Dell XPS One Computer

Dell XPS One Computer » image 1

Recently, Walt Mossberg has said that Dell new design “XPS” matches or exceeds the iMac in hardware design. According to his latest column in Wall Street Journal something interesting is going on at Dell. The Texas personal-computer behemoth, long associated with boxy, boring machines, has started emphasizing industrial design. And the company, which in recent years seemed to care only about corporate customers, techies and hard-core gamers, appears once again interested in average, mainstream consumers who value simplicity.

And the proof of this change is Dell’s XPS, one piece computer. Even though it shares the same 20-inch widescreen display and a similar Intel dual-core processor with the base-model iMac, it makes its own style. Where the iMac is squarish and silver, the XPS One is all black and rectangular, with speakers attached to the sides and a wide glass base. It looks more like a small TV set than a computer and, in fact, comes with a built-in TV tuner.”

Despite all this, Mr. Mossberg still recommends Apple’s iMac over the Dell XPS One for several reasons.

First, there’s the software. He believes that Apple’s operating system, Leopard, is superior to the new Windows Vista operating system, the only choice on the XPS One. In his tests, a reboot of the XPS One took more than twice as long as a reboot of the iMac. And he regards Apple’s built-in software, especially the iLife multimedia suite, as superior to the Dell’s built-in software, which includes a group of Adobe multimedia programs that are less well integrated and more complex.

Second, the iMac, unlike the Dell, is immune to the vast majority of malicious software floating around, so you don’t have to run annoying, memory-hogging security programs.

Third, defying popular perception, the iMac costs less than the XPS One. The base, 20-inch iMac costs $1,199 — about $300 less. And even if you double the memory, and add a wireless keyboard and mouse to match the Dell, it’s still $1,399 — $100 less than the base XPS One (though Dell is currently running a sale that wipes out the $100 gap). Even the cheapest iMac has a dedicated video card with its own memory, something the base XPS One lacks. Plus, while Dell offers only 20-inch screens on the XPS One, Apple has higher-end iMacs with huge 24-inch screens for the same price, or less, than the higher-end Dells.