Dell launched a hot new $99 music player yesterday to take on Apple’s iPod, but it couldn’t rescue Dell stock from skidding to a new low.
Dell crowed that its DJ Ditty music player has a built-in FM radio and a one-inch screen – features that iPod’s low-cost players don’t have.
But hours after the launch – accompanied by good-news reports from Dell executives that they’ve landed a $100 million contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation for other gear – the stock went south.
Shares closed at $33.80, off 1.5 percent, or 51 cents. The stock is down 20 percent this year. Apple, meanwhile, rose to $53.19, up 55 cents, to mark a one-year return of 182 percent.
Dell is struggling to expand beyond its huge PC business, the world’s largest, by selling more handheld products.
Its new 512-megabyte player holds up to 220 songs, measures 1.1 inch by 3.6 inches by a half inch thick, weighs just 1.29 ounces and has 14 hours of battery life.
Dell also unveiled a new handheld computer, priced from $299 to $499, and a pair of all-in-one printers, priced at $89 and $149.