Dell is in trouble and consumers are deserting the online brand in droves due to poor service and boring looking products. Owning a Dell product today is akin to still owning an IBM notebook.

As consumers walk away from Dell in droves due to poor service and lack-lustre products the company has turned to coloured notebooks. There is also rumours that they are talking to mass market retailers in an effort to get Dell branded products into stores as opposed to only being available online.  

The new coloured models were launched in the US overnight, in colours bearing names such as flamingo pink, sunshine yellow, alpine white, ruby red, jet black, midnight blue and espresso.

And in another move to eliminate the past, the Dimension brand has been dropped in favour of the Inspiron moniker.

Significantly the US launch – by a company which once prided itself its products would never be sold in retail stores – was spearheaded in the world’s most iconic retail outlet: Macy’s Herald Square, New York, Emporium.

During the past 18 months Dell’s market share has withered over the past couple of years as it has concentrated on dull grey models aimed at the corporate market. But the big growth in the global market has been in the consumer segment, with brands such as Apple, Acer and even HP making the running with more innovative, eye-catching designs.

That saw Dell’s market share slump – and five months ago Michael Dell fired high-powered CEO Kevin Rollins, taking over the top management role himself and putting added impetus into the new drive for the consumer market.

Dell has established a consumer unit that includes marketing, engineering and industrial design and aims to bring new models to market at high speed.