Gateway's iMac look-alike!

rhale1

rhale1

KU Mac Geek
Gateway is planing an iMac copy:
From Chicago Tribune Online

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iMac look-alike may be Gateway to lawsuits

James Coates

August 5, 2002

Look for a marketing blitz in late August as PC-maker Gateway Inc. launches the Profile 4 PC, a look-alike competitor to Apple Computer Inc.'s incredibly successful new iMac.

Sleek and ultramodern, the new Gateway is designed to incorporate the entire computer, monitor and sound system in a chunk of space no bigger than a 15-inch monitor.

The would-be iMac killer, which is still under wraps, will come with a choice of 15- or 17-inch LCD flat-panel screens attached to a small base station holding the Pentium 4 or Celeron chips inside. Users can add peripherals by way of FireWire-type high-speed ports, USB plugs and a laptop-style PC Card connection, all designed to handle printers, video cameras, digital cameras, MP3 players and such.

This marks the first time in a long while that PC buyers could pick a product with all those one-box iMac features at prices expected to run between just less than $1,000 to about $1,700. Now we will wait to see if Apple's lawyers will sue Gateway as they sued eMachines Inc. three years ago when that far-smaller company offered an all-in-one competitor to the early iMacs.

DAZZLE 6 IN 1

Dazzling digital docking station eases memory card chaos

As more American families add digital cameras, MP3 players and other gadgets for various members of the family, chaos can ensue.

Each person wants to plug his or her device into the shared PC to download photos, to pick up some more music files, etc.

For $50 at www.dazzle.com, SCM Microsystems of Fremont, Calif., offers the Dazzle 6 in 1, a small lump of plastic that connects to a single USB port and allows users to insert any one of six different memory cards.

Covered are the CompactFlash, IBM Microdrive, SmartMedia, MultiMediaCard, SD Card and Sony Memory Stick. There is a slot on the small gadget for each format.

TV SETS

Consumers caught in broadcast battle

Watchers of Washington's regulators are buzzing with predictions the Federal Communications Commission staff will advise this week that the panel force all buyers of TV sets starting in 2006 to buy ones with digital tuners, capable of receiving the HDTV broadcasts that are supposed to replace analog signals.

Lobbyists for makers of TV sets warn that if they are forced to meet a 2006 deadline, the digital boxes will add $200 to the cost of every set, a figure that is disputed by broadcasters, who put the added cost at between $15 and $100.

For consumers the issue becomes cost and confusion while the bureaucrats press hard seeking big bucks for the government. Once 85 percent of Americans are within reach of digital broadcasts, the law says that the FCC can sell the analog bandwidth to wireless carriers for billions of dollars.


Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune
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Send in the lawyers!
 
gateway has been copying iMacs since the first one. I think they called it an "Astro", it bombed cause it sucked. I guess they expected to fool the consumer but when you have to sell something by saying that it "looks like something else", it probably wont do much flying.
 
I can't imagine this looking anywhere near as good as the sexy iMac. But it will be funny to see what they come up with.
 
The description sounds a lot like the pictures we saw a couple weeks ago and that didn't look anything like the new iMac. it looked more like an old iMac with lcd screen ore one of those outlandish fake prototypes that went around before it was announced. If it is like that, then it will fail for the same reasons that apple decided not to tack the computer on the back of the screen.
 
Originally posted by deagle five o
gateway has been copying iMacs since the first one. I think they called it an "Astro", it bombed cause it sucked.
Click to expand...
We bought one of those for my grandma (she knew little about computers since she only had used one at work) and believe me, it did suck... :D
 
Could it be any uglier than a Compaq - square oz with added flares and fins... Yikes, it is hard to believe the people who designed these things actualy went to school as designers.
 
Take a look at this review. If I am not mistaken, the Gateway high profile system does not even include a DVD burner.

http://www.etestinglabs.com/main/reports/gateway.asp

My take on this (which I already send to the site)

I guess this will not be the first e-mail of this kind, given the loyalty of Mac users, but with regard to you "comparison" test between a Gateway and an iMac, I have the following remarks.

1. The systems provide different capabilities, for example the Gateway top of the line does not offer DVD write up. Therefore, issues arise when are comparing ``apples'' and oranges.
2. Who decided that raw speed is the measurement by which a computer system should be evaluated? For games perhaps this is a reasonable aspect. For most other task I can think of thousands of other performance indices that are of superior value to an end user. For example integration, reliability, and, of course, ease of use. The day reviewers like you decide to take what users are actually looking for, we will have serious reviews. Only a segment of the population buys cars in the basis of raw speed (or anything else for that matter).
3. An evaluation of a system that will be used by humans, cannot and should not be evaluated without consideration of the part the human plays on it. What is the time to start a program, taking the user into consideration? The answer depends on issues like good systems design, ergonomics, etc. By the time a typical windows user finds anything, the mac user is done, slower machine and all. What is the time to produce a video? (which you can't in a Gateway, anyway) Read the reviews about ease of use of the iMovie, and you will find out who will finish first, and most reliably.

