Gloss over new HP black boxes

Andrew Keen is very keen on HP's new line of stylish PCs but I'm afraid I don't see what the fuss is all about. The ZDNet contributor gushes over the new machines, calling them "the sexiest looking computers that I've ever set eyes on" and saying they "even make the Apple iPhone look dull, finishing by saying "It's spring in Silicon Valley and HP have discovered sex."

So naturally I clicked on the flash demo link to see this second coming/alien invasion/armageddon product. Well, I was a bit disappointed. It's a computer.

Glossy new HP line of PCs is not User>DrivenYes, it has a glossy black (excuse me, "piano black" according to Mr. Keen) case, some blue LEDs, media readers and connectors on the front. It also has a matching flat panel monitor to which you can attach a webcam, a note minder and even a tiny flower vase (VW Beetle , anyone?).

I fail to see how any of this ames the computer "personal again" as HP claims, however. It's still Windows in a rectangular box. And even as a PC, it's neither as edgy as your typical gamer rig nor as elegant as your average Apple laptop.

Their positioning seems to revolve around creating something "designed for real people with real lives in real homes." To me this seems like the worst kind of marketing-driven product development. Let's imitate some things innovative companies have been doing for years, hire a designer to put a glossy face on it, and see how much hype we can generate.

It also illustrates the danger of doing your product research wrong. Based on their messaging and the (pretty standard) features of the product, I am imagining a process that went something like this. HP decided they wanted to get PCs into living rooms. They interviewed a few customers about the idea and discovered that a consistent objection was that they thought computers were too ugly and utilitarian for the living room. Voila, a new PC is born.

Contrast that with what Microsoft did when developing Vista. I'm not holding the maker of Windows 3.1 up as a poster child for User>Driven development, but according to Gates they talked to families "about how they were using computers, what they wanted to do." Again, I'm not holding Vista up as an example of a great product, but I think it has much more of a shot with this approach.