TS reports on new imac specs

The sony VAiO mentioned is the ugliest computer I have ever seen.
Please say it's not true

Mostly as expected. But what's up with the graphics card?

Well, if this is correct, then Apple has given up on the consumer market. Unfortunately TS is usually correct.

Nice ... and EXPENSIVE.

So much for my dreams of a cheap, headless, single processor, minimally upgradeable G5. Hopefully they have something else up their sleeves for later release.

I am kinda glad I didnt wait for an iMac now and got my 1.5 Powerbook instead .. I was thinking if the iMac didnt hit with at least 2ghz then I wouldnt buy it.. looks like I guessed right. The graphics card in the rumors are a bit of a let down again.. with tiger leveraging more and more on the GPU the powerbooks ATI card and 128mb will be just a treat.

Looks like a Rev B G5 powerbook is my next purchase

Cant wait to see the pics tho, hopefully they do look a fair bit nicer than that sony which is very ickky..

The educational (GeForce4 MX) won't support Core Image.
All of the consumer models (GeForce 5200 Ultra) meet the spec for Core Image.

Differentiates from the PowerMac.
If the eMac gets a G5, even money says edu stays GF4 and consumer gets 5200 Ultra to match.

Or maybe it's all RDF and the real GPU rocks. "Way beyond the rumour sites"

Cool that the 20th Anniversary iMac will echo the design of Spartacus/"Twentieth Anniversary Mac"

Since I was one of those who never bought the headless argument or the "I want PowerMac specs at eMachines prices" ranting, the specs and prices that ThinkSecret is talking about sound about right.

I expect that they will sell as well as the last iMac did when it first came out.

More importantly, spreading the G5 to another product line (at whatever price points) is important for Apple's long-term plans.

These machines (if the specs hold true) will run Tiger nicely. Not as well as a fully-tricked-out PowerMac, of course, but not bad at all!

the thinksecret article has me confused

is the edu optical driveless model the 1300 model or an even cheaper model?

17 inch iMac
1.6Ghz G5
80GB HD
Geforce 5300 Ultra 64MB RAM
256MB RAM
airport, firewire, usb, ethernet
$1299 is not bad

problem......no superdrive. if that had a superdrive it'd be a pretty nice effort. without it, you go into the unaffordable zone since you cant BTO iMacs.


we'll have to see. i'm suspicious since I think the iMacs are a very tightly kept secret and this is a fairly early leak....but thinksecret has a great record.

little dissapointed Apple isn't being more aggressive

Look I don't care about product differentiation. NO computer over $1k should come without a DVD Burner. The memory isn't a big deal as 512MB is what $70 or less. But someone that buys a Mac over a grand should be able to burn DVDs with iDVD period. And what's with the lack of Gigabit? A freakin $120 taiwanese motherboard has gigabit now.

I'm ok with the GPU for this first generation, I'm ok with a 1.6 or 1.8Ghz G5 but for chrissakes please don't cut the Macs in areas that don't need to be cut.

agree with every word you said. that could be a first.

DVD burners are so cheap...so in desire...and so popular right now that it would be a crime for apple to not include on the low end when they have the best software for the drives.

if that had a dvd burner I'D buy one.

As Jamil has so eloquently put it: The Sony VAIO is damn ugly.

I hope that the new iMac can do as the first generations did, it made people fall in love with it.

I have an iMac450DV+ , and everyone who sees it for the first time, have to touch it. They shake their heads, with a smile and a laughter.

The iMac is not a pc, it is something more than that. We all know this, let´s hope Apple knows it too !

Zon

Hey that's cool man I'm glad it's not a PC but if I'm spending $1300 clams I want a DVD burner and something that can run Doom III a little faster than 8fps. I'll cut Apple some slack because this computer was supposed to be shipping already but Rev B needs a little juicing up in some areas.

i cant believe we're already looking towards rev b.

why can't apple just do it right the first time\

I'm not steamed because I have to wait until next spring anyways so I'll hang tight for whatever Apple has for a followup.

I will say I'm happy that Steve is back on board but I don't share the Press' irrational fear that if Steve where to somehow give it up Apple is in trouble. In ways the iMac shows what's wrong with Apple. They are still still in love with "Props over Property". Apple would trade 10,000 sales for the adjulation of the press over one of their products or at least it seems that way.

