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That's why Nick Bhavsar, chief executive officer of LaptopLids and a Texas graduate student, knew he was onto something with his burnt-orange laptop cover bearing the iconic image of a longhorn.
The former Intel engineer's fledgling Web company began selling vinyl laptop covers with the Texas Longhorns logo as well as the Texas state flag in September 2005. After Texas won the national championship game at the Rose Bowl in early January and orders skyrocketed, Bhavsar realized he'd tapped into the growing demand for personalized laptop designs that are quickly vaulting the notebook PC out of its Model T era.
According to legend, Ford founder Henry Ford described his design philosophy for the Model T as, "You can paint it any color, so long as it's black." For many years a similar philosophy has held sway among laptop designers at the three largest PC companies in the world: Dell, Hewlett-Packard and the former IBM PC business now owned by Lenovo. Apple Computer, Sony, Acer, Alienware, Voodoo PC and others have introduced more stylish designs, but the standard products available from the largest Windows PC vendors tend to come in either black or gray.
That philosophy is starting to change. A few computer companies and several accessory makers and custom specialists have figured out that, like '70s-era custom vans and dot-com-era BMWs, custom-look laptops can be seen as potent style statements.
Dell's new XPS PC, introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show this month, features a flashy case design. Like LaptopLids, Dell has begun selling notebook covers along with its consumer laptops that add color or collegiate logos to its products. HP's Livestrong notebook features Lance Armstrong's signature yellow band in one of the company's few nods to personalization. And last fall, chipmaker Intel showed off a line of concept laptops that featured Ultrasuede fabric on their casing.
But custom designs are still relatively new to the mainstream PC industry. As a result, tech-savvy individuals looking for something different tend to produce their own creations, a practice known as "case-modding."
Most case mods have involved desktop PCs, but now that laptop shipments are set to overtake desktops in coming years, consumers are looking for ways to make their mobile PCs stand out from the rest of the black-and-gray crowd, said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. For the most part, they are finding what they need outside of the traditional technology vendors, he said.
Take Skyn, which makes colorful laptop covers that can be reused on multiple laptops. Skyn's co-founder, Letitia Lucero, was looking for a colorful laptop a few years ago, but couldn't find anything she liked. After experimenting with materials in partnership with her husband, Miguel, they discovered a type of plastic that stood up to the wear and tear on a notebook, and applied an adhesive to the back that allows the cover to be removed and used on other laptops, a Skyn spokeswoman said.
Last year, Inclosia Solutions and Tulip Distribution International Holding teamed up to release a series of leather-covered laptops that are also available with fabrics such as denim.
See more CNET content tagged:
philosophy, PC company, laptop computer, notebook computer, Texas
http://www.etchamac.com/powerbook.php
You don't remember them? huh.
Really what percentage of laptops will get custom paint jobs? Less than 1%?
Most people see a laptop at a tool to get something done. Or as an appliance. My toaster is a boring steel color.....maybe I should paint it blaze orange. How about my Sony DVD player under neath my TV....is a ugly silver.
Anyway, my point is that although the quality and the price of goods these days are good, everything looks pretty much the same, because of mass-production and consolidation. It makes sense that people want to have something that looks different. We've seen it particularly with mobile phones in Europe - a lot of the phones are quite similar, but users make an effort to customize them with covers and ringtones. Customizing the laptop is a natural extension of this. (Plus, it's a useful way of identifying yourself if you're speaking at a conference.
And on a final note - if you do want to paint your toaster blaze orange, be sure to use a heatproof material
Best,
Antoin.
My recent Dell Inspiron 9300 purchase came with a quick snap personalization shield that is black leather. It looks really good although I would have preferred the copper or burnt orange color that Toshiba laptops offer. I would have bought that for the color alone if the screen had been better.
NEED MORE COLOR IN LIFE. Not everything is an appliance to everyone.
- Custom Color and logos
- by cgp99 August 5, 2006 4:25 PM PDT
- GEN-X-PC.com has custom colors available and custom logos all very inexpensive and they will have proofs back to you in less than 1 day in most cases. Here is a link to examples of the colors and several examples of great logos:
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(13 Comments)http://www.gen-x-pc.com/note_color_chart.htm
They say they use automotive paint available in metallic and pearl finish. High gloss, semi gloss and flat clear coat options. Color shifting paints and even Ultraviolet paint.