eMac and PowerBook declared EOL

Well, I can't answer that question. I would like to point out, though, that Bidouille is far from the most reliable site on Macintosh happenings. That said, I think there's a good chance of what they're saying being true, so the first half of this year may have something for you.

But why just the eMac SuperDrive model? Are they really going to leave the Combo variant alone if this is a sign of an eMac update?

there was a time that they had an excellent track record, though.
just curious: does this mean eMac G5?

i doubt it. it means imac and mini for consumers and say bye bye to emac. Jobs hates crt's.

Yes, it also means a $999 Combo-drive 17" LCD iMac. This way you walk into the Apple store looking for a Mini, the salesman gives you time to ponder the extra costs (keyboard, mouse, display) some of the limitations (RAM, HDD, G4)

Then he points you over to the iMac section where for just a little more, you get a nice display, a new keyboard and mouse, better drive options, and this "supercomputer" fast G5...

Mm, gotta be careful with bait and switch tactics though. \ Not that the iMac won't land in this position, just that the salesperson can't be the one to force the issue.

I always wondered how that can be enforced. So long as the advertised product is available for purchase, there can't be too much harm in pointing out the merits of a more expensive product... I think bait and switch refers to smarmier practices/high pressure tactics, but really iDunno.

I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of strategy is already being communicated through Apple's own retail directors...

Whoa, I sure hope so! That would be a sweet-spot product if I ever saw one. And, as usual, Matsu, I agree totally. The PB EOL just means the speed-bumps are around the corner, no big excitement there.

The fact that one shop in France isn't getting any more stock isn't exactly conclusive of an imminent update is it? Sure, I expect a PowerBook update soon, but I don't think this info proves much if only one retail outlet is saying this.

B and S is advertising one thing (bait) to get the customer in the store and instead only having a more expensive item to sell (switch). It is advertising that men's shirts are up to 70% off. Yet on arrival, the customer only finds 10% off tags. It is the car dealer that advertises that they are offering the 05' Explorer for $17,000. But when you arrive to buy one, they have just sold out of the special deal Explorer's but offer you the same vehicle at $25,000. It is the airline that offers the $99 round trip fair but fails to mention that price was only for one seat on the plane. Your fair will actually be $399. Get the idea?

The Mm does not come anywhere near this category because it is not presented as a complete system. It is a "BYODKM". B and S would only become a problem if Apple started advertising that their stores carried complete systems starting a $499 then steering customers to the e/iMac.

It's not just the reported EOL that is making people expect an update.

Powerbooks simply aren't shipping at the moment - even at the US Apple Online Store, try and stick so much as an extra 256mb of RAM in one and it will only ship in 7-10 days.

In other Apple online stores, Powerbooks won't ship at all without a delay.

Apple are only willing to sell you a PB in the US if they can get it out the door same-day.

An update does appear rather imminent ...

Gott I hope so! I needed a PB yesterday.

Please Apple: PB with better screen res and a faster FSB!!!

This really stinks, if this is the end of the eMac line. I'm not a LCD fan (I don't like paying more for a screen I don't need, just because it looks neat). I was looking forward to a G5 eMac, as it seemed the best price/performance model offered by Apple. I'm very dissapointed if it doesn't come back, I liked the design, and some improved specs would have sealed the deal for me. Now I don't know if or how I'll make the switch to Macs for the next school year. The iMacs costs to much for me, and I don't like the design. Oh well, maybe I'll make enough cash to buy a Powerbook, but still, this is a major bummer for me.

I still think this is more then a little bump (rev d.) I am hoping they have stuck the freescale 7448 in it and have redesigned the whole line. However, logic would tell me that they would have came out with that at Macworld last week if that was the case. It sure is disappointing. Sure it's a fine machine if you want to by the current version, but it's dated and due for upgrade...frustrating. I'm in limbo because I need one but can survive with my 867 tiBook. I am just longing for a superdrive, usb 1.1, 802.11g, and faster memory. Bring on the Dual Core and call it a G5 so we will all be happy...