I think it is possible that the specs may change. I do find it strange that Apple has stated that that the G5 is constrained. The iMac would be the only current shipping computer with 1.6Ghz G5s and it would share the 1.8s with the lowend Powermac.

I'm sure it'll look sexy though and make me forget some of it's issues other than a DVD Burner. I just can't believe Apple would ship iLife on an iMac G5 that can't burn DVDs. My mind won't accept it.

Only the entry-level model won't have a Superdrive right? And it is still possible that it may have a Superdrive option as BTO. Why is everyone so worked up?

But now that I think of it, the iMac's graphics card makes it unable to play a lot of the new games that will be sold over the next year. So Apple should at least give it the power to edit and burn DVDs. Otherwise, you'd be paying over $1300 just to get a internet and iTunes machine.

1299 is a high entry point. the next model will surely be 1499. an even higher entry point if you want a superdrive.

apple doesnt do BTO on iMacs.

Okay, so the problem is not necessarily Apple's lineup but rather Apple's pricing. If the entry model was $999, then things would have been better.

I don't think Apple's lineup can be changed at this point but maybe they will read these posts and readjust the prices.

if that were 999 i dont think anyone would be complaining.

1299 is a pricepoint on the high end of most people buying home desktops these days. for that price you should have a dvd burner. hell you can get them for 90 bucks retail now. 8x drives

That's an intersting article.

As I've said before, Apple isn't in the business of selling computers as much as it's in the business of selling a bunch of components.

Apple have a habit of making you shell out for high mark-up components by bundling them on the back of a feature you can't live without.

With the iMac range, the main differentation is the screen size. If Apple follow their current form, they'll force you to take the huge hard disk, memory, speakers, and the whole shooting match if you want that 20" screen. You try going to the AppleStore and downgrading the memory or video card on the top of the range G5, and see how far you get.

That's why I doubt that the only difference between the two top end models is the size of the hard disk. They wouldn't sell many of the top end machines. Perhaps the 1.8GHz processor is only available in one of the 20" machines?

The other thing that got me thinking was also to do with the screen sizes. If all the gubbins are attached to the back of the screen, then that means that the 17" and 20" models would require different backs.

From a manufacturing standpoint, this doesn't make sense. It's a loss of commonality, and therefore a loss of profit margin. Surely you would manufacture a single size of "backplate", and then attach that to whichever size of screen is in demand. That would keep your options open and offer a degree of flexibility for demand.

What happens when you manufacture to many of the 17" backplates and everybody's buying the 20"? Do you strip all the parts out again and build up the 20" version. Or do you stop production of the 17"s until your surplus has disappeared?

Seems very strange to me. I guess time will tell.

Nobody has the answer to that yet. But if the past is any indication, Apple will come up with a clever way to work around that. Don't forget that Apple has Jonathan Ives.

Using currency convertor, I'm getting £713 ish with a high end price of £1209. If that included VAT and Apple's 'not in America' pricing (which I doubt) then I'd say, 'Okay.'

Add on Apple's United Kingdom tax and you've got £999?

I'd like to see it cheaper.

Unless the edu' price is circa £795.

The 'high end' model comes in at a reasonable £1200. Add Vat and the rest of the world sales tax and you've got £1595?

You've got a G5 strapped into a barebones £400 Wintel computer. An Apple 20 inch monitor and Apple's margin make up the rest.

In fact, Apple's profit in these computers is all in the monitors. Nah, knowing Apple, they've got a stiff mark up on the ancient Nvidia MX4 card. It'll do for Education. Wonder what price it will be?

So, eh, why wouldn't you go for a dual 1.8 G5? Because you like buying machines with 256 megs of ram and a feeble graphics card?

Apple seem to be stuck on the 'peach melba' moment with regard AIOs.

Hmm.

I await confirmation on UK vat inclusive prices. Initially, from a UK perspective, it seems like they have moved the prices down to the old iMac price range. That would be good.

I'm still struggling to see why you'd buy a top end iMac over a Powerbook 17 inch. Bar 3 inches? Just how much faster is the 1.8 G5 than a 1.5 G4? Erhmmmm. Hmm.

No 2 gig and Radeon 9700 at the top end? Yeesh.

I'm beginning to grumble...I'm feeling whiny all over again...

