Friday 21 February 2014

Great packaging

I finally have a new computer. I’m such a lousy decision maker in these kinds of things as I’m always searching for the optimal solution. An annoying quality I agree, but how could I choose when it comes to things I know practically nothing about? So I went for the one he had kind of picked out for me.

It is a light and slim 13.3” hybrid device with a 360-degree flip-and-fold design that can be used in both laptop and tablet mode, and also in tent mode (the photo above). We are not planning to buy a tablet any time soon and thought such a versatile device would be handy when travelling. However, that is not what I wanted to post about but the delightful package it came in. That was a pleasure to look at, a pleasure to disclose.


A designer has clearly been in charge of this packaging project. Everything is very well thought out; simple, stylish and consistent, starting from the colour palette. When the box is black the padding is black, naturally.


So is the non-woven fabric protecting the cover of the device.

The product box itself is like a gift box of any luxury item. I will definitely find some use for that.


Every additional item inside the gift box is in a light box of its own with a simple drawing indicating the contents. Note the semi-circular finger holes facilitating unloading. All in all, the packaging is a delightful experience bound to increase customer satisfaction.

Now I only have to figure out how to make Windows 8.1 work properly with the Google products. All the ones I have tried so far look a bit blurred on the new computer, almost as if Microsoft had deliberately wanted them to be so. I am sure Google provided a fix as soon as the problems were discovered but it is irritating to see something that feels like an attempt to pressure the masses of amateur users to ‘choose sides’.

Of course, a Mac device would be perfect for someone who is blogging and trying to learn to mess with photos. But I wouldn’t be prepared to digest Apple’s money-making policies even if I could afford it. A standard laptop, or in this case a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Convertible Ultrabook, will be quite enough for my modest needs. As soon as I’ve upgraded the memory it had better be optimal for me.

PS added some 15 hours later: Now I could spare a moment and found a solution on Google’s product forum. You need to disable display scaling. For example for Chrome go to PC > C drive > Program Files > Google > Chrome > Application; then right click on Chrome and go to Properties > Compatibility > Disable display scaling.

More about our computer adventures here.


2 comments:

  1. Beautiful - form and function combined. It really does increase customer satisfaction when attention is paid to detail like this. I wish you many hours of happy use of it!

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    1. Thanks Freda. He is so happy now when he finally has his laptop all to himself again. I have hardly dared open my old one since our trip to Italy in October.

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