How does dell make money on a 250 dollar laptop?

[SunnyD]

Just the cpu N2830 costs 107 USD for oem 1000 unit tray purchase.

But it costs about $30 in 100,000 unit bulk purchases.

That's how.

 

[TwiceOver]

In a Chinese factory paying the workers a few bucks a day.

Common misconception. China really isn't the cheapest place to make things anymore, though they have better infrastructure and work force than the next lower places. Chinese employees actually make an hourly wage, more than the minimum wage for tipped US workers.

 

[GasX]

What they lose on each sale, they make up for in volume...

 

[jaedaliu]

Common misconception. China really isn't the cheapest place to make things anymore, though they have better infrastructure and work force than the next lower places. Chinese employees actually make an hourly wage, more than the minimum wage for tipped US workers.

As of last year, $1.36 for Chinese worker vs $2.18 for federal min wage for tipped worker.

source: google search.

 

[Hugo Drax]

But it costs about $30 in 100,000 unit bulk purchases.

That's how.

At that price point the numbers make more sense.

It is a nice looking laptop for 250 bucks. I got a laugh when I showed it to some people, let them handle it. I asked them what though it cost, I got between 700-800

When I told them 250 they thought I was joking, I had to actually pull up the website and show them the laptop.

It's a no brainier price.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Does it have the painfully terrible glossy screen?

It has the glossy screen, I never understood why so many companies are using glossy screens.

For my use it's not an issue but I can see how it can be an issue in the wrong place.


What's neat though is no fan it seems. This thing never gets past cool to the touch running 24/7 with an average cpu of 37-40% running the SDR software.

 

[ponyo]

So Dell is already shipping laptops with N2830? That's fast. I'm still waiting for N2830 NUC. Everyone is still selling N2820. N2830 is supposed to be fan-less.

But for $250, you could've bought a nice Chromebook.

 

[Hugo Drax]

So Dell is already shipping laptops with N2830? That's fast. I'm still waiting for N2830 NUC. Everyone is still selling N2820. N2830 is supposed to be fan-less.

But for $250, you could've bought a nice Chromebook.

Why pay 250 for a chrome book? Less capability for the same price.

They are shipping with the N2830.

 

[darkxshade]

So much Dell bashing here... the corruption runs deep in this thread. :sneaky:

 

[ponyo]

Why pay 250 for a chrome book? Less capability for the same price.

They are shipping with the N2830.

~ $250 the Chromebook is the superior laptop for most people. $250 Chromebook will feel and perform like $750-$1,000 laptop. $250 Windows laptop will feel and perform like $250 laptop.

 

[JMapleton]

It has the glossy screen, I never understood why so many companies are using glossy screens.

For my use it's not an issue but I can see how it can be an issue in the wrong place.


What's neat though is no fan it seems. This thing never gets past cool to the touch running 24/7 with an average cpu of 37-40% running the SDR software.

Computer noobs love them.

They need to be outlawed.

 

[Hugo Drax]

~ $250 the Chromebook is the superior laptop for most people. $250 Chromebook will feel and perform like $750-$1,000 laptop. $250 Windows laptop will feel and perform like $250 laptop.

LOL .

No.

260 dollar Chromebook specs. And you cant run Windows software. And smaller screen,less ram and weaker cpu.

Tech Features Battery Chemistry Lithium Polymer (Li-Polymer)
Tech Features Number of Cells 2-cell
Tech Features Maximum Battery Run Time 6.30 Hour
Tech Features Webcam Yes
Tech Features HDMI Yes
Tech Features Total Number of USB Ports 2
Tech Features Aspect Ratio 16:9
Tech Features Screen Resolution 1366 x 768
Tech Features Screen Size 11.6"
Tech Features Screen Mode HD
Tech Features Graphics Memory Accessibility Shared
Tech Features Display Screen Type Active Matrix TFT Color LCD
Tech Features Backlight Technology LED
Tech Features Product Type Notebook
Tech Features Manufacturer Part Number XE303C12-A01US
Tech Features Manufacturer Samsung
Tech Features Product Model XE303C12
Tech Features Product Name Chromebook XE303C12 Notebook
Tech Features Product Line Chromebook
Tech Features Product Series 3
Tech Features Brand Name Samsung
Tech Features Pointing Device Type TouchPad
Tech Features Standard Memory 2 GB
Tech Features Memory Technology DDR3 SDRAM
Tech Features Package Contents
Chromebook XE303C12 Notebook
Lithium Polymer Battery
AC Adapter
Tech Features Country of Origin China
Tech Features Green Compliant Yes
Tech Features Green Compliance Certificate/Authority ENERGY STAR
RoHS
EPEAT
Tech Features Wireless LAN Yes
Tech Features Wireless LAN Standard IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n
Tech Features Weight (Approximate) 2.43 lb
Tech Features Color Silver
Tech Features Height 0.7"
Tech Features Width 11.4"
Tech Features Depth 8.1"
Tech Features Optical Drive Type No
Tech Features Solid State Drive Capacity 16 GB
Tech Features Cache 1 MB
Tech Features Processor Speed 1.70 GHz
Tech Features Processor Type Exynos
Tech Features Processor Model 5
Tech Features Processor Core Dual-core (2 Core)
Tech Features Processor Manufacturer Samsung
Tech Features Operating System Chrome OS
Tech Features Limited Warranty 1 Year

 

[ponyo]

$270 Toshiba Chromebook

Intel Celeron 2955U, 2gb ram, 16 gb SSD, 13.3" screen, 9 hour battery life

It's about the whole package and user experience. If you stick with Intel instead of ARM, Chromebook will be better experience than any cheap Windows laptop.

