Continued...

As Dell continues to embark on its new journey, it just makes me wonder if Michael Dell is in the same position as Steve Jobs was with Apple. Like Apple, Dell will have to diversify its product portfolio to protect its margins, and as we know now, Apple has done better with "third-party" products than it has with the original Macintosh platform. Interestingly enough, the iPod + iTunes + iPhone platform has proven to be amazing for its core OS X + Mac platform, which has seen its market share jump up consistently. Unfortunately, Dell's attempt at music players was pathetic, and it was going to fail. There was nothing special about them, and just like the Internet bubble of the 90's, the company's music players were nothing more than mere me too devices and terrible, too. No worries. We all make mistakes, and what's done is done.

In the near future, it needs to bring together a team of brilliant team of product designers and managers and start working on interesting products in-house. Maybe steal a few designers from Apple for inspiration? It's a thought. But whatever you do, Dell, don't work to beat the iPod or try to take on the iPhone. Those products aren't impossible to beat. After all, somebody has to take them down someday, but you don't have to worry about it. Let that be someone else's headache. You need to enter into segments that make sense. Dell's LCD displays have been making quite a mark in the market, why not continue going down that path? Be more consumer electronics-friendly? Whatever you do, break some new ground. Shake up the industry (whichever one that happens to be) just like you shook the OEM sector. Be the Dell you can be.

The optimism aside, let's be realistic and practical simultaneously. What Dell needs to do is get its mighty head down, become entrepreneurial and forget the notion to bring down competitors. Best advice: learn from Apple. That's how you win.

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