So I happened to catch this article over on the Verge about Vizio’s foray into the PC market. The video is worth watching as well in the article as well because you get to see a lot of “pretty.” You can also find out more about them from Vizio’s own site. I really think this will be an interesting new product in the sector for a few reasons.
I’ve always though Vizio has made some great TV’s. While I don’t personally own one, I have many family members who do and they all work well and look great. Our main TV at home recently went out (convergence chip on an old Sony Rear Projection TV) and I was going to replace it with a Vizio but unfortunately they discontinued the exact model I set my sites on right after I picked it so I could never find one in stock. Now I’m back in the hunt looking at the 55 inchers and seeing which one I really want.
The beauty of Vizio though wasn’t just the quality product they put out, but it’s also at a reasonable price for what you are getting. And I think they are really going to bring that to the PC’s they make as well. While watching the video I got a familiar feeling from the VP of Design that I got from what many would call “the leader” in design, Jonathan Ive. I was recently watching Objectified which is a documentary about design which interviews him and an actual visionary (that word gets thrown around to often undeserving to most) of the design field Dieter Rams. While looking at the pics of these devices and the design decisions they have made I think these products are equal and maybe even surpassing Apple’s designs. Obviously until we see them in action we won’t know for sure if they really will stand up but if any company could I think it could be Vizio.
The other thing that Vizio has behind it that is going to be huge is Walmart. While everyone makes fun of shopping at Walmart, they have made Vizio one of the biggest TV manufactures in the US. I also remember some cheap Linux machines that got put into Walmart that sold like hotcakes so there is definitely people willing to buy computers from Walmart if the price is right. And knowing how Vizio has handled the TV market I bet they will.
So I look forward to checking these out in the future and maybe my next laptop (current one is an MSI that I got from Frys) might just be a Vizio.