Can anyone offer any info on the 7448? All i know is that the 7448 is supposed to have a 200mhz bus. Any freescale documents on it?

okay so I did some research... the 7448 is supposed to have a 1MB L2 cache and be manufactured at the 90µ process as well as have a 200mhz bus. The question is whether it's possible freescale could be able to ship them to apple so soon. I mean it is first quarter but seems too soon. Any word from freescale?

Swedish Apple store now has a 9-11 day shipping satus on all standard powerbooks. New PB's are coming real soon

Viktor

Nothing more than what was already known: sampling 1H-05 and production 2H-05 for the 7448; and sampling 2H-05 and production 1H-06 for the 8641 and 8641D. It is still too early it seems. That's why Freescale produced this marginally faster 7447B.

New PowerBooks will likely come on or after February 1st.

From what I heard only the superdrive model emac has been eol'ed. My guess is it will recieve a faster g4 or maybe, but very unlikey, a g5. Then the current models will just slide down the heap. No idea when this will happen.

Just as I wean myself off the market this year. But that'd be hard to do so early in this iMac's existence, wouldn't it? Maybe $1,049 or $1,099 instead, but any of the three prices would be a welcome addition to the line.

I find it highly probably that i just couldn't find these dates in the document, but LOL nevertheless I couldn't find the dates you mentioned. I also see no mention of the 7447B in these documents. A google search doesn't seem to pull up a single listing under a freescale domain name that has anything to do with the 7447B. How did the rumors regarding the B first start anyway?

A 999 iMac was already possible at the time of launch, but given that refurbs and edu only driveless verisons currently selll for 1099, I'm pretty sure it's possible to ad a $15 combo drive, and still sell for 1099. MAXIMUM.

Sorry for that. Page 41.


I did not mean that the 7447B appears in the same document. The 7447A/B are here. It is official and not a rumor. And there is no other option right now for Apple.

OK, so here is what I think will happen with the Powerbooks.

(1) End of this month or next month: 7447B at 1.67 GHz max. (and quite probably the old and tried 167 MHz bus).

(2) End of summer 2005 -- beginning of autumn 2005: 7448 at 1.8-2 GHz max., on the improved 200 MHz bus.

(3) Winter -- spring 2006: dual-core 8641D (at least for the 15" and 17" models) with all its goodies. This will keep the competition alive when Intel will go at the same time dual-core with the Dothans.

Surely this is just a speedbump using the same processors. Apple needs the eMac for the education market and without being able to supply an affordable screen for the Mac Mini they would lose money axing the eMac line. The eMac might not suit the needs of everyone, remember that it was designed for the education market not a consumer one. Apple can't get enough G5's to build their machines, the last thing they need to do is to release another machine requiring one. The Powerbook is also a speedbump away from a G5, if they actually get one to work at all. New versions of the eMac aren't going to be spectacular, if it was and we were going to see a G5, we'd have seen it at Mac Expo two weeks back.

MiniMac is aimed right at the education market in my view, plus it would be easy to group and secure all of them so you no longer would have any theft.The emac might have been a harder sale to those schools with Pcs and just fine monitors. This has hurt apple for years forcing the monitor on consumers with no upgrade path. Emac is on the way out im pretty sure and i wouldnt expect a G5 model. Now apple has been known to let a old model linger on and on. low end imac can fill that void soon.

Only if there's a price reduction. At $1299, I don't see many people buying them instead of the eMac.

True but i see many mini's being sold and i do see base imacs price dropping by say summertime.

If Matsu and Aurora's comments prove true, that'd be a boon to Apple's efforts in the field, needless to say. An attractive, reasonably powerful-for-the-task computer at the sweet spot of $999 or $1,099? From Apple? It seems almost too good to be true, or it seems like Steve Jobs is smoking the same brand as the Macheads.

But seriously, this company finally changed its stance on a low-cost computer after several years of looking like a boutique maker. This year also marks the introduction of a flash-based DAP, when the highest leaders in the company used to critique and bash flash players. When it had to, Apple even crippled a PowerMac G5 to fill some sort of gap, although that looks unsuccessful. All three of these recent moves make a price drop on the iMac G5 more likely in my mind.

(Hopefully, Apple doesn't do anything to make a $999 iMac less useful, like crippling its capabilities somewhere or leaving the keyboard out.)

