designedpc

Dell Adamo

Not really sure how I got so far behind the times with this but I only just discovered Dell’s new Adamo laptop. Looking at the product it’s pretty easy to assume that it’s designed in direct competition with Apple’s Mac Book Air.

Front-on, the design is stunning, however looking from the back there’s a few things that grind. For example the fact that the grill sticks out so far, the brushed steel on the onyx doesn’t continue throughout the whole back facing, or the stupid pattern on the pearl version’s back facing.

Still, it’s hard to dislike anything so slim. They keys are smooth, fitted and feature back-lit illumination, the display panel practically goes to the edge. The overall feel seems to be clear and crisp.

My verdict on these is much the same on my decision on the Mac Book Air. It’s pretty, but that’s about where the attraction ends. Having no dvd drive, tiny storage without peripherals, and a poor cost-to-performance ratio this wouldn’t be a smart buy. Though if you want it, you want it! If you do, go ahead!

Dell Studio 15/17

The Dell Studio 15 and Studio 17 notebooks are a family of simply designed medium performance laptops. As long as you don’t get any of the silly designs that are available printed on it (stick with one colour please!) and make sure that you change your wallpaper from the poorly designed default; you’ll have a sleek minimalistic companion to take where ever you please.

An argument against Lacie

Lacie makes some pretty nicely designed external drives (shown below) so you’d think they’d be right up the alley of a blog titled designedpc. I really appreciate the fact that Lacie is committed to design, and they commission some pretty big names.

So what’s my problem with them? Why will I likely never buy a Lacie device?

The logo.

It looks 2nd rate and doesn’t represent their brand or communicate their commitment to well designed hardware at all. In fact I believe it does the opposite. This sucks for them, but it wouldn’t be that bad for the consumer if it was small and sitting in a corner not that noticeable. Would people recognise lacie for the beautifully designed product like they do for apple, or do they need to be reminded what they are looking at with a gigantic garish logo encompassing a large portion of one of the panels on the device.

Although as a good friend points out, if you’re lucky enough to have the right setup you can always hide the ‘logo side’ against a wall or something else!

(removing the circle for this one was a good choice)

(think I could actually get away with this one, but then, I really like brushed steel :P)

Joule ElementCASE (iPad)

I won’t get started on whether or not you should get an iPad (yet or ever), but for those who do, you will probably be considering a stand also. The Joule by ElementCASE gives a very sexy minimalistic feel. Though you may pay top dollar…

Lian Li PC-V1110

Recently saw this case in my travels along the interwebs, can’t seem to find it in any of the shops but if anyone knows where to get this case in Brisbane(Australia) let me know!

The case is predominantly aluminum and I believe it comes with two fans but no power supply, correct me if I’m wrong.

Logitech M905

The Logitech M905 is a mouse designed for your notebook that allows you to track on almost any surface. There’s nothing to stop you buying one of these for your pc either, I certainly did!

The Asus MS236H

23” Full HD (1080p) 2ms Ultra Slim HDMI output LCD monitor. Comes with an HDMI -> DVI cable. Power and monitor functions are touch activated.

Also available is the Asus MS226H 21.5”