Consumers today want style and they want slick design. Laptop sales are now 40 per cent of computer sales. Now,when people do buy a desktop, more are opting for Apple computers and competitors have taken notice.
Voodoo PC
Calgary-based Voodoo PC is known worldwide for building custom computers and laptops. Not only do they have custom paint jobs, but also innovative advances like liquid cooling instead of fans and "origami" cabling.
Last year, HP, interested in taking on Apple and the others in design, bought the Canadian company for their talent and gave them money and resources to "rethink" the computer. This is the result.
"The Blackbird"
Just announced Wednesday night, the "Blackbird" is the first of a new line of computers that will offer major changes:
Although this is the first and expensive model, retailing between $2,000 - $6,000, many of these features will become standard in all of HP's computers over time. Each Blackbird is hand-assembled in Calgary, Canada.
Features:
- No plastic. Going farther than Apple, Voodoo has eliminated all plastic from their design. It is a complete aluminum chasis.
- Open car door. You can open the hood on your car and look at your engine. Why not a computer? The Blackbird has a side door, complete with rubber gaskets.
- No screws. All the parts - graphics card, hard drives, etc. just "snap in" and out. The system works with all parts sold on the market today. They may come with screws, but just throw them away.
- LED lighting, so when you're looking inside, you can see
- Hover design. Built around a special "foot", the Blackbird hovers off of the ground.
- Hidden compartments. Lots of little panels pop out of no where for you to add in new USB drives
- Full system cooling plus thermal chambers to remove heat
The new iMac
It's all in one, slim form means there's fewer cables, fewer parts, and of course a minimal design. But with these new silver and black iMacs, Apple has made some major changes.
Features:
- Aluminum casing and a glass screen. Not only does this make them look more professional, but more importantly makes them easier to recycle.
- They cost between $1300 - $2,500
- A very fast processor and the same extras as their laptops.
- The only downside is that if there is a problem with the screen or any other part, you have to send the whole thing in for repair.
Dell Inspiron 531s
Slim and tall, this space-saving design from Dell is a good example of what has passed for fancy in the PC market. Designed around the idea of watching television and recording, pausing, and rewinding live TV, it certainly is full of fancy features, but hasn't changed much from the computer we've known for the last 30 years. This model retails for $800 and over.
