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HP Defends New Ultrabook Design Against Noted Similarities to Apple's MacBook Air
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so are they supposed to make a fat ultrabook with a upsidedown keyboard and a black and white display to make sure it looks nothing like a mba which is just another laptop. If you nitpick enough every laptop will look the same because thats just how laptops looks
Apple is just great at making everything look minimalistic (good thing btw) which is obvs hard not to "copy" bc theres not much others can change
Since you can legally run OSX, Windows, Linux and others on a MacBook and not OSX on a HP device, there seems to be a couple of differentiators HP is hoping for.
- OEM pricing of Windows (pre-installed)
- PC style ports
- Lower retail pricing, if that can still even be achieved.
- Corporate account alignment with HP itself
I suppose with MBA pricing lowering over time, the only remaining issues are cost to install Windows for those who legitimately require it and perhaps a dongle to replicate PC style ports. I suppose Apple could become a Windows OEM, or perhaps one of their larger dealers such as Amazon, Best Buy or Wal-Mart could. Then Belkin could make a dongle for them to sell along side MBA units.
Rocketman
- OEM pricing of Windows (pre-installed)
- PC style ports
- Lower retail pricing, if that can still even be achieved.
- Corporate account alignment with HP itself
I suppose with MBA pricing lowering over time, the only remaining issues are cost to install Windows for those who legitimately require it and perhaps a dongle to replicate PC style ports. I suppose Apple could become a Windows OEM, or perhaps one of their larger dealers such as Amazon, Best Buy or Wal-Mart could. Then Belkin could make a dongle for them to sell along side MBA units.
Rocketman
Yeah, and the 'industry moving that way' is another way of saying 'hey everybody else in the industry is copying Apple so we can too'
I would go as far as to say that without the MacBook Air the whole ultraportable thing would still be a non-starter with its overpriced high-end business-geared manager's toys that it has been for the 10 years before the Air was launched.I know this particular HP isn't so bad, and certainly is too different for Apple to sue them. But I'm surprised Asus didn't get sued with their first ZenBooks, they were almost identical to the Airs, not so much cosmetically but internally. Down to the circuit board layout, battery location and grouping, port positions, the mini-SSD, everything. Even the charger. I honestly can't believe that was designed completely on its own. Compare the Asus UX21 to the MacBook Air 11" (including the teardowns) and see what I mean.
It's a shame because especially Asus has been known to innovate itself - they have started the whole netbook thing with the EEE-pc. I even owned one, hoping at the time that Apple would ever make one
Thing is, who cares? It doesn't run OSX. And secondarily, Apple don't seem to care as much about their computer side these days. It's unlikely that these are ever going to be a target for litigation. Tim Cook himself said he doesn't like suing, and he's in charge now.
In a related point, the guy that invented the beige box should really have been suing all over the place.
In a related point, the guy that invented the beige box should really have been suing all over the place.
Yes but the ratio of similarities vs differences is rather high, wouldn't you say, huh, HP?
There are plenty of ways to design a thin laptop, just ask Lenovo or Vizio.
Other than the original ultrabook specification being a spec sheet designed to match the newer Macbook Airs, it isn't that much of a ripoff. They should have the guts to say they wouldn't have thought of making something with those specs without Apple, though. (Come on, it took them how long to get rid of the floppy and yet they're this fast to get rid of optical drives? And both times it just so happens that Apple is the first to get rid of those drives?)
This. All ultra thin laptops are going to look like the MBA, because the MBA looks like an ultra thin laptop. There are only so many ways you can design one.
Quote from HP's Stacy Wolff "It is not because those guys did it first; it's just that's where the form factor is leading it."
He really does have a point. But the fact is that Apple seems to consistently be the company that comes up with these stunning form factors, that are so well done... that they seem to be the only way to go. If the designs are so logical, if they are so obvious that "it's just that's where the form factor is leading it."... then why does no other company do it first?
It is just a stunning testament to Apple's design prowess.
He really does have a point. But the fact is that Apple seems to consistently be the company that comes up with these stunning form factors, that are so well done... that they seem to be the only way to go. If the designs are so logical, if they are so obvious that "it's just that's where the form factor is leading it."... then why does no other company do it first?
It is just a stunning testament to Apple's design prowess.
The design is not the problem
It's obvious that the rest of the industry is going to copy Apple to a degree. It saves design costs and nobody ever really objects. Kinda of a given... other companies copy Apple. The difference is that most of the others are Windows machines. I have to use three operating systems in my work and Mac OS 10 is hands down better. Windows is third and totally unreliable.
It's obvious that the rest of the industry is going to copy Apple to a degree. It saves design costs and nobody ever really objects. Kinda of a given... other companies copy Apple. The difference is that most of the others are Windows machines. I have to use three operating systems in my work and Mac OS 10 is hands down better. Windows is third and totally unreliable.
This is what Intel wants. They want companies like HP to make Ultrabooks that look like the MBA so they can sell more Ivy Bridge stuff.
And imho this is one of the reasons we haven't seen refreshes yet. Intel wants to get their Ultrabook going and it's in direct competition with Apple so the Wintel companies are getting Ivy Bridge first.
And imho this is one of the reasons we haven't seen refreshes yet. Intel wants to get their Ultrabook going and it's in direct competition with Apple so the Wintel companies are getting Ivy Bridge first.
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/t...andpowerful?c=uk&l=en&s=dhs&cs=ukdhs1&ref=hbn
This thing is more blatant than a lie.
