Two product categories that featured heavily at the conference - thin and light, ultra-low voltage laptops and nettops - were identical in concept and design to Apple's MacBook Air and, to a lesser extent, the Mac Mini.
In the former case, the connection was obvious and repeatedly made by Intel executives.
The MacBook Air's aesthetic appeal, low weight (1.4kg) and thin form factor (under 2cm) were cited as the prime characteristics of the newly named ultra-low voltage (ULV) category, which Intel hopes will spur a consumer refresh.
Aesthetics were considered to be the first and the strongest factor influencing consumer buying decisions for notebooks, said Thomas Tapsas, channel sales manager, Intel Australia.
The latter relationship was not mentioned but unmistakable in their similar appearance. Nettops are the desktop equivalent of netbooks - low-power, low-performance and inexpensive computers for web browsing and sending emails.
Aesthetics was a prime consideration again as was miniaturisation, two strong factors in the Mini.
More than one nettop looked very similar to the headless, square design of the Mini.
However, there are some key differences. Intel sees nettops as the key to the five billion people in the world who don't own a computer.
The Apple products are far more expensive than the ODM products on display at the Intel conference, and in the case of the Mac Mini, much more powerful.
More than one ODM had also emulated the iMac's all-in-one design.
Some were little more than a Mini-sized unit stuck on the back of an LCD screen; others, such as a model produced by Jumper, were more integrated and looked almost identical to the Apple desktop.
QNAP, a manufacturer of NAS boxes, was displaying its recently revised, browser-based GUI which used cartoonish symbols to represent its features. "It's very cool looking, like Apple," said the QNAP spokesman.
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