Vendors use design to differentiate their products

As the desktop PC market increasingly turns toward design as a key point of product differentiation, there are many questions about how users will accept all the new shapes, sizes, and colors offered to them. A comprehensive new study from IDC provides consumer and business user reaction to a range of new desktop designs. Based on focus groups and primary research, the study provides data and forecasts for evaluating which designs will be market winners.

"As demonstrated by the success of Apple`s iMac, users seem receptive to new desktop PC designs," said Roger Kay, IDC manager of desktop PC research. "Buyers now realize that a desktop PC may be defined more broadly than previously thought, and they appear to be open to buying sometimes vastly different kinds of desktop designs."

Among its key findings, the study revealed that color and size will be critical in determining the success of a PC design. In addition, what appeals to consumers may not appeal to business buyers. "Desktop PCs designed for the consumer market will need to pack a punch while those for the corporate world will need to be understated and elegant," Kay said.

Trek to the summit

00Days

:

00Hrs

:

00Min

:

00Sec

IDC believes small PCs that users can easily move out of their way when they`re not using will have broad appeal as will flat monitors and flat panels. "We are at the start of major changes in desktop design," Kay said. "It`s critical that vendors understand user preferences to plan winning products."

All findings from IDC`s surveys and focus groups can be found in a special report titled The Evolution of Desktop PC Form Factors. The study analyzes how the desktop form factor will change over the next five years, how preferences in the consumer and commercial markets differ, the role of a PC`s color, texture, and shape in a user`s buying decision, and accelerators and inhibitors to penetration of various form factors in the commercial and consumer segments.