Looking like the iMac's adopted brother, Gateway claims the glossy Gateway One marks the end of desktop clutter and a media center experience to surpass that of your TV.
Gateway unveiled today their new all-in-one PC, a sleek glass and metal number poised to take out its glove, slap the iMac in the face and challenge it to a duel.
Spec-wise, it stands up, with a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of DDRRAM and a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600XT video card. It even positions itself to be upgraded, with slots for two removeable 3.5" desktop hard drives for up to 2TB of storage. The entire back of the computer is removable, allowing access to the hard drive bays and memory slots, and even removal of the optical disc drive.
It comes boxed with a wireless a/b/g/n card, and the USB slot located on top of the display is designed to take the included webcam for "YouTubing" or videoconferencing. The 19" widescreen display (1440 x 900 native resolution) was nice enough, but as pretty as the computer was, the "wow" factor just wasn't there, unlike the first time we stepped in front of a 24" iMac. It's also pretty idiotic to have a 19" display for media center PC; the lowest-end iMac punks the Gateway One in both screen size and resolution. The remote was extremely intricate, and thankfully is also included. We did like that the wireless keyboard and mouse were also standard, and that there was only one cable leaving from the back of the computer. The "brick", which is attached to the singular cord and designed to be located away from the computer, has 4 USB ports, a digital optical audio out, a coaxial audio out, a TV in and an ethernet port, the idea being to keep the clutter out of sight and apparently out of mind.
Ultimately, the Gateway One--which comes bundled with Windows Vista Home Premium--is about as sleek and attractive as a Windows PC gets. The lines are clean, we liked its beefy HDD configurations (320GB and 500GB) and we were very intruigued by the "invisible" NXT-style speakers, which aren't just hidden somewhere in the black glossy area beneath the screen, they actually ARE the black glossy area beneath the screen. Very cool. With similar price points, it should do well, especially for people who just aren't ready to "switch."
But like our Senior Editor Philip Berne said at the unveiling, "Hey look, its the 2005 iMac." We would have to agree.
The computer will be available exclusively from gateway.com and Best Buy retail stores, and will come in $1300, $1500 and $1800 configurations, available in November.
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