Dell Announces Zing, New MP3 Player

Dell is trying really hard to be follow the Apple model to success. Not that Dell is doing poorly, by any stretch (aside from the occasional law suit), but they want more. One of the biggest things they are trying to foster in their customers is a sense of brand loyalty, and when you start speaking about brand loyalty and tech, the single best example to follow is Apple (thus why there are always tech blog stories on Apple even though they own less than 10% of the computing market. They do dominate the MMP market, but the stories you read are hardly ever about the iPod line). So, to emulate Apple, it looks like Dell is headed down the MP3 player road… again.

What made the iPod brand successful? Design and delivery. They are sleek and provide an easy (if increasingly controversial) method to legally obtain content for it through iTunes. So Dell has decided that the best way to meet the design side is to hire some of the best product designers around, including the man behind the original Razr. And for the delivery side? They have plans to provide plenty of options for people in an easy manner. And call the thing a Zing. Yeah, that's really its name.

The Zing should be out "soon," as in possibly September. The Zing will also be the focus of a whole slew of new products centered around the Zing name. Think specialty Media Center PC's and entertainment center type equipment, possibly even a phone featuring an altered Android OS. Now, supposedly they aren't copying the iPod model, but… well, lets just say I hope they aren't following the Zune model.

We'll be bringing you more information on the Zing as it comes, as well as pics and specs once they are released. But here's the real question: what will it take to pull you away from your iPod?