Dell's Studio One: An iMac Competitor?

I've always thought that all-in-ones are perfect computers for users having to deal with smaller spaces. Students and even multimedia artists work with iMacs. This means that having all of the tech in one sleek package is attractive to users. Personally, I've always liked having a separate machine. It makes things easier to upgrade. However, with laptops becoming the norm, it's easy to see why the all-in-one computer is becoming more and more popular. Most manufacturers now make an all-in-one, but not all of the them are equal. Dell has just announced their new Studio One all-in-one, which will be released shortly.

The new Dell Studio One is going to be available sometime in the coming weeks in the US. However, it will be launched this month in Japan. It's true that space is limited in Japan, so you'd expect all-in-ones to be pretty popular, but since Apple has trouble moving their iPhones over there, I wonder how well iMacs do? One thing that will please users is that you can customize the bezel to any number of different options. Personally, I don't find it very attractive, but I can see how others might.

Spec-wise, the only thing that really sounds interesting, and makes it different from an iMac, is the possibility of having a touchscreen. This means that the touchscreen is actually made to compete with HP's Touchsmart computer, which we really like. The only problem is that the Studio One's display is only 19". That's pretty small considering that the Touchsmart is available in 25.5" and the iMac at 24". In the all-in-one market, it's all about the display screen, since you can't really upgrade it. Prices start at $700 but it will become quite pricey if you include all of the bells and whistles.

MORE ALL-IN-ONES
HP Touchsmart
Lenovo IdeaCentre

Comments (5)

I'm not a big fan of all in ones for the same reasons you mentioned. I really like the mac Mini, which is so small it's esy to hide, and I spent a bit more on a monitor thinking it will last me through two computers. I could almost go for teeny tiny less powerful computer that I could plug into my work monitor or my home monitor.

Dell makes the XPS One, with a 20 inch or a 24 inch screen. At $400 or so cheaper than an equivalent 20" iMac, and with nice design queue's the Dell studio one doesn't fall down next to the iMac at all. $400 savings vs. losing an inch in real-estate...and really giving nothing in terms of industrial design....I think many people will take the Dell.

Oh; and should you choose to research articles before publishing...here's a good place to look up OS marketshare by region:
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8

The pay version breaks it down by geographic version. Seems like a reasonable thing for those expense report reviewing people to approve.

That way authors who publish here no longer have to ask or ponder aloud about basic research...they can inform.

For some reason the Dell seems out of balance: like it's about to fall over. Another copycat attempt that doesn't make it: by the time you have the equivalent features of an iMac, it will much more expensive. And the base is just ugly. Nice try but no banana.

@ebrown: the Dellincludes options not available on the iMac (memory card reader, multitouch screen, blu-ray).

It also starts $500 less than the bottom end iMac which has a good, but not stellar spec-list. (I was wrong above...the multitouch option on the Dell ads $100, so without it the price difference is even more).

I would be quite surprised to see the optioned up Dell cost more than the same iMac. Apple charges a premium for their product. Many are willing to pay for it; but assuming the Dell will be more than the Apple doesn't make a lot of sense.

Just wait for the spec sheet this spring and then all will be known.

I can't imagine multi-touch being practical in a desktop mode such as this. It seems like a gimmicky feature. As an experiment. Hold your hands up to your monitor and pretend you're using a touch screen. Do this for about 5 minutes. Arms tired? Thought so. HP has tried this too, but it's next to useless unless you're using their interface. Re-enter Windows XP or Vista and you (and your arms) are better off using a mouse.

Spec sheets only go so far. If you only rely on people buying your product because you have a longer list, you're bound to fail. You will find people are willing to sacrifice some lines on the feature list for other returns. The Wii is a great example of this.

I agree with ebrown on the out of balance look. I think HP and Sony have done somewhat better with their all-in-one designs.

Nouniard