EMachines to stop selling eOne to settle Apple lawsuit

IRVINE, Calif. - EMachines, the computer seller that caused the industry to slash prices by offering low-cost PCs, said that it has agreed to stop selling its eOne computer to settle a lawsuit by Apple Computer.

The settlement, which was finalized Feb. 4, contains no admission of fault by eMachines. But the company agreed to stop manufacturing and selling the current model of the eOne by March 31.

Apple, a pioneer in the PC industry, started the litigation in August, claiming that eMachines had copied the design for its best-selling iMac computer with the eOne.

The eOne featured a translucent blue casing like the iMac, but did not use the Apple operating system.

In September, a Tokyo court prohibited eMachines' Japanese distributor from selling the eOne, ruling that it had many features in common with the iMac.

However, the agreement does not apply to the redesigned eOne that the company plans to release.

"It may just be something as simple as a color change," eMachines spokeswoman Pattie Adams said of the planned redesign.