Jump to content

Alienware: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
No edit summary
Line 19: Line 19:
== History ==
== History ==


Established in 1996, Alienware manufactures desktop, notebook, media center, and enterprise systems. According to employees, the Alienware name was chosen because of the founders' fondness for the hit television series ''[[The X-Files]]''{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, hence the theme to their products, with names such as [[Area 51|Area-51]] and [[Aurora]].
Established in 1996, Alienware manufactures desktop, notebook, media center, and enterprise systems. According to employees, the Alienware name was chosen because of the founders' fondness for the hit television series ''[[The X-Files]]''{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, hence the theme to their products, with names such as [[Area 51|Area-51]] and [[Aurora aircraft|Aurora]].


Alienware was originally established to tap a niche in the high performance [[video game|game]] market, which back then was not on the radar of the major PC manufacturers such as [[Dell Inc.|Dell]]. Since high-end game hardware was not widely distributed, the company's founders formed an [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] which sold [[personal computer]]s with the highest performing hardware and settings according to [[Benchmark (computing)|benchmarks]]. The company products are not only famous for their hardware configurations, but also for their designs.
Alienware was originally established to tap a niche in the high performance [[video game|game]] market, which back then was not on the radar of the major PC manufacturers such as [[Dell Inc.|Dell]]. Since high-end game hardware was not widely distributed, the company's founders formed an [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] which sold [[personal computer]]s with the highest performing hardware and settings according to [[Benchmark (computing)|benchmarks]]. The company products are not only famous for their hardware configurations, but also for their designs.

Revision as of 06:58, 27 March 2008

Alienware Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary of Dell
IndustryComputer hardware
Founded1996
HeadquartersKendall, Florida
Key people
Nelson Gonzalez, CEO
Alex Aguila, President
Frank Azor, SVP of Product Development
ProductsDesktops
Workstations
Laptops
Peripherals
Number of employees
~700 worldwide
ParentDell, Inc.
Websitewww.alienware.com
File:Alienwareheadquarters.jpg
Alienware headquarters in Kendall

Alienware is an American computer hardware company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell, Inc.[1] It mainly produces desktops and laptops specialized for video editing, audio editing, and gaming. Alienware is also a producer of computer peripherals, such as headsets and keyboards. In the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a prototype was presented of what is being described as a "giant 'curved' widescreen", i.e. a display which sizewise would be equivalent to two, slightly bent 24-inch LCD screens glued together[2] Alienware was founded in 1996 by its CEO, Nelson Gonzalez, and COO, Alex Aguila. Alienware's corporate headquarters is located in Kendall, Florida, an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County west of the city of Miami.

History

Established in 1996, Alienware manufactures desktop, notebook, media center, and enterprise systems. According to employees, the Alienware name was chosen because of the founders' fondness for the hit television series The X-Files[citation needed], hence the theme to their products, with names such as Area-51 and Aurora.

Alienware was originally established to tap a niche in the high performance game market, which back then was not on the radar of the major PC manufacturers such as Dell. Since high-end game hardware was not widely distributed, the company's founders formed an OEM which sold personal computers with the highest performing hardware and settings according to benchmarks. The company products are not only famous for their hardware configurations, but also for their designs.

Operations

Alienware established its EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) headquarters in Athlone, Ireland in October 2002. As of FY 2005, Alienware brought in upwards of $170 million USD in annual sales[3], while undertaking an international expansion initiative launched in 2003 to maintain a presence in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Costa Rica. Alienware has had a call center in Costa Rica to handle all sales and support calls for a number of years.[4] Additionally, Alienware allows you to send in old computer hardware in exchange for credit towards new hardware.[5]

Competitors

Alienware has traditionally competed with companies such as Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro, and VoodooPC (which is now part of Dell's largest competitor, Hewlett-Packard). Before being acquired by Dell, Alienware also competed against Dell XPS gaming systems.

Acquisition

On March 22, 2006, Dell agreed to purchase Alienware.[6] Alienware continues to operate under its own brand name. Dell had been considering buying Alienware since the year 2002, but did not make any action of purchase until March of 2006.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Has Alienware been acquired by Dell?
  2. ^ Pickstock, Simon (January 9, 2008). "Alienware demos giant 'curved' widescreen". Tech.co.uk. Future plc. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
  3. ^ "Small gains seen from Dell's Alienware acquisition". MarketWatch.com. 2006-03-23. Retrieved 2007-12-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ About Alienware
  5. ^ AlienExchange
  6. ^ Dell Press Release

See also