Dell uses LCD to bring home PCs

TOKYO: Personal computer maker Dell Inc said that its flat-panel televisions are not intended to compete with traditional TV makers but to persuade users to move its PCs into their living rooms.

Chief executive Michael Dell said he did not see its monitors as being in direct competition with those of Sharp Corp, the world's largest maker of liquid crystal display TVs, because he regards them as multi-function displays, not just televisions.

"We see the role of the PC expanding quite a bit in the digital home as more content becomes digital, whether it's video, pictures or music," Dell told a news conference in Tokyo.

"People are looking for the PC to be at the center of this experience, so larger displays are quite attractive."

Dell's entry into the Japanese LCD television market late last year created headlines and triggered concerns that it would be able to out-muscle traditional consumer electronics makers by replicating its success in PCs.

Dell can offer products at a discount to competitors because of its low-cost supply and distribution system and ability to sell directly to customers over the phone or on the Internet.

The PC giant's 17-inch LCD television sells for about 80,000 yen ($755) its Web site, while a similar-sized TV made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd sells at Japanese retailers for about 110,000 yen.

Dell also offers a 23-inch and 30-inch LCD televisions.

The shift into consumer electronics represents an effort by Dell to diversify into other segments of the IT market.

Dell said he expects the company's PC business to grow 4-6 percent annually until the business year ending in January 2007, while its software and peripherals division will grow over 30 percent a year.

"We have aggressive plans in software and peripherals sector as we enter new categories...in PDAs, printers and network switches," said Dell, pointing to the business division that also includes LCD televisions.

Overall, the company sees its revenues growing at a pace of over 15 percent a year over the next three years.

© Reuters