Ok, so I know this is MacUser — which means if you’re like me, you have absolutely no idea what’s going on in the PC universe.
So I wasn’t all that surprised when I read the Houston Chronicle the other day. The paper’s personal computer columnist, Dwight Silverman, pointed out how the big guys, Dell and Gateway, are both coming out with PCs this year that not only are just like the iMac (an all-in-one unit), but both decided it would be freakin’ brilliant to use the word “one” in each product’s name. Example? The Gateway One (pictured). Or if you prefer, the Dell XPS One Desktop.
Seriously though. It’s like they’re not even trying.
This strikes me as more a case of them copying each other. The "iMac" doesn't have the word "one" in its product name.
Gateway has had an all-in-one model for a long time and many other companies, both before and after the original Mac, have had all-in-one models.
I was looking through a Sony Vaio brochure and their all-in-one looks pretty sharp. Unfortunately, all of these other machines ship with, shudder, Vista.
Interestingly, this brings back memories of the ill-fated eMachines eOne. That was a 2000-era iMac knock-off that was quickly offed by Apple's legal department (and the fact that its lousy performance and super-cheesy look didn't attract a lot of interest from buyers). http://lowendmac.com/imac/eone.shtml
Yes, they may have had all-in-one models before the iMac, but they were very bulky and not flat-panel. Also, I personally hate the gateway one's design. That huge part of the monitor that is below the screen just look really strange. If apple can fit amazing power into a small space, why can't dell and gateway do the same?
Not to mix things up. Search on the web and look into history. Sony has long been an advancer in laptop and desktop design, and when Steve Job went back to his chair as a CEO, he actually took Sony as the competitor and repeated what Sony did. It is like Apple's following Sony road of design for computers, not the reverse. Check history again before making such a statement.
Though, I think Apple won for the designs in the past year. I still love the new iMac and Sony couldn't really catch up. We will see more in the future.