Restricting Dell Ubuntu to US a huge mistake

Stan Beer
Friday, 25 May 2007 06:04

Opinion and Analysis

At a time when much of the world is salivating with excitement over the release of Dell's new Ubuntu Linux computers in the US, it's ironic that the market in which Ubuntu originated, Europe, still has not received word on when the new Dell boxes will be available.

Likewise, here in Australia local Dell representatives confirm that they still have no word on when the Ubuntu boxes will be available.

Is there some unwritten rule that US consumers always have to be the first to get their hands on new products? Yes, the US is a huge market but then again so is Europe. In fact, arguably, Europe, where there is particularly strong anti-Microsoft sentiment, is a market which could be more receptive than the US to a pre-installed Linux computer.

In fact, releasing the Dell Ubuntu range in the US to great fanfare while ignoring Europe and other markets could be a poor strategic decision for the hardware manufacturer. Unless Dell is already committed to a global rollout, if US sales are uninspiring then what happens? Does the viability of Dell Ubuntu hinge solely on what happens in the US?

I'm still waiting on word from Dell as to when Europe will get to see Dell Ubuntu. And, of course, we would love to see Dell's Ubuntu boxes here in Australia ASAP.

I don't buy into the argument that releasing Ubuntu computers is just a Dell PR stunt. However, if Dell really wants its Linux boxes to succeed, then it has to think globally and make them available to the world right now.