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Why Have No PC Makers Copied The iMac?

M

mraub1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 28, 2007
7
0
Champaign, IL USA
The 24" iMac I purchased a few weeks ago is one of the most elegant examples of electronic hardware I've ever used. When you think about it, though, what Apple did with the iMacs was to incorporate a powerful laptop system into the back of a very sharp and bright monitor. I don't know if Apple was able to patent this concept or not, but I doubt it. It surprises me that Dell, HP or one of the other PC makers hasn't esentially copied the iMac with a Windows OS. All of them have access to laptop motherboards and monitors. It would take some retooling to incorporate the two devices together, but no real novel engineering.

Who knows, maybe they've done prototypes and figured they can't produce a product at a price point they think will work.

MIKE
 
Well, I've seen a few "look-alikes". Sony created an all in one with a TV Tuner that was silver. Some company created a "black iMac" with a touchscreen that was extremely ugly. Tominated posted it here, I think. And I'm pretty sure that HP also created one.

None of them look as nice as the iMac, though. :rolleyes:
 
Actually, IBM's NetVista (?) system was a monitor with the computer in the back, which wasn't so different from the current iMac design and it was rather early but none since then.

It wasn't done as nicely so it looked like a monitor with the computer on the back instead of "where's the computer?" that you get with the iMac.
 
Because it's very hard to manufacture and design such a product, they spent 4 years designing the imac G5, it's very, very hard to cram all those parts into such a small space, and other manufacturers just can't be bothered, i have seen a few that try to get the all-in-one factor but there about 3 X as thick as the imac, plus apple spends a lot more on the case than every other PC manufacturer
 
mraub1 said:
Has Apple ever done a "clear case" version of the iMac to show how all the pieces fit together?

MIKE
Click to expand...

No, and i don't think they ever will, personally i think products like that look untidy, but others like them
 
Does anyone still believe that the lampshade iMac, was the coolest looking iMac to date?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I miss the crazy designs from before. The clamshell iBook? I'd take that over the white square that is the macbook.

But I do have to say that the cheesegrater G5 style powermac/pro has really grown on me and is a great example of engineering.
 
Mavimao said:
Does anyone still believe that the lampshade iMac, was the coolest looking iMac to date?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I miss the crazy designs from before. The clamshell iBook? I'd take that over the white square that is the macbook.

But I do have to say that the cheesegrater G5 style powermac/pro has really grown on me and is a great example of engineering.
Click to expand...

I would buy an iMac G4 if they didn't keep their resale value so well. :p

I think it would be cool for Apple to announce a limited edition clamshell iBook with current processors etc.
 
Sony has. They've got their copycat at CompUSA. It's nowhere near as clean looking though, actually a bit ugly, but just as small.
Well, maybe a little fatter too.
 
Mavimao said:
Does anyone still believe that the lampshade iMac, was the coolest looking iMac to date?

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I miss the crazy designs from before. The clamshell iBook? I'd take that over the white square that is the macbook.

But I do have to say that the cheesegrater G5 style powermac/pro has really grown on me and is a great example of engineering.
Click to expand...

I loved the imac G4 and the imac G5 was a step back in terms of design, it's my second favorite mac ever (the cube is my first), i'm also thinking about buying an imac g4, i know it's not powerful, but it's beautiful
 
The G4 is very sophisticated, but I tend to love the G5/Intel iMacs. I think in their next design, they will probably keep the thin, all in one case and upgrade the pedestal to give the monitor more freedom. :)
 
My family has a NetVista X41 (the all-in-one at home, and it's pretty sweet. We had an x40 for about two years, and then had(have) the X41 for five. But now XP is slowing to a crawl and I've been trying to convince my parents to replace it with an iMac. We're just going to clean-install it instead (for now).

We've never had a tower, but when I was growing up there was always a computer in the house (and always IBM). And the X41 is pretty sweet-

NV_X41_(6247-2283)_side_view.jpg

Sorry for the large image!

Keep in mind the first generation (x40) was out before the 2G iMac. I think this computer is pretty awesome, expecially considering they came out May 2000/Nov. 2001 and the 2G iMac came out in Jan. 2002.

