2/16/03
 In
this series, we have selected our
favorite products from the 2003 Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
We spent the entire expo
week
walking the show floor, meeting with vendors and previewing
their products. Our selections are based on the
limited time we
were
able to spend with each product, not a thorough hands-on
review. Some of the products are currently available, and
others are works in progress.
 Introducing iGo The Best In High-Concept Furniture For The Flat Panel iMac
One of the coolest things we saw at Macworld was not some new hardware gizmo, or software program that juggles digital data in some fantastic new way. No, one of the coolest things we saw was the iGo .. Essentially a desk for the Flat Panel G4 iMacs.
These desks are really forms of industrial art .. not unlike the iMac itself. They come in two styles. One is essentially a sit down desk (the one on the left in the image to the left) and the other is a standing model that can be used for situations in which a computer kiosk is desirable.
Each desk comes with a 7 watt halo lamp that will illuminate the keyboard in low light conditions. There is a cable compartment underneath the area where the iMac sits so that cables are not dangling down. The power cord is the exception as it hangs free from the computer. (the people at Rain Design might want to consider including a power cord extension housed within the rear leg of the desk .. then no cords at all would be visible) The desk area itself, where you put the keyboard and mouse, is made out of a white plastic that is minimal in size, but stylishly designed to give you just the room you need. The height of the keyboard/mouse area is adjustable at two different height settings. The final production model should also be adjustable in the horizontal plane as well.
Finally there is a shelf that Rain Design calls the digital hub. It is pictured in their promotional material as holding a MP3 player, but really you can put anything that will fit in this semi-trangular shaped storage space. In the picture above the horizontal line you see half way down the legs is the shelve. It is made of the same transparent polycarbonate plastic that Apple has been using.
 Beautifully designed these are not work desks. They are fashion statements, meant for the living room rather than the office. Aesthetically they are the perfect furniture companion for the iMac.
While the desks are not cheap ($499 for the desk, $599 for the Kiosk), they are not that much more than a good computer desk would cost you at Office Depot .. and they are way cooler!
The desks will be available through the iGo website and Rain Design is working on relationships with resellers .. so hopefully they will be available elsewhere as well. Slated to hit the market in May or June of this year they will incorporate several improvements as a result of feedback the company received at Macworld.
A daringly cool desk that breaks the mold in terms of high-concept desk designs for the Mac, the iGo receives a thumbs up from us and a MacReviewZone Editor's Pick Award, for Macworld SF 2003.
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