It is time to stop this all for speed vision of a computer. The truth is most of us have more speed that we can handle with our everyday tasks. It is important for the future of the industry to start including other values in the design, test, and reviewing of computer systems. The fact that Gateway had to improve its design for their system is just a proof that as an industry and organization matures, the issues of economy, and technology, have to be complemented with those of esthetics and ethics. (Don't take my word for it, this last though belongs to Russell Ackoff).

Just my 2 cents.
 
I find it hilarious that Gateway feels the need to go after the iMac audience with this silver turd. Will they succeed in luring iMac prospects to the Profile? Probably, but let's see how well Gateway can hold their customers. Apple's brand loyalty is the highest in the biz. I suspect that even among PC makers, Gateways is pretty low, or else they'd be targeting existing PC users with the Profile, and not iMac buyers....
 
I think it is quite nice, and pretty powerfull too considering the price.

Spec
Intel® Pentium® 4
processor 2.4GHz
• 256MB DDR SDRAM
• 40GB Hard Drive
• 17" Flat Panel Display
• 16X/10X/24X CDRW

for $1499

pretty good value if you ask me, those are also the P4's with the 533mhz FSB and they do make good use of DDR too :D :D sorry could'nt resist.
 
Go to macminute.com they have all the info on the new Gateway there along with the independant comparison. It's curious the tests were done on a iMacs not running Jaguar. The speed differences were quite dramatic. With the Gateway's appearing almost twice as fast as the iMac. It would be interesting to run the tests again with Jaguar. The gateway high priced model did not include a cd burner.

calliex
 
That thing is such a pile...Just look at the design, I love how they try to make the iMac look worse in this picture: http://www.gateway.com/products/desktops/prf4/sweepstakes/allmedia.shtml .. I mean come on gateway, couldn't you do a better job?? Look how HUGE the back is!! haha...And look, it even runs XP!! wow...what a joke...I don't think Apple has anything to worry about, if someone sat these machines next to each other, I don't know who in their right mind would choose the gateway...especially after powering them on and using them. Mac OS X Jaguar is the greatest. I've been loyal to mac since I got my first one, the 6115c :) and i'd rather have that this this pile! I'd probably be more productive using photoshop 3.0! And the funniest part about this gateway machine is that there is still a floppy drive sitting right up front haha...a wopping 1.44MB!! get out of the 90's gateway! Alright, back to burning my 4.7GB DVDs on my iMac and playing QIII arena just fine :D
 
Why are they targeting Apple in their new ads? What sense does it make to target less than 5% of the market? Are they hurting that bad? Their target should be Dell and HP/Compaq. That is their REAL competition. New users that are looking for a Mac wouldn't go to a PC, and vice versa. Especially in the consumer market, which both machines target market is.
 
these are just going to get more people to buy iMacs, you know? they show the iMac in all of the ads, and it is SOOOO much cooler even though they try to make it look worse.
 
For form factor, I like the iMac better. That's not surprising since Apple really excels at that.

For price performance, it seems like the Gateway machine has an advantage here. Even if it had a "superdrive" it would still be cheaper and faster. However, you can't get a superdrive so the point is moot. The Gateway's screen pivots but it doesn't move. That's a bummer.

Anyway, I like the iMac. I'd probably get that instead because I like OSX.

Vanguard
 
The biggest mistake that gateway could make. Put a new beautiful imac next to there piece of junk. Why would they do that? That totally killed there own chances and I think it will actually help apple then hurt them. The target audience isn't going to really care that the gateway is "faster" then the iMac so they claim so they claim.. this group is going to look at the mac and be interested. then go and check one out and see mac OS X and buy one. Good move gateway.. good move.. now why don't you bring back your cows and put cow patterns all over your computers.
 
Here is the picture everyone is asking about. I think it looks crappy. The picture is from the Wall Street Journal where there was an article about it as well.

gateway.jpg
 
Here's Another (Damn, tha Dude beat Me :mad: ) LOL!

081902GatewayProfile4.jpg


Pretty Horrid i'd say, Man, that can only compliment the iMac... oh Man!! :confused:

NeYo
 
Wow, they picked up a design that Ives and Jobs specifically rejected for its clumsy look..

Yeah, I'll buy one of those :rolleyes:
 
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