Since Gateway announced the One, everyone and their cousin has known it’s a blatant copy of Apple’s iMac. Even Uncle Walt over at the Wall Street Journal knows damn well what Gateway and Dell are trying to do with their all-in-one computer systems. Unfortunately for Gateway, while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the One doesn’t even come close to the iMac. In fact, the One is such a disappointment, Mossberg can’t even recommend purchasing it.
For one, the iMac can run both Windows and OS X. The One can only do Windows of course. Other factors such as noise, no built-in webcam, lower resolutions and smaller screens are what drive Mossberg to loathe Gateway’s copycat. Not only that, but the One crashed twice on Walt during his testing. Damn that BSOD!
Then there’s the price. The iMac starts at $1199 while the One is $100 higher for the base model. Plus, the iMac has different screen sizes to choose from while the One is bound to 19-inches across the board. So much for the “bang for the buck” angle Gateway could have taken. The final verdict? Don’t even bother messing with Gateway’s hellchild of a computer known as the One. Apple has the all-in-one desktop market done right and if any PC manufacturer is going to overtake them, it’ll need to spend some more time at the drawing board.
New Gateway Desktop Takes on Look of iMac,
But Can’t Match It [WSJ]