More megahertz. Quicker connections. Faster throughput. When
it comes to PCs, processors and power are the talk of technology.
But let's face it--with today's computers becoming everyday
household appliances, shape matters too. And while manufacturers are
quick to ramp up RAM, boost hard drives and automate software, no
one can dispute that these homely machines need a serious fashion
makeover before users will gloat over their computers the same way
they ooh and aah over their wide-screen televisions.
No one can dispute that these
homely machines need a serious fashion makeover before users
will gloat.
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This is not a new criticism of computers, but what is new is that
computer makers finally seem to be paying attention. Why has it
taken the computer industry 25 blinking years to make a
computer that's easier on the eyes? Simple: as PCs get more similar
internally, manufacturers are responding by making them more
different externally.
Determined Design
Sony (SNE),
Acer and NEC (NIPNY)
began trying to add a new aesthetic a few years ago, without much
success. Apple's iMac is the best current example of innovative
design. And of course Apple has changed the shape of computers
before--with its PowerBook 500 series in 1994 and with the original
Mac in 1984.
Even earlier, the basic, crude design of the first Apple
computer, aimed at the hobbyist market of the 1970s, was quickly
overhauled--resulting in the more consumer-friendly, and wildly
popular, Apple II. While Steve Wozniak had invented the Apple for
kicks, Steve Jobs saw its market potential and outfitted the Apple
II with a curvy, plastic casing that became a fixture in school
systems across the country. (Sadly, it still is in some underfunded
schools.)
Not to say that design is everything. Most everyone was wowed by
the sleek black look of another computer Jobs helped create, the
Next Cube, but sales were dismal. With the iMac and iBook, Jobs and
company are back in form. The smooth, colorful, translucent designs
have the PC world taking notice. "The iMac is a fantastic proof
point that consumers will buy style," insists Matthew Nordan, an
analyst for the Forrester Group. "Style over cheap. Style over
software availability. Style over ease of support."
International Data Corp. analyst Schelley Olhava bolsters that
point: "The real success came with the iMac. It showed people were
willing to buy a cool-looking computer even without some of the
legacy items like a floppy disk drive and older ports."
The computer industry has "an obsession with product attributes
that you can measure empirically" like processor speed, and hard
drive capacity, says Jonathan Ive, head of the Apple industrial
group behind the iMac. "The industry has missed out on the more
emotive, less tangible product attributes," Ive told Apple's
Media Arts publication. (Apple declined to talk with Upside.)
