The Gateway One
Design and Function win with this great looking PC

Andy Taylor

We recently had the opportunity to take a look at the winner of the Best of Show for the PC Category at the 2007 Digital Life Expo, The Gateway One. The unit that we looked at, the GZ7220, is the top of the line system in the Gateway One lineup and carries a retail of $1799.99. The GZ7220 will be available at Best Buy along with the GZ7108 which retails for $1299.99. Another model, the ZX190 is going to be available from Gateway Direct and carries a price of $1499.99.

What turned our eye most was its boldness in standing up to what sure will be comparisons to the Apple iMac which in itself is a well designed machine. When you think about it, It's amazing that while manufacturers have been working to get computer systems smaller and in many respects better looking, they usually have the same overall design. Separate monitor, keyboard and a box.

In the last year we have seen some surprising innovation from Sony and HP with design however where Gateway One jumps ahead is a complete different experience out of the box. As noted earlier, while Mac users are drawing comparisons to the popular iMac PC users aren't going to really mind the subtle similarities.  In all reality, the Gateway One does offer a bit more.

Tossing out the separate monitor design, the Gateway One is a complete all in one unit. It serves as a PC, LCD and TV with the optional TV Tuner depending on the model purchased. There is no visible stand and the system appears to rest as a large picture frame would on a table.  The 19" LCD screen is both bright and appealing to the eyes while appearing to be protected with a smoky glass screen. Design and looks aside, some innovations where you wouldn't expect make this system even more appealing.

What takes this unit to the next level is the design of the "Smart" power module. The Gateway One Smart power module is a separate power supply which features the power connector to the wall as well as 4 USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and S/PDIF Audio. The module eliminates cord clutter all over the place and taking up space around the unit and on the desk. Let's face it, you can have the nicest looking monitor in the world but have three or four cables running in and out of it and it can detract from the overall beauty of the system. With this feature, printers and scanners and other USB devices can take the benefit of the power module. Cords out of the way, off the desktop. If you still must hook up to the system, an additional three USB 2.0 ports, audio ports and a 1394 port can be found on the left side of the Gateway One for connecting to MP3 players, Digital Cameras and USB Thumb Drives or external hard drives. Do you have to add speakers?

No, The speaker design is also rather unique as they are integrated into the panel of the unit which eliminates the need for external sound monitors, again - eliminates cord clutter. The sound isn't muffled or baffled yet is rich and full with the NXT SoundVu patented exciters. The Gateway One offers a great experience in the looks department and will also turn heads in the performance department with the Intel Core2Duo and 3GB of memory. This is more than has been offered to date from iMac, which ships with 1GB.

Graphics are powered with the ATI 2600XT with 256MB of graphics memory. 500GB of Storage provides an out of the box ease of mind alleviating the worry of running out of space for your data. If that's not enough, two hidden drive bays can be used for adding additional hard drive space. The system has other features such as a 5 in 1 card reader and 1.3 megapixel web cam. The wireless keyboard and mouse also add to removing clutter on the desktop.  For DVD/CD burning and playback, the Gateway One features a Slot Loading Super-multi DVD/RW.

Our experience with the GZ7220 has been positive; we certainly see why at the 2007 Digital Life Expo the Gateway One was awarded Best of Show for the PC category of accolades. While the comparisons will be made with the equally impressive iMac, more storage, better cord management, greater on board memory and expandability may be worth the few hundred extra dollars for the Gateway One.  Pre-orders are available and an excellent demonstration can be found at http://www.beautyofone.com

For More Information
Visit the Gateway One Official Website
http://www.beautyofone.com

Click here to watch our video from
Tech Tuesday where we look at the Gateway One

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