Matsu?

Lemon Bon Bon

Perhaps Phil Schiller should/is going to do the keynote ala Paris..?

(Pictures Phil on stage...sounds of crickets chirping when the feature/price spec are announced...)

Lemon Bon Bon

I only hope the Think Secret report is not accurate. Unfortunately, they have a pretty good record on such things.

I would not be surprised if the report was proved true, as I am not expecting much more from Apple in this sector. But a Geforce 5200 with 64 MB VRAM in the highest end of the line, is not fun anymore. Apparently: either Apple are trying to protect their margins by adopting methods that, eventually, would cost them much in the long term (Cube? iMac2?), or they are not anymore interested seriously in the consumer market.

And why not a 2 GHz iMac? Is it an G5-yield or decision issue? A 2 GHz G5 iMac would not harm the Power Mac line, which is now all dual and can have much stronger graphics, and other hardware, options. Really, I don't understand.

Fear not Lemon, help has arrived.

1299 and NO SUPERDRIVE!!!

1299 and a 1.6Ghz G5 which we know is only marginally better than the fastest G4.

1299 and fixed 17" screen.

1299 and no internal expansion/upgradability

1299 and an absolutely anemic 256MB of base ram

1299 and a pitiful 64MB of VRAM

1299 and a stingy 80GB HDD

Fvck, that's a seriously weak misguided new product. When is Apple going to understand that disposable computer needs a more affordable price? All they've done is create another boutique computer. They forced you to take the bundled display, and haven't offered any sort of deal on it. WHat's more they've anchored it so that you can't ever do anything about it.

There is no smilie that makes for an adequate reply to the priceland fantasy in which Jobs operates. Maybe they pulled out the last of his sense along with that tumor.

IDIOTS!

I really hope that's not true, because this things won't sell, sorry
preety much for the sme reason that the iMac 2 didn't sell, price range, yes they might be what they are worth, and you can't set up a similar PC at a lower price, but people won't buy compters at this prices this days

as for the design, it sucks, and it's not my opnion, just hear what Jobs had to say in the iMac 2 launch, about simply putting the motherboard behind the screen

anyway I hope Think Secret are wrong on this one, or this is truly bad news for Apple

I almost forgot, they may as well add that folding screen from the Sony, and take AIO concept to it's most absurd conclusion.

There aren't any families going to be buying desktops in that range after about 3 months -- or once all the die-hard mac heads order theirs.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. If true, this is terrible, and I can't imagine one person in the whole, wide world that I can recommend this box to.

Apple hasn't released this thing yet, so we shouldn't be getting ourselves into a twist, but if the news turns out to be true, Apple hasn't learned a damn thing from the past few years. Just slapping a G5 into it isn't going to make it a significantly better product than what it is currently; the other components have to be just as good.

Golden rule: The real specs are never better than those reported in advance by Think Secret.

I mean, a GeForce FX 5200 in a non-upgradeable, $1299 computer? 256MB RAM isn't enough to have OS X running, and play one modern game. It's enough for surfing, listening to music and maybe one more task - then it starts jumping and chopping. This is just sick.

Sure, you are right... however... I don't know how much you have followed Think Secret's predictions and reports, but people here have a very valid reason to worry. Think Secret has such a good reputation as a rumor site, that when they say something, it is almost a given it will be so.

I am afraid that Apple will screw it badly this time. And it will be no next big chance for Apple's anniversary year before the end of this year. Unless they plan to release something completely different and the Think Secret report is 100% out of phase.

Right on the money. Here's hoping TS got this one wrong...

Wouldn't the 1299$ price tag be for the Edu model though, the one with no optical drive, 56k modem and a GF4 MX with 32MB VRAM?

It actually wouldn't surprise me. Even worse. I seriously hope 1299 is for the non-edu model, and the edu model being $999 or something like that.
"Most overpriced computer of 2004: iMac G5 educational model."

Well, Apple ships their "Power" Macs with a crap 5200 nVidia card so its no shocker that the new iMac gets the same.

How about the 4MX in the lowend iMac.

Didn't that come out like 10 years ago?

The problem is that even the high end iMac will, allegedly, have the Geforce 5200 with 64 MB VRAM.

well, folks, here's your G5 powerbook.

Except that the G5 powerbook would have a decent graphics chip. :-)