Dell eyes emerging markets, unveils new PCs

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The two notebook and two desktop PCs are the first Dell models designed especially for emerging markets, said Steve Felice, the U.S. computer maker's president for the Asia-Pacific. They are meant for small-business users and are to be sold in 20 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Strong sales in Asia helped Dell turn in better-than-expected results in the last quarter despite a slowing U.S. economy. It is due to report its latest quarterly results after the U.S. markets close Thursday, and analysts are watching whether it can maintain its growth pace.

"Our success is going to be largely dependent on our ability to expand globally," Felice said in an interview.

Dell and rivals Hewlett-Packard Co., Taiwan-based Acer Inc. and China's Lenovo Group are expanding aggressively in emerging economies as sales growth in the United States and other developed markets slows.

Dell's first-quarter sales in China, India, Russia and Brazil markets known collectively as BRIC grew by 58 percent, about 10 times the U.S. rate, Felice said. He said Dell expects 20-30 percent annual growth in those markets in coming years.

Prices for the new Vostro notebooks will start at 3,299 yuan ($475) and for the desktop PCs at 2,999 yuan ($440).

Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, broke with its usual development and marketing strategy for its latest products, Felice said.

"We used to design products for global requirements and distribute the same product globally," he said. "In this situation, we started with talking to emerging country customers, designing a product for emerging countries, and our initial launch of the product is only in emerging countries. That's a big departure in our strategy."

The new Dell models were created by a Shanghai design center set up to focus on emerging markets, Felice said.

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