I bought refurb 14" HP Chromebook from Woot for $220 couple days ago and I should get it tomorrow. Of course it's a refurb but you can't find any Windows laptop of comparable specs for the price. 14" display, Intel Celeron 2955U, 4gb ram, 32gb SSD, dual n wireless, 9+ hours battery life, and HSPA+ cell radio.

If you never used a Chromebook, you won't understand the appeal. But there's a reason why Chromebooks are growing by leaps and bound. Low price is only part of the reason. It's better computing.

 

[lxskllr]

Low price is only part of the reason. It's better computing.

Google owning your programs and data is in no way "better computing". A Chromebook is basically a rooted spyware machine. The only way I'd use one is if I could run my own O/S and software on it.

 

[ponyo]

Google owning your programs and data is in no way "better computing". A Chromebook is basically a rooted spyware machine. The only way I'd use one is if I could run my own O/S and software on it.

And Google is not stopping you from running your own O/S and software. Chromebooks and Chromeboxes are not locked down at all. You can use open source BIOS and install Linux of your choice. You can keep the ChromeOS and dual-boot or erase and remove the ChromeOS entirely and boot directly into Linux. Your choice.

The hardware in these cheap Chromebooks and Chromebox are amazing for the price and you won't find better hardware for the dollar. And we have Google to thank for that.

 

[lxskllr]

And Google is not stopping you from running your own O/S and software. Chromebooks and Chromeboxes are not locked down at all. You can use open source BIOS and install Linux of your choice. You can keep the ChromeOS and dual-boot or erase and remove the ChromeOS entirely and boot directly into Linux. Your choice.

The hardware in these cheap Chromebooks and Chromebox are amazing for the price and you won't find better hardware for the dollar. And we have Google to thank for that.

Semi-true. It's decent enough hardware, but some models make installing a different O/S difficult. Doesn't change the fact they're spyware machines in the default configuration.

 

[mrjminer]

The hardware in these cheap Chromebooks and Chromebox are amazing for the price and you won't find better hardware for the dollar. And we have Google to thank for that.

Bullshit alert. You're either a massive fanboy, or work for Google. The hardware in the Chromebook you bought, even at the refurbished price, is lower than what you paid, and really can't be compared to anything other than other Chromebooks in terms of $ / performance. The reason it runs better is because it supports a prohibitive set of devices, features, and software. You could go around and state that a $1 calculator is better than your Chromebook because you wouldn't find better hardware for the dollar; that's about as valid of a claim as the one you are making.

 

[Eug]

My cheap Acer laptop (see sig) that I got in 2010 still works fine, but yeah it's crap.

A few things:

The screen is crap.
It creaks to high heaven when you push on the sides, etc.
In Canada, they only shipped a multilingual keyboard model. I had to buy a US English keyboard off eBay and swap it in myself. You couldn't buy a US English model since they simply were not made available in Canada.
It's heavy for its size.
It took me hours to delete all the crapware.

If I were to buy another Win laptop in the near future, I'd pay way more to get a better screen and better build quality, and better design, along with no crapware.

 

[alkemyst]

Will it work fine in a year? 2?

If you don't drop it, yes.

In the days of tightening budgets, Dell's $200-400 devices proved great for office productivity.

 

[Sonikku]

What you've experienced is the miracle of capitalism/lack of environmental/labor laws.

 

[John Connor]

Common misconception. China really isn't the cheapest place to make things anymore, though they have better infrastructure and work force than the next lower places. Chinese employees actually make an hourly wage, more than the minimum wage for tipped US workers.

I don't believe that crap one bit. Is that why all those hand written notes from slave factory workers are ending up in hand bags and shit asking for the UN to do something?

 

[OBLAMA2009]

ive wondered this myself, why big companies bother to sell cheap laptops and $100 tablets. if a buyer even makes a couple calls to your tech support youve probably lost money on them

 

[John Connor]

I've owned some cheap crap that was just Chinese product demos from eBay. One was a $100 PVR (Personal Video Player) I even bought a 1GB SD card for it. Back then I payed a whopping $80 for that SD card! The thing worked nice and I even connected the PVR up to my old analog camcorder and made a poor mans digital camcorder that recorded to SSD. Until one day it froze and I could never get it to work right. $100 down the drain. I would like to buy an Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player. They are $300. Looks like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Archos-605-...489?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f0ac9ee11

Better than TIVO! No subscription. http://www.amazon.com/Hauppauge-1212.../dp/B0018LX0DY

 

[Gunbuster]

Because your reference frame is screwed up. The OEM's like to cry poor every now and then about how hard it is to make a profit but at the same time sell $700 phones and $2,200 gaming laptops. I assure you there is good profit in that stuff.

Nothing in the bill of materials justifies that kind of price jump. It's like saying a base WV Passat is $24,000 but if you add leather, the good stereo, and a V6 the price jumps to $180,000

 

[spaceman]

its all junk eventually
i got some hardbody inspirons from the heyday and they dont run shit