The drive is in the angled horizontal piece: it drops down flat at the push of a button.

Oh, and they discontinued it about two years ago.

-=|Mgkwho
 
Macmadant said:
Because it's very hard to manufacture and design such a product, they spent 4 years designing the imac G5, it's very, very hard to cram all those parts into such a small space, and other manufacturers just can't be bothered, i have seen a few that try to get the all-in-one factor but there about 3 X as thick as the imac, plus apple spends a lot more on the case than every other PC manufacturer
Click to expand...

Essentially, you are on the money. The Windows PC industry is extremely competitive and consequently enjoys (if you can call it that) very low margins. They OEMs can't afford to produce functionally superior designs if it adds dollars to the cost of manufacturing which will be difficult to recapture in a market dominated by cheap and mean.
 
I think too that most of the PC majors believe they have design aesthetics... even though their designs are awful. And the iMac look doesn't fit in what they believe they should be producing.... For instance, Sony clearly puts a lot of effort into its look. But it's a different look than Apple.
 
iMac is nice. It has a closed design though and is probably much more expensive to produce than a typical PC.

I have a 20" iMac (original intel core duo) and I hate the fact that I can't upgrade the Wireless modem in it. I have Pre-N throughout the house and this is still a "G". Not a huge deal, but I would have liked the flexibility.

The cheap clone makers want maximum flexibility at the lowest possible cost to reach as many consumers as possible. iMac doesn't fit that bill.

Mike...
 
I don't remember the model name, but Gateway had an LCD with notebook behind similar to the current iMacs well before Apple ever did one. I never liked it much because the performance was not very good (comparable to a notebook of that age, which is to say s-l-o-w). It was also smaller than the current iMac, but the performance of notebooks at the time was I believe what killed it.
 
It's probably simply too expensive for them to come up with a way to fit those components into a small space without compromising something. Apple spent the time and money and got it right.
 
danny_w said:
I don't remember the model name, but Gateway had an LCD with notebook behind similar to the current iMacs well before Apple ever did one. I never liked it much because the performance was not very good (comparable to a notebook of that age, which is to say s-l-o-w). It was also smaller than the current iMac, but the performance of notebooks at the time was I believe what killed it.
Click to expand...

Gateway released this computer in response to the iMac G4. It was quite grotesque.
 
IJ Reilly said:
Gateway released this computer in response to the iMac G4. It was quite grotesque.
Click to expand...
Sorry, it may have been grotesque, but you're off a few years. The Gateway Profile 1.5 and Profile 2 preceded the iMac G4 by at least 2.5-3 years (1999 timeframe). The iMac G4 wasn't introduced until 2002. By then Gateway was on version 4 of the Profile.
 
danny_w said:
Sorry, it may have been grotesque, but you're off a few years. The Gateway Profile 1.5 and Profile 2 preceded the iMac G4 by at least 2.5-3 years (1999 timeframe). The iMac G4 wasn't introduced until 2002. By then Gateway was on version 4 of the Profile.
Click to expand...

Nice catch. I was not aware of the previous models. Probably what I am remembering is Gateway's efforts to compare the Profile to the iMac G4.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-26-2002/0001789141&EDATE=
 
Gateway still offer the Profile 6 - http://www.gateway.com/programs/profile6/
If that link ends up no longer available, try the CNET review http://reviews.cnet.com/Gateway_Profile_6SB/4505-3118_7-31814646.html?tag=pdtl-list

And the Sony has made a couple of attempts at an all in one - http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_VAIO_VGC_VA10G/4505-3118_7-31563812.html?tag=pdtl-list
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_VAIO_VGC_LS1/4505-3118_7-32028400.html?tag=pdtl-img

The later one is rather more attractive than the first, but is still more expensive and lower specced than the iMac.
 
idn the name. but gateway had an pc that looked like the g4 iMac "iLamp"...it had the base and everything unlike the current ones....but i agree it would be smart...i guezz dell has kinda copied the idea with new xps...
 
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