Warranty and Deferred Extended Warranty Revenue (Notes)

9 Months Ended

Oct. 28, 2011

Extended Product Warranty Disclosure [Abstract]

Warranty and Deferred Extended Warranty Revenue [Text Block]

NOTE 10 — WARRANTY AND DEFERRED EXTENDED WARRANTY REVENUE

Dell records liabilities for its standard limited warranties at the time of sale for the estimated costs that may be incurred. The liability for standard warranties is included in accrued and other current and other non-current liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Revenue from the sale of extended warranties is recognized over the term of the contract or when the service is completed, and the costs associated with these contracts are recognized as incurred. Deferred extended warranty revenue is included in deferred services revenue on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Changes in Dell's liabilities for standard limited warranties and deferred services revenue related to extended warranties are presented in the following tables:

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	October 28, 2011			October 29, 2010			October 28, 2011			October 29, 2010
	(in millions)
Warranty liability:
Warranty liability at beginning of period	$	944		$	976		$	895		$	912
Costs accrued for new warranty contracts and changes in estimates for pre-existing warranties(a)(b)	223			260			779			868
Service obligations honored	(252		)	(286		)	(759		)	(830		)
Warranty liability at end of period	$	915		$	950		$	915		$	950
Current portion	$	588		$	627		$	588		$	627
Non-current portion	327			323			327			323
Warranty liability at end of period	$	915		$	950		$	915		$	950
	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	October 28, 2011			October 29, 2010			October 28, 2011			October 29, 2010
	(in millions)
Deferred extended warranty revenue:
Deferred extended warranty revenue at beginning of period	$	6,794		$	6,109		$	6,416		$	5,910
Revenue deferred for new extended warranties(b)	1,004			1,035			3,192			2,890
Revenue recognized	(936		)	(845		)	(2,746		)	(2,501		)
Deferred extended warranty revenue at end of period	$	6,862		$	6,299		$	6,862		$	6,299
Current portion	$	3,212		$	2,910		$	3,212		$	2,910
Non-current portion	3,650			3,389			3,650			3,389
Deferred extended warranty revenue at end of period	$	6,862		$	6,299		$	6,862		$	6,299

____________________

(a) Changes in cost estimates related to pre-existing warranties are aggregated with accruals for new standard warranty contracts. Dell's warranty liability process does not differentiate between estimates made for pre-existing warranties and new warranty obligations.

(b) Includes the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.