"It's proof point of the Dell model, with a major competitor in Apple recognizing the benefits of going direct," Nicole Gemmell, corporate communications manager for Dell told ZDNet Australia.
"At the moment we're currently reviewing the opportunity for Australia, so it's not finalised," said Gemmell. In the US, Dell Computer has started selling the iPod, but only the Windows version.
"Yep, Dell is reselling iPods," Apple said in a statement. "We are delighted to offer our 5GB, 10GB and 20GB iPods for Windows through Dell's direct retail channel. iPod has been a big success to date, and we would like to make it even bigger."
Apparently the draw of Dell's online store for Apple and the lure of the iPod for Dell were enough to convince the bitter rivals to set aside their differences. The two companies compete especially hard in the education market.
A Dell representative said that some of its customers had been asking them to carry the iPod. Dell has been selling MP3 players from Archos Technology, Creative Labs and Sonicblue; the direct PC seller does not carry any Dell-branded MP3 players.
"We don't consider Apple a competitor across the full range of products," said Dell spokeswoman Mary Fad. "Maybe it would be odd if we had iMacs on the store (Web site)."
