Dell Inc. (DELL) recently unveiled two new models of its flagship Inspiron Z series. The company aims to lure customers and drum up business with the look and service of these newbies.
Inspiron is Dell’s most popular laptop brand. Inspiron 13z and 14z are the new kids on the block, sporting slimmer designs along with aluminum lids and palm rests that have replaced plastic cases prone to scratches. The models sport Intel Corp.’s (INTC) Sandy Bridge Core i3 and i5 processors, with up to 8GB of RAM, a choice of both hard and solid state drives, optical drive and many ports, including USB 3.0 and HDMI jacks.
Both models are priced at $599.99 and above. The 14z has already hit the stores, while the 13z will be available only in overseas markets as of now.
Dell’s efforts to manufacture new and improved laptops at affordable prices should help it build a stronger position in the consumer market. Of course, the consumer market is a double-edged sword, with strong growth coming hand in hand with pricing and margin pressure, seasonality and heightened uncertainty.
The notebook market is also very competitive with key players launching new gadgets intermittently. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) has also come out with a new 15.6-inch notebook, the 2000z. The HP 2000z is available now starting at $349.99 and featuring an Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) Fusion processor 2GB-4GB of RAM, up to a 500GB hard drive and a six-cell battery that lasts for up to a claimed 5.5 hours.
A recent statistic provided by the research firm Gartner shows that worldwide shipments of portable PCs will increase 6.7% in 2011, 14.7% in 2012 and will reach 15.5% in 2015. The data also shows that shipments will be more in emerging markets rather than mature markets.
With a strong product portfolio in its kitty, Dell is expected to be one of the share takers in the market opportunity.
Apart from Dell’s PC exposure, we are encouraged with its recent focus on the higher-end data storage market or cloud computing vertical, which is a booming market.
Dell Inc. has a Zacks #2 Rank, implying a short-term Buy recommendation.
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