The New York Times today reported that Dell are to sell computers with preinstalled bundles of music from Universal Music Group and films through CinemaNow.
Buyers will be able to select a variety of music bundles to be pre-installed which will consist of 50- and 100-songs and start at $25. The pre-installed music bundles will show up as Music icons on the Dell Dock. The movie bundles will also start at $25.
We have Sony and iRex doing similar with their ebook readers and it seems that all manufacturers now want to make a consumer offer that is seductive and gets them using the device. However, like the book clubs with their wildly discounted introduction offers, they fail to see that this cheapens the value of all music, films and books and makes the consumer question the standard price. It also assumes that the choice within the bundle is correct and appealing. In light of the move from CD compilations to single tracks this is something we now understand doesn’t always follow.
These players just want to shift their ‘tin’ not the content.
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