Smart Design Sells

I have been contemplating getting myself a Mac Mini. The trigger to the thinking in this direction has been my recent adventure with the Nokia Booklet 3G. The Nokia is a great portable machine. Very good balance between screen capacity (resolution/size) and overall bulk of the machine, with phenomenal battery life. And after the 256GB SSD upgrade it really holds everything I have. Unfortunately both the screen and keyboard are too small to be used on a regular basis in the office (or in the home office in my case).

The good solution has been pretty straightforward - I purchased an external monitor. The Nokia has HDMI output and can deliver FullHD resolution (1920x1080), so a matching monitor seemed a good idea. The beauty of the HDMI port is it carries sound too, so essentially docking my Nokia Booklet is a matter of plugging two simple cables - HDMI and USB. HDMI for sound and display. USB to connect to various desktop devices - the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner (btw the ScanSnap is the best product I have had since two or three years, absolutely recommended, hassle-free paper-to-PDF converter), a DVD drive, Logitech mouse/keyboard and a number of others.

Unfortunately the Nokia is not a speed demon. It is just fine for web browsing and light office tasks, but anything more demanding (digital pictures editing, video editing, gaming) is out of question.

But since I already have this beautiful 22 inch HDMI screen, I started thinking of buying a small but more powerful computer to do the digital media tasks. First looks went to the Mac Minis. The monitor has DVI input too, so I was thinking about getting a second hand one, for little less. And this week the new Mac mini has arrived.

I instantly dropped any plans of buying the old generation Mini. The new one is so nice and the design is so simple, yet smart, I am ready to pay the premium. First, it is even smaller. But the dark side of all the Minis was the huge bulk of cables sticking out of its back. And the immense external power supply brick, with its three-prong mains cable. Nothing to fall in love with... But the new Mac Mini has changed a lot here. The DVI out with bulky mini-to-DVI dongle is gone, replaced by standard nice and (relatively) small HDMI port. The power supply is gone too! They found enough place inside the Mini to fit it. And thick three-prong cable is now replaced by a thin two-prong. What a change! With Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, there are just two cables going in: power and display. This is what I am willing to pay for. Smart, minimalistic, elegant.

Apple has been riding the design wave for years, reaping huge profits. It is difficult to understand why other companies have such hard time to match them. One of the reasons I bought the Nokia Booklet was the power supply. Not ideal, but at least somebody took some effort to design in a thin low voltage cable and a relatively short mains cable, reducing travel weight and bulk. It is still far from the weight / volume of the iPad's charger, but definitely a step forward compared to, say, Lenovo netbooks. Every quarter or so Sony releases an even smaller and thinner ultra expensive and ultra portable laptops. I suppose they do not sell well... Hey the machines are now smaller than their power supplies (but they last barely two hours without external energy source)!

It has been proven for years that consumers are ready to pay for smart design. This is a message to system vendors. Think a while. Not just about the core specs. But whether your charger matches your device. Is the plug angled instead of sticking out straight? Is the cable thin and flexible? Is the socket recessed a little? Aren't you trying to save on the number of external controls (think touch brightness and volume sliders...)? Are you USB ports powered when the machine is turned off and charging (this would allow to spare a number of chargers on the road)? These things sound easy and natural. But they rarely are present in products screaming "buy me!". Really smart attention to the details. Wins and sells.