IBM's Colorful Notebooks

Jacek Fedorynski writes "This Yahoo article says that the new ThinkPads will have swappable snap-on covers - something like Nokia 5110 meets the iBook. :) Initially there will be seven colors to choose from, they will probably introduce more later. Another company realized that many people are more interested in how the machine looks that what it has inside. " Slashdot Green please. The interesting thing is that PCs have reached a point where most PCs are "Good Enough" and manufacturers need to get mindshare by doing something, anything special. Pre-Install Linux? Multi-Colors? Internal Wireless Networking?

Comments

Vanity Computer Colors

[meersan]

10 Least Appealing Vanity Computer Colors

10. What-the-hell-is-that-gunk Green
9. Cubicle Beige
8. Barbie Doll Pink
7. Aging Plastic Yellow
6. The Color Formerly Known As Purple
5. Pepto-bismol
4. Encrusted Black
3. Alien-skin Grey
2. Spewed Puce
1. Screen of Death Blue

10 Most Appealing Vanity Computer Colors

10. Palladium-card Chrome
9. Justalil-Too-Overclocked Red
8. Slashdot Teal (thanks Hemos)
7. Mountain Dew Lime
6. Circuit Board Green
5. PNG-not-GIF Transparent
4. Geekier-than-thou frost aqua
3. Penguin Foot Orange
2. Isotope Blue
1. Darth Black!

How to jump on the color bandwagon and make $$$$

[dustpuppy]

This is a story about three companies.

The first is Apple which was smart in realising that you could take a normal computer, put it in a new case, add a splash of color, and voila - rampant sales.

But Apple only had a limited vision. After all, one does not always see red, or feel green with jealousy, or feel grape colored.

Along came IBM, and swiping an idea from Nokia, decided that swappable colors would be even better. Now instead of deciding what to wear in the morning, you also had to decide if it would coordinate with the colour panels you had for your laptop.

So what is the third company? The third company is mine. I'm going out and manufacturing swappable color panels for everything under the sun. There is no way I cannot make a couple of billion based on peoples past purchasing habits.

Don't like the color of your car? Let me introduce to you the strawberry Ford - oh! you're wearing a navy suit, well just give me a couple of seconds ... there we go, please step into your blueberry car.

KER-CHING!!

good? at least from a business standpoint

[Suydam]

These will be wildly successful. IBM has already re-established itself as a leader in laptops (from a mind-share standpoint). There is no way college kids won't flock to these things. Many colleges now make owning a laptop that you can bring to class a requirement (at least one large university in Michigan has already).

I know that people who use computers as tools for word processing and email will think this is a great idea.

Finally, isn't this hitting Apple where it hurts a little? I mean, some peole still buy Macs for the OS and the name....but an increasing number of people are buying IMacs (and probably IBOoks) because they look cool. This could be an interesting saga in the evolution of computers.

Food for thought...

[generic-man]

The interesting thing is that PCs have reached a point where most PCs are "Good Enough" and manufacturers need to get mindshare by doing something, anything special.

I saw a talk recently where the speaker compared the computer industry of today to the automobile industry of the 1950's. In the '50s, cars were very large, clunky, relatively expensive, and unreliable, and they became cultural status symbols. However, the Japanese cars that would come out were small, reliable, and cheap -- they helped to redefine the entire automotive industry.

Now look at computers today. Most people are unwilling to, or don't need to, spend a couple thousand dollars on a large, clunky, and unreliable box just to surf the Internet and do some word processing. At some point in the next ten to twenty years, one force (maybe Japanese, maybe not) will make computing light and reliable enough for everyone.

That's the future of computing -- computers haven't gotten "Good Enough," they've just gotten more colorful and powerful. I'm waiting for IBM, or any company for that matter, to release a computer which (1) you don't need to boot; (2) accepts new software and hardware upgrades without question or incident, ever; and (3) has an operating system that the user never has to interact with directly.

Many platforms have some degree of this level of usability -- many handheld systems, for example. However, I can only wonder when we'll see this level of simplicity everywhere, in every home and business system.