

> Lenovo is actually decent

If all you want is a thinkpad maybe. But then you click the thinkpad link and have to figure out whether you want a T, P, L, E, C or X thinkpad (they don't make Ws anymore, right?) Oh and some also have "s" suffix. And they differ from non-s quite a bit

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#98

Post by FireBeyond »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #96
normie3000 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Should I get the "Dell Pro Max ", the "Dell Pro Max Plus", "Dell Pro Plus", or the "Dell Premium"? I thought you were joking, but these do seem to be options in the new, simpler branding!

It's designed to make the basic option still sound special. People on a budget don't want to be presented with the option of the Dell Basic, the Dell Standard, and the Dell Premium.

At the other end of the spectrum you have people booking Basic Economy airline fares, and at least in several cases, willfully ignoring the fare conditions (specifically, non-assigned seating), and then showing up at the gate, "My wife and I and our three children all need to be in the same row."

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#99

Post by stagalooo »

wmf wrote: post #43
0x457 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Isn't the Air the lightest and thinnest?

Yes, people are only confused because they think it means cheapest, which is ultimately a failing of Apple branding but doesn't really make much sense to me.

Re: Dell will no longer make XPS computers

#100

Post by numpad0 »

imiric wrote: post #83
vel0city wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> infer that higher numbers indicate better performance But bigger numbers don't always indicate better performance. A Dell Latitude 6420 (a Sandy Bridge) is much slower than a 5420. Same with a 7320 versus a 5440.

Then that's a confusion the manufacturer should address. Consistency and clarity is key. But it's not solved by scrapping all of it in favor of "Plus", "Pro" and "Max".

> Consistency and clarity is key

For manufacturing, yes, absolutely not for marketing.

"Dell 2024 Super Max Pro Ultra Plus New Premium" is objectively better for confusing customers and tricking them into purchasing products sold at higher price and worse value proposition.

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