The Great Race - Dell vs. Apple
April 10th, 2006
I originally called this article “Dude, Where’s My Dell?”, because I figured that there was no way that Dell would beat Apple. Now I’m not so sure. Here’s the story…
Feeling the slow, inevitable decline of my 12” PowerBook G4, I decided it was time to go ahead and shop for an upgrade. I settled on the Mac mini 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo. For a new monitor (currently I’m using an old 15” LCD in tandem with my 12” G4’s display), I chose Dell’s outstanding 20.1-inch Widescreen Flat Panel monitor instead of Apple’s ultra-sexy Cinema Display. Why the Dell? Well, simple: the Dell is brighter, has a higher contrast ratio, and is about $300 cheaper. No contest.
So I ordered both items on Friday – one from Dell and one from Apple. For both I chose the free ground shipping option.
Here’s where it starts to get interesting. I was sure that my Apple order would beat my Dell order to the door. This belief was reinforced when I checked my order status for both orders on Sunday, and saw that Apple had already shipped. So there it is – Apple beats Dell, just as I expected. Hah! Except wait – on closer inspection I saw that only part of my Apple order has shipped – the keyboard and mouse. The actual Mac Mini is still waiting to be shipped. Ack! I had already given Apple the benefit of the doubt, and I had already started railing on Dell for being so slow and stupid! Now I may have to eat my words!
So now it comes down to a race between Apple and Dell. Who will make me happier? Who will make it to my door first? In a world where Dell and Apple have become direct competitors (now that Apple officially runs Windows), the outcome of this little anecdotal experiment will be very telling.
Who will it be???
April 10th, 2006 at 05:54 PM You forget one thing. If you want to buy an Apple computer, you can actually go to a store and buy your machine. Same day "delivery". Dell has no such option.
April 10th, 2006 at 06:46 PM Heh... true, true. I kinda wish I had done that now - but you can save a few bucks by calling Apple's small business line. But your comment makes a good point - Apple is all about the customer's experience, where Dell is just a supplier.
April 11th, 2006 at 04:34 PM At this point, I'm more interested in the delivery companies. You should keep that in mind during your final analysis. go-Mac-GO!!!
April 11th, 2006 at 09:35 PM *Update*: The Dell shipment is en route from Ft. Worth, Texas, and is supposed to arrive on -Friday- +Thursday+. The Apple is one day -ahead-+behind+, and is currently in Anchorage, Alaska, en route from.... China? eh? I thought Apples were made in California!
April 12th, 2006 at 07:43 PM *Update*: The "Mighty Mouse":http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/ is here! Computer's somewhere in the midwest. Monitor's supposed to be here tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be Dell by a day, Apple by a mouse.
April 12th, 2006 at 09:44 PM Apple's stuff is *designed* in California... But made in Taiwan and such. Dell's stuff, I believe, is made in Texas.
April 12th, 2006 at 09:50 PM And BTW, you'll love the Dell monitor... I have the same one :)