This thing is more blatant than a lie.
Almost all new Laptop keyboard designs now copies the way MacBooks keyboards are space out compare to the past when they are stuck together like glue where big thick fingers like mine would have problems typing... not that we are going to judge how the hinge looks similar along with the the rest of the screen with the touch pad that lacks the regular HP finishing. As they say the best flattery you can compliment someone is to imitate them.
re original article
oh hp - if your desktops are any indication of your design and functionality then your laptops are still behind the curve
you make pretty decent printers though
oh how the competition like samsung et al use aapl as their r&d department
"we want people to invent their own stuff..." - mr tim cook
oh hp - if your desktops are any indication of your design and functionality then your laptops are still behind the curve
you make pretty decent printers though
oh how the competition like samsung et al use aapl as their r&d department
"we want people to invent their own stuff..." - mr tim cook
Stealing "Apples" keyboard? You know Apple did not invent the chiclet style keyboard right?
It has a keyboard, a folding lid and a trackpad! And It is all silver and black: SO APPLE!
Sometimes things just look similar: a spade is a handle and the flat piece of metal connected by a rod to give leverage. There are only so many ways to to that. Consider the thickness of a USB port and RAM/an SSD or the size of a keyboard. Now consider the size of a screen; it leaves you with a bit of area where you don't really need to put anything. You could keep a constant thickness but the laptop would appear much bigger and would be much heavier OR you could do a wedge. OH LOOK it already looks similar to the MacBook Air. The only other way would have been a step like on the F1 noses (if you follow F1) but that would be horrifically ugly.
Same thing applies to the black keyboard; ever used a white Macbook? It turns brown from oil and crap on your hands. HP knows this and they also know, as Apple now does, that black keyboards hide this very well. Magnesium is arguably a MUCH better material to make a laptop out of so in this sense HP is innovating: it is (much) stronger and tougher for its weight.
Yes to an extent Apple pioneered the ultrabook market but competition is a good thing: it will mean Apple keeps on thinking of new ways to improve the Air. Who wants a bet that Apple TV won't look similar to the current Samsaung offerings? Large screen with a little bit around it? Probably silver and black? Seen it before OMG Apple copied!
Sometimes things just look similar: a spade is a handle and the flat piece of metal connected by a rod to give leverage. There are only so many ways to to that. Consider the thickness of a USB port and RAM/an SSD or the size of a keyboard. Now consider the size of a screen; it leaves you with a bit of area where you don't really need to put anything. You could keep a constant thickness but the laptop would appear much bigger and would be much heavier OR you could do a wedge. OH LOOK it already looks similar to the MacBook Air. The only other way would have been a step like on the F1 noses (if you follow F1) but that would be horrifically ugly.
Same thing applies to the black keyboard; ever used a white Macbook? It turns brown from oil and crap on your hands. HP knows this and they also know, as Apple now does, that black keyboards hide this very well. Magnesium is arguably a MUCH better material to make a laptop out of so in this sense HP is innovating: it is (much) stronger and tougher for its weight.
Yes to an extent Apple pioneered the ultrabook market but competition is a good thing: it will mean Apple keeps on thinking of new ways to improve the Air. Who wants a bet that Apple TV won't look similar to the current Samsaung offerings? Large screen with a little bit around it? Probably silver and black? Seen it before OMG Apple copied!
Apple makes a tower computer called Mac Pro.
From recent logic, that means thousands of computer companies are infringing on Apple's "design". Facepalm...
From recent logic, that means thousands of computer companies are infringing on Apple's "design". Facepalm...
Can i ask why all the pro Apple comments are getting negative thumbs down? Its pretty obvious the whole "ultrabook" concept is mimicking Apple's MacBook Air. What are we supposed to say? I guess we should all just go ehh, looks familiar, good job HP....
I agree. The fact is that there isn't just one solution for a laptop because if you look at the evolution of Apple laptops over the years, they look more different from each other than this HP machine looks different from the current Apple laptops.
In fact, I'm typing this at a client on an HP ProBook 6455b which looks nothing like an Apple laptop in spite of the fact that it has a black keyboard and silver above and below it. (It's incredibly ugly, but that's besides the point.)
But I think that once someone sets a "standard" and their solution seems so obvious, it's hard for all but the most imaginative designers to conceive a different solution. This is why so many laptops look like MacBooks and why the UI of so many phones looks so close to the Apple iOS, although some have even improved upon Apple's work with nicer fonts and layouts.
Although it didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be, I actually was unhappy that Apple switched to the chicklet keyboard. I always thought I could type faster and more accurately on a traditional keyboard. HP could have gone with a different keyboard. And they didn't have to use silver. In order to make myself distinct from Apple, I probably would have gone for lots of fashionable color in the case. I also probably would have attempted to have a much smaller bezel or ideally, almost no bezel around the screen. Can you imagine a screen where the image seems to float in the air? Since Apple uses curves, and on in the Air, that "wing" shape, I probably would have designed a case that looks more like a large iPhone 4 - very thin, but with rectangular edges. There's lots of ways this could have been more different than Apple's line and had it incorporated those distinctions, it could have helped HP compete better, especially if it were priced less. And that's aside of the ways they could compete technologically - by incorporating a removable battery, easy drive replacements, more choices of HDD and/or SSD, easy memory expansion, etc.
Apple does not have a monopoly on good design - there's lots of great designers out there. HP and companies like it need to make better use of them.
