Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/09/30/sotec_unveils_unimaclike_eone_design/

Sotec unveils un-iMac-like eOne design

Blue box becomes not-so-blue box

By Tony Smith

Posted in On-Prem, 30th September 1999 12:31 GMT

Sotec, the Japanese distributor of eMachines' eOne PC, this week unveiled the computer's new look, designed to get the increasingly litigious Apple off its back. The Not-so-blue eOneAnd the big change? Well, there isn't one -- eMachines has simply dropped the machines blue plastic panels in favour of silvery, 'Millennium Blue' ones. The redesign was announced by Sotec last week after the Tokyo District Court agreed with Apple's demand that the machine's distribution in Japan be halted until the Mac maker's trademark infringement case against Sotec could be judged. The change was made even though Sotec denies Apple's charge. The blue eOneApple's beef with Sotec centres on the eOne's remarkable similarity to its own iMac. Apple is pursuing similar action in the US against eMachines and its Korean backers, Korean Data Systems and Trigem. Apple Japan said it was taking a close look at the 'new' eOne to see whether it believes the machine still infringes the company's trademarks. Meanwhile, the not-so-blue eOne could soon replace the current version in the US too. ®