“The iPod has been a revolution in people’s lives. And it does beg the question: if the people behind the iPod designed a computer, what would it be like?”
In Paris for the recent Apple Expo exhibition, Philip Schiller, Apple Computer’s senior vice-president of worldwide product marketing, is describing the company’s approach to the latest version of its consumer desktop computer, the iMac G5 (above right). The answer to his question is a shiny white machine, with all the things that make it work crammed right on the back of the screen. As Schiller noted, the first thing you think when seeing it is: “Where did the computer go?”
His comments reflect a wider trend among PC manufacturers. Digital convergence is the new name of the game, with the computer moving out of the study and into the living room. Toshiba, too, is getting in on the act. It has recently launched a new range of laptop PCs called Qosmio (above left). The machines run Windows XP media centre, which simplifies access to stored media such as photographs or music. What’s new is that Qosmio machines also feature TV tuners and DVD players that can be turned on without first starting up Windows. You can set the computer to record your favourite shows on TV, then watch them or burn them to DVD.
Wireless technology means that images and sound can be beamed to a suitably equipped TV or audio setup. “We think this is the way technology’s heading,” Toshiba’s director of sales and marketing, Chris Lucas, told me at the product’s launch. “Everything will soon be in one box.”
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He may well be right, but the Qosmio has one problem: it still looks like a computer. If you’re serious about the digital lifestyle, but want something to enhance your room rather than make it look like an office, the G5 would seem to be the obvious choice.The latest iMac comes complete with all the software you need to edit movies, play or compose music and create photo libraries, and record your own CD, or DVDs. It’s also thin enough to hang on a wall, with a fixing kit that will go on sale in mid-October, one month after the launch of the computer itself.
But, for once, Apple has missed a trick. Unlike the Qosmio, the iMac does not contain a TV tuner. Sure, you can buy plug-in components that will do the trick, but then you ruin the lines of the machine, which is why you bought it in the first place.
Apple and Toshiba have both produced compelling new computers, but those of us who want everything will have to wait a little longer for perfection.
The Apple iMac starts shipping this week, priced £919-£1,349 (inc VAT). The Toshiba Qosmio is available now, priced £1,499-£1,800 (inc VAT)