August 23, 2006 4:39 PM PDT
Dell ditches DJ Ditty
Dell has officially pulled out of the MP3 player market. Its last device in that category, the low-end flash-based DJ Ditty, got deleted from the company's playlist last week.
This is not exactly encouraging news for the company after last week's recall of 4.1 million notebook batteries and announcements of sinking profits and a pending SEC investigation.
A Dell spokeswoman told PC Magazine that the move is part of a company strategy to "tighten (its) consumer focus in areas like PCs, printers and TVs" as it emphasizes the PC as the new media hub.
Dell previously terminated sales of its hard-drive-based MP3 players in February.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
