Report: Dell poised to take on the iPod, again

The PC maker already tried MP3 players back in 2003, and got burned. Now, Dell is reportedly ready to launch a new line of would-be iPod killers, with at least one Wi-Fi-enabled model going for less than $100.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Dell is currently testing a new, unnamed player, which comes with a "small" navigational display, "basic" controls, and Wi-Fi for connecting to a Dell-powered online music service.

Sounds pretty ho-hum so far. That said, according to the story, the new player could also benefit from Dell's aquisition last year of real-time streaming media company Zing, which lets you strem music and video across devices and services. (Remember how the Sansa Connect could stream tunes over Yahoo! Music? Zing was behind that feature.)

And then there's the cheap price tag, potentially below $100. Apple's cheapest iPod with a display—the 4GB Nano—sells for $149, and that's without Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, Microsoft's 4GB, flash-memory Zune, which does do Wi-FI (albeit without a Wi-Fi music store), also goes for $149. Then again, a 1GB Sansa Clip (minus Wi-Fi) sells for just $39, and it works with Rhapsody's subscription music service.

Dell execs told the Wall Street Journal that they'll decide in a matter of weeks how—and whether—to proceed with a new MP3 player line.

Of course, Dell's success will hinge in part on the hardware itself, and the company's previous MP3 players—the Dell Digital Jukebox line, which featured both hard drive- and flash-based models—were pretty uninspiring, with tricky controls, monochrome screens, and little in the way of stand-out features. Dell killed off its remaining Digital Jukebox players in 2006.

But if the new Dell player lets you stream tunes from a variety of music services—or, better yet, tunnel into your PC-based music collection—via Zing's streaming technology, well, that would be pretty cool.

What do you think—willing to give a Dell MP3 player another try? What about if you could tap into your PC's music library remotely?

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Dell Tests Player to Renew iPod Battle [The Wall Street Journal]