Alienware acquired by dell

According to This press release by alienware, the high-end computer company has been acquired by Dell. Dell is going to slowly phase out its XPS line of products in order to promote alienware products as their high-end flagship. I know what you may be thinking:
+= World Domination

But before you jump to any evil monopoly conclusions, lets think about this deal/merger between to the companies. Personally, I don’t think it fits into either’s plan to join the other.

First of all Dell has made its name by selling cheap computers, providing the best value for the buck. They aren’t especially noted for selling cutting-edge, high-end computers, at least not for home use. Most Dell computers bought for home use that I’ve seen come in at around $1000 or less. That is in high contrast to Alienware’s systems that don’t come easily anywhere under $2000. Most Dell customers are not super computer-savvy nor do they care about high end gaming performance(which is alienware’s specialty). I do not see how this merger with help Alienware attract more customers either. Most of Dell’s customers are looking for affordable computers and Alienware’s computer aren’t really budget machines or the best bang for the buck. In fact, just putting the Alienware logo on a machine for some reason automatically doubles the price of the machine — a premium that most Dell customers are not willing to pay. Some loyal Alienware customers may also feel sold out. They pride themselves on having a top-end machine for a specialty manufacturer. Now that Alienware is part of the Dell empire, they may defect to buy computers from another true specialty builder such as Falcon Northwest or Voodoo. In short, I’m not sure why Dell bought Alienware, the XPS line was doing fine and I don’t see acquiring alienware as being good for their business.