After reading about Staples starting to carry Dell computer system, and also reading about how HP is maintaining their sales lead over Dell, it makes one think what really sells a consumer on buying a particular brand of computer system?

For the most part the innards of todays PC’s are fairly the same. Over the past 10 years, many of the parts manufactures have gobbled each other up, leaving few vendors who actually supply the parts that go into a PC. Also most of us are aware that few, if any, parts are manufactured in the US and that the pieces most likely come from an overseas supplier. I had also written an article about companies like Foxconn, who are a part of assemblers who actually put together these boxes for a variety of companies like Dell. The days of any computer manufacture actually assembling their own PC’s has vanished.

So if the innards are basically the same for most low end. mid ranged and high end models, than what really distinguishes one manufacture from another?

Pricing? If one looks through the Sunday newspaper advertisements from some of the big computer retailers, there is always some brand and model on sale for a super price. I noticed this past Sunday that it must of been Toshiba’s turn in the barrel, since they had a flood of relatively ‘el cheapo’ laptops starting at $399. It weeks past it was either an Acer or Gateway that was hitting the low price point for inexpensive laptops.

Styling? A box is a box is a box. Though Dell has come out with some color schemes for their laptops, the basic box for a desktop PC or container for a laptop has remained unchanged for years. Boring. dull, designed to do a job without any concern for aesthetics.

Service? For years Dell was noted for their superior service over other brands. When you called for technical support, you were able to communicate with someone that actually spoke English. All that changed as Dell and others starting using other countries to provide their technical support, and the language issues soon became a problem. Though it is humorous to joke about this and how this almost lack of support can cause problem, the bottom line is that service has declined for some brands.

I personally believe that it is the Service or lack there of, that now distinguishes one brand over another. With this in mind, it would appear that HP is using the correct formula for customer service. Something that Dell once had but has lost.

What do you think? What makes you buy one brand over another?

Comments welcome.

[tags]computers, sell, brand, parts, price, service, [/tags]