• The Wall Street Journal , Wednesday, July 30, 2008 10:30 AM

Dell has been testing a digital music player that could go on sale as early as September. Launching the player -- along with an online download service and related software -- would be part of a strategy that Dell CEO Michael Dell hopes will move the company into a broader range of consumer markets than it has served before.

The music player features a small navigation screen and basic button controls to scroll through music play lists. It would connect to online music services via a Wi-Fi Internet connection, and Dell executives say they would likely price the model currently being tested at less than $100.

The new plan could strengthen Dell's consumer brand, says Rob Enderle, an industry analyst whom Dell hired to consult on the new entertainment strategy. But it "carries a lot of risk, because, one, this is an area where Dell didn't do well in the past; and, two, there's a lot of companies out there that aren't doing well in it," he says. To succeed, Enderle says Dell will have to invest in something it isn't accustomed to paying for: "an Apple level of marketing."

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