Dell drops MP3 player plans

It appears that Dell’s plan to re-enter the MP3 player market has been axed – for now, at least. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company was hoping to launch a mini player alongside its Zing media jukebox software in the run-up to Christmas – but while the software is still on track, the player has been postponed indefinitely.

The exact reason behind the sudden backing off remains unknown, but sources familiar with the matter claim problems with launching both at the same time. In any case, Dell is probably wise not to launch a new line of music players for the time being, given the current economic conditions and Apple’s continued dominance of the digital music landscape.

Perhaps it will be better for Dell to focus its efforts on other areas for now, and as such the company is promising “sexy” new desktop and notebook products for the latter part of this year and the early part of 2009.