Scented, other 'fashion' PCs hit the catwalk

"I'm not sure [scent] is on the top of many OEM to-do lists, but Asus has innovated a few things that others have looked into before," Poznanski says.

Take its latest Lamborghini VX3 notebook. The US$3,200 laptop comes with a leather palm rest, a canary-yellow paint job, a Ferrari logo and other details from the Italian carmaker. Ferrari and Acer became the first to introduce laptops resembling race cars.

Other computers that Microsoft strutted in Las Vegas included the Ego Orphine, a laptop that looks like a Swarovski crystal-encrusted, Italian-leather purse; the Flybook Notebook VM, which has a screen mounted on a rotating spindle; the Dell Studio Hybrid, a US$499 "green" mini-desktop computer that uses less power and is available with a bamboo case; and the HP Touchsmart IQ 506, a US$1,249 all-in-one desktop with a touch-enabled 22-in. LCD screen.

"Windows PCs from whatever vendor are overdue for a style infusion," said David Graves, an analyst at Forrester Research. "There are so many consumers who, for whatever reason, stick with Windows, but who nonetheless look over and think, 'That MacBook Air really looks cool.'"

Microsoft has long tried to push PC makers to make more innovative designs, but several things have held them back. PCs were primarily bought by businesses, and they were more expensive -- especially laptops. So most people bought desktops that they tended to hide away in their home offices or dens -- except for hard-core gamers, who customize their PCs with "case mods" in anticipation of the next LAN party at which to show off their pimped-out machines.

Times have changed. PCs have never been cheaper: desktops -- and laptops -- can be had for less than $700. More people are toting around laptops, too, especially in developed countries. And the desktop computers that consumers are buying are increasingly used as media centers and, as such, are displayed prominently next to the other must-have item: the large-screen HDTV.

Apart from the minimalist Sony Vaio LT desktop, none of the fashionable Windows PCs on show in Las Vegas bear much resemblance to any Mac models. Forrester's Graves wonders why more Windows PC makers don't try to emulate Apple, just as automotive and TV makers imitate successful designs in their industry.

Poznanski insists this latest push is not Microsoft telling its hardware partners to zig where Apple zags as a way of differentiating Windows PCs from Macs.

"It's all up to the OEM. If they want to [imitate Apple's design], we are in full support. We want to help them make the form factors that sell," Poznanski said. "We're all about choice."