Michael Dell has torn into netbooks, claiming the micro PCs leave punters “unsatisified”. It’s a brave move considering Dell is doing swift business on planet netbook, selling thousands of Dell Mini 10s and touting newbies like the Dell 11z.
Speaking at a dinner in Silicon Valley, Michael Dell was scathing about netbooks and the experience they offer. When asked about the popularity of the little tykes, Dell said, “”Take a user who’s used to a 15-inch notebook and then give him a 10-inch netbook. He’ll say ‘Oh, this is so cool, it’s so lightweight.’ Then 36 hours later he’ll say the screen’s not big enough, give me my 15-inch back.”
Warming to his theme, Dell continued, ” For a replacement machine or for a high-end machine, it’s not what we’d recommend.” He also claimed “a fair amount of customers” were unsatisfied with small screens and low performance.
This is the kind of attack on netbooks we’ve got used to from Steve Jobs. But with Dell selling rafts of netbooks, it’s a strange move for its CEO to come out so vociferously against them.
