Dell Sells Back to Basics

"We were shut out of too many opportunities simply because we didn't have an entry-level product," said Dell's head of the Asia Pacific market.

Dell's top brass displayed an appreciation of the list of items to be fixed at the company. What's less clear is what will differentiate Dell from the competition once it has finished catching up.

Dell officials pointed to its growing services business, as well as its focus on small business, as something unique to the company. And executives said there were exciting new consumer products on tap for the second half of this year that would create "brand lust."

Whether that's enough to differentiate Dell is hard to say. But with so many basic parts of its business still in need of repair, Dell may not need to be the next Apple.