Windows PC Manufacturers & Design

Posted by kweazy on February 1, 2012 02:10 pm 162

Windows Manufactures Are Just Now Caring About Design

A lot of you have probably seen this picture before. A lot of diehard Apple fans like to post it on forums during a Apple vs. Windows dispute. The fact is that this picture holds a lot of truth. Apple has always been a step ahead as far as design is concerned. They seemed to know what the trends were going to be and are now profiting from it. Why has it taken so long for PC manufactures to break away from spaghetti wires, big black/grey boxes, and clunky thick monitors? Is price really the reason?

Are They on the Right Path Now?

In my opinion...yes and no. They are on the right track, but are making a few vital errors. Lets take the image above for example. It has minimalistic appeal, yet it looks like it is from a 1980's sci-fi movie. The keyboard and mouse, which I am sure work great, look very dated. When I am looking to purchase a PC, I know I am going to have it for at least 5 years, be on it for at least a few hours a day, and I want it not to be an eye sore.

The new Vizio all-in-ones and ultra books look great, but they are definitely "borrowing" a few design aspects. I still find this to be the best designed windows all-in-one however. I think they could do better though. I am not in love with aluminum and find it to absorb to much heat and there is no webcam and I find that to be very disappointing. The keyboard is also a bummer. The craze these days is for chicklet keys and I find these to be unbearable. I use a Logitech K800 and love typing on it. It also has backlit keys...which the Vizios keyboard does not.

How Would you Like Your Next PC to be Designed

I happen to love Nokia's latest design of their Lumia series Windows phones. I love the polycarbonate unibody vs. aluminum, and the sleek and minimalistic look. I would love to see this brought to tablets, desktop, and tablets. I would also like to see kinect being built into a lot of devices, rather than be another add on to purchase later and crowd your desk. What design aspects would you like manufactures to incorporate in future Windows products?