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WalMart is getting into the laptop business

B

BargainSeeker

Member
In what the future may prove to be the biggest news of the day, WalMart is getting into the laptop business. The article describes it as some kind of attack on Dell. I don't think that competing with Dell has anything to do with WalMart's move. Instead they are doing what they always try to do, go straight to the manufacturer and eliminate the middlemen.

The big issue for WalMart will be technical support. Right now, neither WalMart nor Arima are set up to handle end user technical support. If they don't get this right, there will be many unhappy customers and many returned laptops.
 
Originally posted by: radiocore
so, what does everyone think of this? acer
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You may be missing the point of the article. WalMart already sells laptops branded and supported by other companies. What WalMart is now planning to do is bypass HP, Toshiba, Acer, etc.; go straight to the manufacturers in Taiwan and sell laptops under their own brand name.

 
Honestly, Walmart has more than enough means to do this very well, and provide very low cost solutions in the laptop market. I for one am excited.
 
Originally posted by: anomaly
Honestly, Walmart has more than enough means to do this very well, and provide very low cost solutions in the laptop market. I for one am excited.
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And if turns out that WalMart can do it well, they are so pervasive and have so much marketing muscle that they have the potential of dramatically changing the PC market.
 
Originally posted by: BargainSeeker
Originally posted by: anomaly
Honestly, Walmart has more than enough means to do this very well, and provide very low cost solutions in the laptop market. I for one am excited.
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And if turns out that WalMart can do it well, they are so pervasive and have so much marketing muscle that they have the potential of dramatically changing the PC market.
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rolleye.gif
Right.


Think they'll run linux over windows?
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Think of their customer base... no linux.
They did sell those Lindows computers though... lol 😱
 
Originally posted by: dnuggett
Originally posted by: BargainSeeker
Originally posted by: anomaly
Honestly, Walmart has more than enough means to do this very well, and provide very low cost solutions in the laptop market. I for one am excited.
Click to expand...
And if turns out that WalMart can do it well, they are so pervasive and have so much marketing muscle that they have the potential of dramatically changing the PC market.
Click to expand...


rolleye.gif
Right.


Think they'll run linux over windows?
Click to expand...

Think of their customer base... no linux.
They did sell those Lindows computers though... lol 😱
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Any company that can pull in a 1.1+billion dollar DAY can do some dramatic stuff to the pc market id suspect.
 
Yeah, they can have a dramatic effect on the consumer that would by an inspiron 1100, but i doubt they will touch the business and enthusiast market. So Compaq, HP, and dell, to a point, might take a hit. IBM, Toshiba, and Apple might have to lower prices a bit, but i doubt it would be dramatic.
 
How would they handle customer support?
Outsource it to India just like Dell?
I bet Walmart customers are going to be more naive about computers than Dell/HP customers. So, if something breaks.... it is an interesting idea nonetheless.
 
The reason I rolled my eyes at the idea that Walmart will make a "big" impact on the computer industry is because there is more to starting your own line than meets the eye. Saying they have deep pockets and can just throw enough money at it to make it work is shortsighted. Walmart runs a very tight ship across all their business units, and if it goes too red or stays red for too long it gets cut. That's the way it has always been, and the way it will always be with them. They will obviously be going w/ an ODM but, an ODM is not an end all be all. The ODM looks to the brand name for input on features, design, and core hardware. Giving this input is how any brand name can lower the costs enough to make a model feasible from a profit standpoint. That and unit sales. ODM's will do the whole ball of wax from R&D to assembly but there is rarely enough profit per unit this way for it to make sense. So Walmart is going to need to do their own R&D (if that is reverse engineering it still costs big $$, enough for them to go too red for their tastes) or assemble the units themselves once they get the parts from the ODM, neither of which Walmart knows how to do. This is a great idea and I actually hope they make it work, morecompetition means lower cost for us. But I really can't see it lasting for more than ohh I don't know a year or so.
 
I think they should have partnered with a company that sells PC's, already. Dell would have been a perfect match, since they have been cutting out the middle men for a long time.
 
Originally posted by: TazExprez
I think they should have partnered with a company that sells PC's, already. Dell would have been a perfect match, since they have been cutting out the middle men for a long time.
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Thats the whole point though, to remove the middleman. If Dell were to partner with Walmart, they'd lose that strength, which has long been one of their selling points.