How quickly people forget the way the CRT iMacs were priced. The line was updated regularly, and the cost of entry dropped steadily over time.

If they simultaneously bump the iMac and shave a little off the price, they'll just be doing what they used to do with iMacs, and what they've been doing (albeit at a more gradual rate) with PowerBooks and Cinema Displays. Even the top-end PowerMac is less expensive than its predecessors.


Steve went right on critiquing and bashing flash players when he introduced the iPod shuffle. Marketing 101: You identify a problem, then offer a solution.


They didn't with the CRT iMac.

I would hazard a guess that is going to EOL the emac for good or make it for education only. The emac really doesn't fit in their lineup.

Let me restate this. Only the Superdrive emacs have been eol'ed not the whole line. This would lead me to believe that apple will keep them around at least for one more update cycle. See my post above.

People seem to be saying the PowerBook must be due for an update because the delivery times at AppleStores are so long, but the same isn't true for the eMac - both models are same-day delivery on AppleStore USA.

I would love to see an update to the eMac, but I wonder if this means it's not the case?

I wouldn't panic, even if you had your heart set on an eMac. Look at the alternatives:

First, a brand-new iBookG4 can be had for only $949 EDU, complete with Airport card and Combo drive. It's essentially the same computer as the eMac, stuffed into a 12" laptop, with out-of-the-box WiFi - for only $200 more.

Second, you can outfit a $479 EDU Mini with an inexpensive, high-quality CRT from...well, anyone. $150 for a fabulous 17" CRT, add $60 for an Apple KB & mouse, and you've spent $100 less than you would've on the eMac. Use your own KB & mouse and save even more.

OTOH, if you had your heart set on an $800 G5, it just doesn't seem probable that it would happen yet. Apple tends to introduce new chips incrementally (remember how long it took the G4 to get into iBooks and eMacs?), and they aren't likely to go from $1300 G5's to $800 in one swell foop, swell as it might be. The economics likely just aren't there yet. Besides which, as cool as the G5 is, the MHz vs. MHz advantage over the G4 isn't that substantial, and may even be negative, as has often been discussed in the PBG5 threads. A 1.2GHz G4 is nothing to sneeze at, and I think it's incredible that in just two years it's gone from the top of the PowerMac line to spread throughout the low end in so many variations, at such low prices. And if they do drop the eMac, it will likely be because they've dropped the iMacG5 to $999 ($949 EDU). That would be one awesome set of low-end options to have - the $949 iMacG5, the $949 iBook, or the $700ish Mini bundle.

I think that the superdrive eMacs are gone for good. Schools do not need superdrive equipped eMacs and most consumers will go for the mini or the iMac if they need DVD-burning capability.

But I do think that the eMacs will be updated soon...although it might become an education-only model again.

Kill the eMac. It's a shit box with a shitty CRT. For chist sake there isn't a market for these machines anmore.

Viktor

As much as the eMac is a piece of bloated retro-tech, since Apple CAN and DOES sell it to edu buyers at VERY substantial bulk discount (think Mac mini prices) it will probably return to edu-only status rather than be retired outright.

Well OK, there might be a current market for them at the moment, but it's fading really quickly. Soon enough even edu costumers wont even think of buing something wiht a CRT. It's dated and i think that Apple might as well have a edu imac instead, witch they could sell for the price of a eMac (well maby just over). Just stick a lower quality Lcd, 40 Gb harddrive, and have optical units as option.

Apple's edu customers balked at the iMac because of the LCD.

Poke your finger hard into an LCD. Poke it hard into a CRT. Note the difference. Imagine a child poking the screen with a sharpened pencil.

Imagine what a child could do to an iMac with a good grip, or an attempt at climbing it. Now imagine what a child could do to an eMac.

That, in a nutshell, is the appeal of the eMac. The CRT and the bulk are features in this market. A cheap LCD would not be much of an improvement over the CRT display-wise (cheap LCDs are, in my experience, the worst for eyestrain), and it would be much more vulnerable.

(Yes, you could put thick glass over the LCD, but glass has this habit of bending light...)

But it would all bend the same direction, so I don't think there would be any notice to it. But you have a definite point of kids climbing it. A child could get pissed and throw that iMac a lot easier than an eMac. It's something to consider.