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December 28, 2007

rivals

Mossberg betrays us

Posted Dec. 28, ’07, 8:01 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple » Rivals

Mossberg We’re all going to need to uninvite the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg from your New Years parties. He’s reviewed a Dell computer favorably.

the Dell XPS One is the first Windows all-in-one desktop I’ve tested that I believe matches or exceeds the iMac in hardware design.

Say it ain’t so Walt. You can’t really be saying that Dell’s hardware design is better than Apple’s. Maybe he’s gone blind. Ok, really he likes all the bonus extras like the built-in TV tuner, media card reader, and the like. Then he goes and writes something that might get him reinvited.

I still recommend the iMac over the XPS One for several reasons other than hardware design.

It’s all about the software. On that front, Apple bundles in a lot of useful software instead of the useless trials that Windows box manufacturers litter their desktops with. Come back to us Walt, you know you like Apple’s design better.


12 Comments

Goobimama said:

I seriously don't understand how people can even compare the sleek minimalistic design of the iMac with the clunky dell. At best it looks like any ordinary LCD monitor, albeit with a computer at the back of it.

One thing I appreciate is the blue LEDs that come on only when you throw your hand over them. Otherwise, I can't stand the number of lights that infest the keyboards of most laptops nowadays. It's like a freakin' airport runway down there!

December 28, 2007 8:45 AM
Rory Author Profile Page said:

If that's betrayal... hah! I must have missed the part where Mossberg actually endorsed the Dell. All the Dell-heads out there would probably call that an Apple hit piece because the second half reads like an ad for the iMac. The only area in which he credited Dell was design, and rightfully so, as this is the best-looking computer ever to come from Dell, although I wouldn't go so far as to put it on par with the iMac (for one, I'd rather not have unsightly cables sticking out the side of my all-in-one).

December 28, 2007 12:03 PM
Stephen Chakwin said:

If you read the review carefully, Mossberg is saying that he likes the hardware design features a little better than those of the iMac - built in card reader, placement of connections etc. He still thinks the iMAc is the better computer and apparently much the better value. So what's the problem?

December 28, 2007 3:19 PM
Andre Da Costa said:

I will say it again, Walt Mossberg looks like a Bird.

December 28, 2007 6:32 PM
Unlcebugs said:

You have to admit that Dell is finally getting the message as their product lines get more and more stylish. Meanwhile, Apple is stuck with the same look, albeit classy, for quite some time now. The Powerbook/MacBook Pro and iBook/MacBook have been more of the same for five years. While the laptops have been stylistically static, the pro models have also been pretty static as well. Only the iMac has shown real change in the last five years as I don't consider the plastic-boxed G4 towers all that different from the aluminum-cheese grater G5/Xeon boxen.

Does this make Walt a persona non grata? Or does this review tell us that Apple's look has become somewhat stale?

December 28, 2007 9:05 PM
Florida Guy said:

I really don't understand this blog article or the comment by Goobimama. Mossberg is not a Apple zealot. This is what we want people. Honest reviews!

Mossberg didn't compare the entire Mac line up against the entire line up of Dell. Just the XPS One vesus the new iMacs. Just considering looks alone I would choose it over a iMac. But Mossberg review went deeper than looks of course.

And for the record I am writing this on a Apple computer. No. Not an iMac. A Mac Pro!

December 28, 2007 10:31 PM
Mitchell Senft said:

This is utter silliness. The quote about the design is the only nice thing Walt says about the Dell. In all other respects, he says the iMac whups it: OS, apps, and price. In other words, it's pretty but unless you're hardcore Windows, there's no reason to buy it over the iMac. So where, really, is a dis? I mean, if this is the nicest thing Walt has to say about all things M$....

December 29, 2007 2:04 AM
Ryu said:

Sounds like someone is getting in age.... Start of a senile problem?

December 29, 2007 5:01 AM
Mouse said:

The Dell XPS One outer shell looks like a monitor with speakers glued to either side. Compared to an iMac is like comparing a Ford to a Maserati in both design and content.

December 29, 2007 8:40 AM
walt being walt said:

I salute walt for being walt- putting the consumer hat on and testing a computer. regardless of platform. I to miss a built in card reader! it's not like it's expensive to buy and plugin a cardreader but it feels slow having 4GB or more (card full) and import into iphoto. Having a built-in cardreader based on internal FW 400/800 would speed things up... don't you think?

also if the imac had it built-in and based on FW800 it would by definition be the fastest cardreader on the planet! :) a sales pitch if ever heard one!

December 29, 2007 3:34 PM
George said:

Look, I'm sure the Dell is a nice machine. That really isn't the point in my book.

The reason there is the Dell XPS One or Zune or any of these "me too" products is because Apple and Apple Design did the innovative thinking first. End of story.

December 29, 2007 4:30 PM
Andy Rooney Mossberg said:

Either you don't read Walt a lot, or at least you don't understand him. He's a curmudgeon. Like Andy Rooney. He says stuff to tweak people. He clearly tweaked you.

And if that review is "betrayal", you really need to look at how much Apple Kool-Aid you have downed...

December 30, 2007 9:58 PM

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