Personally, I think we'll see a line of sub1000 notebooks, around the same level of quality/size/performance as a sub1000 HP/Compaq notebook. Whether thats good or bad, depends on how they do it.

God help them if someone calls their 'tech support' and the person on the other end says "No Habla Ingles"
 
I used to work Tech Support and later R&D for a laptop manufacturer and I find it a little scary that WalMart is not even offering extended warranties (which I feel are very important in purchasing a laptop no matter what brand). They might be phasing into that market, but the profit margins are so steep on EW's that I'm surprised they didn't have that machine in place and running before they launched their lappy venture...

And yes, almost every OEM or MFR uses farmed out CS/TS, so it's really no big deal..
 
Well, the price might be pretty good, but I wouldn't expect too much for support. I have had many customers come in my shop with a Compaq brand computer they bought at Wal-Mart. The warranty is very limited, but the deal is actually a pretty good value, I think $499 for a 2000-2400+ with some onboard video and a CD-RW including a 17" CRT.

The only problem the machines come with WinXP installed, a legal product key, but no WinXP CD! When these people need their computer reformatted, Wal-Mart, Compaq or Microsoft can't or won't supply an installation WinXP CD for any price and they have to spend $90 to get another one! Ouch! I'd be willing to bet these laptops will also come with WinXP installed but no CD included.
 
I have had many customers come in my shop with a Compaq brand computer they bought at Wal-Mart. The warranty is very limited, but the deal is actually a pretty good value, I think $499 for a 2000-2400+ with some onboard video and a CD-RW including a 17" CRT.
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These are Compaq machines, therefore they have a Compaq warranty, nothing to do with Walmart.


The only problem the machines come with WinXP installed, a legal product key, but no WinXP CD! When these people need their computer reformatted, Wal-Mart, Compaq or Microsoft can't or won't supply an installation WinXP CD for any price and they have to spend $90 to get another one!
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You said you have a shop right? You don't have a copy in the shop? If they had a copy and needed to reformat, they prob wouldn't need to come to you, so I would assume you should have a copy. All they would need is the COA.
 
Yes, the $499 Wal-Mart computer is made by Compaq. But that still means that Wal-Mart should care what they are selling, the lack of a WinXP CD with a brand new computer is a big flaw, it really hurts the end customer.

Of course I have several copies of WinXP, but I thought it was general knowledge that each WinXP CD needs it's own specific COA. No cheating there, it simply doesn't work. There is even a so-called starter CD for system builders to install XP for a customer to get a COA later, the ones I have seen don't work. The still required a COA to install and wouldn't accept most 25 digit codes.
 
Well, it's possible that there is a version out there that allows this.

But I have had at least 10 different copies of WinXP Home. On every one I have tried a different code for the install to see if it would work. Because we all know the big thing is activating the OS online or on the phone so that you will be able to use it past 30-days. None of the 10-odd genuine WinXP CD's would accept any valid product key except the one that came with it.
 
Of course I have several copies of WinXP, but I thought it was general knowledge that each WinXP CD needs it's own specific COA.
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And I'm having a hard time believing that those machines did not include a specific COA. I don't believe that Compaq would be bundling XP w/o one even if you don't have a disk.
 
Yes, all the Wal-Mart Compaq machines that I have seen do have the Microsoft Certified 25-digit product key sticker on the cases. But no WinXP CD is included and the key code provided does not work with any WinXP CD I have tried.

Like I said, for that matter no 25-digit product key I have tried is accepted during an install unless the product key and CD came bundled together. I have yet to run across a generic product key that will work with a different WinXP CD.

This isn't like Win9X product codes which can swap 25-digit product keys and usually works, though it still doesn't all the time. But that is not a problem, because after install you can simply change the 25-digit product key to match the key that came on the customers machine, regardless of what product key you had to use to install the OS.

There are key codes to identify the 25-digit product for Win2K and WinXP, but the locations of the codes are encrypted and as yet no one has found a way to alter them after an install that I am aware of.
 
Yes, all the Wal-Mart Compaq machines that I have seen do have the Microsoft Certified 25-digit product key sticker on the cases. But no WinXP CD is included and the key code provided does not work with any WinXP CD I have tried.
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Now I see the dilemma.
 
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