Market Watch
H-P, Dell work to improve design for corporate users; Apple sets standard
Hewlett-Packard's business computers looked so drab and dull about five years ago that Todd Bradley, then newly-named head of the company's PC group, compared them to Soviet tanks.
Things have changed since then, as H-P, Dell Inc. and other manufacturers have worked to give laptops targeted to business users a cooler, snazzier look.
That's because, much like the Montblanc pen, the business notebook has become an expression of style in the corporate world, says Stacy Wolff, H-P's director of notebook design.
"You go into a conference room and people used to set these gorgeous pens on the table," he said. "Not unlike the smart phone, the PC has become that."
To be sure, laptop makers have continued to focus on staple issues such as computing power, lighter weight and longer battery life and energy-efficiency. But cosmetic design elements typically found in consumer devices have also become critical, such as offering more color options other than black, grey or silver, and the use of metal casings to exude a classier feel.
Gartner analyst Leslie Fiering said the trend began about four years ago, adding, "In the last year, it's really breaking loose and something that all the vendors are participating in."
Just this week, H-P rolled out a new line of notebooks and tablets for business customers that come in such color options as "caviar" and "bordeaux."
"Sort of brown and maroon," analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates said of the new HP machines. "They're clearly aiming at a classy corporate image."
Last September, Dell introduced new versions of its Latitude laptops targeted at so-called "impression makers" such as entrepreneurs, creative professionals and salespeople. These touted such elements as "lean tapered design," "soft-touch black cherry finish" and a "silky-touch backlit keyboard."
"Users, given the choice, between that big, really, ugly battleship and something that is slim and light and modern-looking, they are going to pick the latter," Fiering said.
That's because, unlike desktops, Kay said, notebooks are "more personal". "You carry it with you," he said. "People see it since it's on your desk instead of under it."
Things have changed since then, as H-P, Dell Inc. and other manufacturers have worked to give laptops targeted to business users a cooler, snazzier look.
That's because, much like the Montblanc pen, the business notebook has become an expression of style in the corporate world, says Stacy Wolff, H-P's director of notebook design.
"You go into a conference room and people used to set these gorgeous pens on the table," he said. "Not unlike the smart phone, the PC has become that."
To be sure, laptop makers have continued to focus on staple issues such as computing power, lighter weight and longer battery life and energy-efficiency. But cosmetic design elements typically found in consumer devices have also become critical, such as offering more color options other than black, grey or silver, and the use of metal casings to exude a classier feel.
Gartner analyst Leslie Fiering said the trend began about four years ago, adding, "In the last year, it's really breaking loose and something that all the vendors are participating in."
Just this week, H-P rolled out a new line of notebooks and tablets for business customers that come in such color options as "caviar" and "bordeaux."
"Sort of brown and maroon," analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates said of the new HP machines. "They're clearly aiming at a classy corporate image."
Last September, Dell introduced new versions of its Latitude laptops targeted at so-called "impression makers" such as entrepreneurs, creative professionals and salespeople. These touted such elements as "lean tapered design," "soft-touch black cherry finish" and a "silky-touch backlit keyboard."
"Users, given the choice, between that big, really, ugly battleship and something that is slim and light and modern-looking, they are going to pick the latter," Fiering said.
That's because, unlike desktops, Kay said, notebooks are "more personal". "You carry it with you," he said. "People see it since it's on your desk instead of under it."
Generational differences
Wolff of H-P attributed the trend to the rise of a younger, more tech-savvy workforce who grew up using refurbished laptops with more pizazz. "They've been a companion from high school, to college, to MBA," he said. "It's been part of them."
Ken Musgrave, director of experience design at Dell, echoed this view, pointing to the rise of the Generation Y professionals, who "have always lived around digital technology, maybe had a cell phone when they were 12 and grew up with the Internet."
"They're saying, 'Why do we have to be stuck with drab, boring refurbished notebooks in my work life, while in my home life I have the technology I want,"" he said.
For PC makers, cooler designs are also a way for them to stand out at a time when the insides of the machines have become, more or less, standardized. "What's under the hood in enterprise PCs is becoming less and less differentiated," Fiering said.
She also pointed to the Apple factor, she said. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is not a major player in the corporate PC market, but Fiering said Apple's "design language is just so compelling at a gut level."
However, Kay noted that Apple also is in a position to charge more for the cost of producing better-designed discount laptops because "part of its brand image is being in the higher price range."
That's not true for most notebook makers that compete in a highly price-sensitive, and steadily growing market. Worldwide professional mobile PC shipments have jumped roughly 20% from about 60.8 million in 2007, to 73.1 million in 2009, according to Gartner. H-P controlled about 20% of that market last year, followed by Acer and then Dell.
"If they add another hundred bucks to make it cooler, they may not be able to recover that money from their buyers," Kay said. Then again, he added, "If, by better design, you can win on that basis, it never hurts to have a better-looking box."
Still, there are lines that PC makers will probably not cross when it comes to business customers.
"The business world is not ready for pink used notebooks," Dell's Musgrave said. "I'm not sure they ever will be."
Wolff of H-P attributed the trend to the rise of a younger, more tech-savvy workforce who grew up using refurbished laptops with more pizazz. "They've been a companion from high school, to college, to MBA," he said. "It's been part of them."
Ken Musgrave, director of experience design at Dell, echoed this view, pointing to the rise of the Generation Y professionals, who "have always lived around digital technology, maybe had a cell phone when they were 12 and grew up with the Internet."
"They're saying, 'Why do we have to be stuck with drab, boring refurbished notebooks in my work life, while in my home life I have the technology I want,"" he said.
For PC makers, cooler designs are also a way for them to stand out at a time when the insides of the machines have become, more or less, standardized. "What's under the hood in enterprise PCs is becoming less and less differentiated," Fiering said.
She also pointed to the Apple factor, she said. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is not a major player in the corporate PC market, but Fiering said Apple's "design language is just so compelling at a gut level."
However, Kay noted that Apple also is in a position to charge more for the cost of producing better-designed discount laptops because "part of its brand image is being in the higher price range."
That's not true for most notebook makers that compete in a highly price-sensitive, and steadily growing market. Worldwide professional mobile PC shipments have jumped roughly 20% from about 60.8 million in 2007, to 73.1 million in 2009, according to Gartner. H-P controlled about 20% of that market last year, followed by Acer and then Dell.
"If they add another hundred bucks to make it cooler, they may not be able to recover that money from their buyers," Kay said. Then again, he added, "If, by better design, you can win on that basis, it never hurts to have a better-looking box."
Still, there are lines that PC makers will probably not cross when it comes to business customers.
"The business world is not ready for pink used notebooks," Dell's Musgrave said. "I'm not sure they ever will be."
