If it looks like an iMac and it's priced like an iMac...

By Joe Wilcox

Gateway is to renew its battle with Apple for market share next week with a new PC built around a flat-panel monitor.

Gateway confirmed on Monday that it plans to release its new Profile 4 systems on 26 August. Six Profile 4 models will be available, with prices ranging from $999 to $1,999.

The new Profile 4 models are priced and designed to compete with Apple's flat-panel iMac, which also is built around a liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitor.

ARS analyst Toni Duboise said: "Gateway is going after the popularity of the LCD in the all-in-one space - and that's where Apple rules. There's no doubt about it. These systems are priced to compete directly with Apple."

Profile 4 is the result of Gateway's recent platinum PC redesign, which uses a design reminiscent of Apple's Titanium PowerBook. Gateway plans to launch a major advertising campaign next week around Profile 4 and the new design.

Gateway got into the all-in-one business with its original Profile PC in June 1999, released shortly after Apple's first iMac system. The new model comes nearly two years after the release of Profile 3.

Profile 4's predecessors were fixed systems, meaning consumers could only buy the configurations offered by Gateway. But the new all-in-one will be configurable, giving buyers the opportunity to beef up the processor, hard drive and some other components.

Gateway plans to offer four basic consumer and two business models.

Both Apple and Gateway have a high profile with consumers and operate retail stores for promoting or hawking their wares. But Apple has some advantages over its PC rival.

Unlike Apple's iMac, none of the Profile 4 models come with DVD recording drives, nor does Gateway offer the technology as an upgrade, sources said.

Duboise said: "It's a mistake not to have the DVD rewritable drives. That's the one advantage Apple is going to hold over them. The all-in-one Profile is a multimedia-enhanced machine, and without that DVD rewritable a big piece is missing."

The design of the Profile 4 systems cannot accommodate the size of a DVD recording drive, sources said. But much could change later in the year when Pioneer releases a smaller version of its DVD-R/RW drive suitable for notebooks. That drive may have the ability to fit into Profile 4.

Profile 4 isn't Gateway's only weapon in its arsenal for combating Apple. The PC maker has taken a slash-and-burn approach to selling computers with connecting flat-panel monitors. The Gateway 500S, for example, comes with 17-inch LCD monitor for just $1,299. A year ago, the monitor alone would have cost the same price or more.

"That's killer," Duboise said. "It's clear Gateway is waging a price war here and wants to dominate the computer with LCD monitor space. That's not good news for Apple, or anyone else."

The 500S comes with a 2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256MB of SDRAM, 80GB hard drive and CD-RW drive, besides the 17-inch LCD monitor. Duboise noted that Gateway sold the system for $1,554 at the beginning of August.

"This price is unbelievable and can only be in response to the 17-inch iMac Apple launched last month," Duboise said. She noted that a consumer would typically pay anywhere from $560 to $800 more for a 17-inch flat-panel display purchased with a configurable system.

Gateway's advantage just isn't over Apple. The 500S is $400 less than a similarly configured Dell 4500S, which would sell for $1,699, Duboise noted.

Gateway spokesman Brad Williams said: "We price against many competitors, not just any one."

Joe Wilcox writes for News.com