Dell To Pre-Bundle Corel, Not Microsoft, Apps On Some PCs

Dell will offer WordPerfect 10 and Quattro Pro 10 on the Dell Dimension 2300 desktop and Inspiron 2600 laptop models in North America, the two companies said Wednesday.

"We estimate this will amount to over a million machines in the next 12 months, conservatively. And we expect to increase that penetration over time," said Steve Houck, executive vice president of Strategic Relationships at Corel, based here.

For those customers wanting the full Corel Office suite, "there is an upsell opportunity," Houck said.

Dell offers five Dimension models, four Inspiron models and two SmartStep notebook models, a Dell spokesman said. He would not comment on whether Dell would bundle Corel on more SKUs in the future.

In June of this year, Dell started offering Corel software on its low-end SmartStep machines.

Several years ago, resellers were irked by what they saw as the sweetheart deals Dell and Gateway were getting for Microsoft Office. They felt they could not compete with the discounted software Microsoft made available to the direct PC vendors.

Now a buyer configuring a system on the Dell site typically gets a choice of the WordPerfect Productivity Pack, Microsoft Office XP for Small Business or Office XP Professional for an additional $199.

Houck said recent angst surrounding Microsoft licensing changes has opened up opportunities for non-Microsoft applications.

Some companies say Microsoft Licensing 6.0, inaugurated this summer, is, in fact, a de facto price hike.

The new Microsoft license plan "really repaved the landscape, and people are now open to alternative offerings," Houck said.

Houck said customers are satisfied with the file compatibility WordPerfect offers with Microsoft Word, the market leader. Corel is a distant second to Microsoft in the applications world.

Houck estimated that in the retail/consumer market, Corel represents 10 percent to 12 percent market share and in the enterprise, 4 percent to 6 percent share.

Microsoft Office, a bundle of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, is nearly ubiquitous in corporations, with more than 90 percent share, analysts say.

But Houck maintains that Corel's share is rising in both retail and enterprise markets.