Apple’s 20th Anniversary Macintosh and eMate Products Receive Prestigious Design Awards
CUPERTINO, Calif. — August 21, 1997 — Apple Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced today that its limited edition 20th Anniversary Macintosh(R) and eMate(R) portable computer for students have been awarded the Best of Category prizes for Consumer Product entries for I.D. Magazine's Annual Design Review. Both products were among the winners honored at a private gala reception for leaders of the design and business communities in New York last week.
The 1997 I.D. Annual Design Review is the largest interdisciplinary design competition in the United States. This year, a record 2,500 entries were received from designers and businesses across North America and Europe. Entries in eight categories — consumer products, furniture, equipment, environments, packaging, graphics, student work, and concepts — were reviewed by distinguished juries comprised of professional designers, manufacturers, academicians, and technology experts.
According to I.D. Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chee Pearlman, both products break new ground in the area of consumer product design. "Our judges were a bit awe struck in terms of both systems' potential as tools of the future. The innovative designs of both the 20th Anniversary Macintosh and the eMate successfully dematerialize what we typically think of with a computer, yet you still get the sense that technology is really at work when you use them," said Pearlman.
Designed by Apple's senior director of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive, the 20th Anniversary Macintosh is a limited edition computer that rethinks the desktop paradigm. The flat panel display, high-end built-in speakers by Bose and front-loading CD-ROM drive are housed within a sleek, thin casing supported by a semicircular foot that folds to become a handle. A thin keyboard with a leather palmrest and detachable keypad can be slid under the unit to free up deskspace, while the power supply and subwoofer are in a separate unit that can be placed on the floor. Integrated into the system are 2MB of video memory, 32MB of RAM, a 64-bit multimedia and graphics accelerator chip, built-in video input, and Apple's TV/radio system.
Ive explained, "The I.D. award is a positive affirmation of the design directions that Apple is taking for future products. The 20th Anniversary Macintosh and the eMate are aimed at very different users, but share a common design approach. That is, we want to provide the product utility specific for each audience, yet also offer emotionally meaningful product designs that elicit a positive reaction from our customers."
Apple's eMate, designed by Apple's senior designer Thomas Meyerhoffer specifically for students, exhibits this design objective for the education market. Featuring a clamshell-like translucent package, the eMate features pen or keyboard-based input, battery life of up to 28 hours, light weight (under 4 pounds), Internet access, and is designed for compatibility with both Mac and Windows networks. The eMate features the Newton(R) operating system and comes with Newton Works, a set of built-in applications that includes a word processor, drawing program, spreadsheet, and graphing calculator.
Both products are on display until Sept. 27, 1997 at the Strathmore Gallery at the AIGA located at 164 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The exhibition is open free to the public Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. For general information about the AIGA Gallery call 212-807-1990.
I.D. Magazine is America's leading publication on the art, business, and culture of design. Since 1954, I.D. Magazine has been the voice of design, covering products, graphics, environments and, most recently, interactive media.
Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, handheld computers and Internet content. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, manufactures, licenses and markets solutions, products, technologies and services for business, education, consumer, entertainment, scientific and engineering and government customers in more than 140 countries.
NOTE: Apple, the Apple logo, eMate, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.
SOURCE: Apple Computer Inc.
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