PC Industry finally get seriuos about good designs!

Dell Monitor

Computers have transformed from a hi-tech product to a consumer product. About 10 years ago, when people were still using Win95 and modem to go online, computers only sat around the working desk. 10 years later, not only the teenagers are using laptops, we can see tremendous people from different age groups using computers to go online. More surprisingly, we can see PCs everywhere, moving from the desktop to the coffee table, kitchen counter and users' laps.

However, PC Industry seems to ignore the fact until Apple created stunning innovative laptops, as well as multimedia products. While other PC manufacturers focus on the technical specification rather than the plastic case to hold the different parts, Apple really focuses on the consumer that iMacs and Macbooks have very good looking appearance, along with very user-friendly features.

At this week's Connecting World Design Congress, industrial design, in all its facets, will take center stage for three days. But amid all the demonstrations, talks, networking and parties one thing will be clear: Looks do matter, especially for personal computers.

And surprise, it's not just Apple leading the pack anymore.

"After years of just taking their boxes and maybe tweaking the shapes and materials a bit, in the end you still had the regular old PC. Now, (the industry) is finally realizing these things are personal objects," says Robert Brunner of Ammunition Design Group.

PC Manufacturers start realizing that computers are part of people's lives nowadays.

Companies, such as Dell and HP, have started taking on different experiments with new designs.HP's McKinney says that his company is betting people will pay a premium for design. "Good design satisfies the customers' unspoken want and need for a device," he says, "and people are willing to pay a premium for something that speaks to that need."

"Design doesn't end at the plastic," he says, noting that HP has, in many cases, teamed designers with engineers early on in the product development cycle. "It's also about functionality, and the Blackbird features full upgradeability and everything else you'd expect from a high-end PC."

As mobility becomes more and more important, mobile PC industry has become one of the hottest industry out there in the market. And we can expect not only longer battery life and mobility solutions, such as WiFi and Bluetooth, better designs will also be the key to success.