It's time for the CRT iMac to die
Compare it to the new iBooks.
For $200 more, you get:
100 MHz faster processor
Double the L2 cache
Much better graphics (Radeon 7500 vs. Rage 128)
LCD Screen with same resolution
Above all, portability
The CRT iMac is probably the worst deal ever now. To make it worth $799, it would need a 15" Trinitron display, a slot loading CD-RW or Combo drive, a 700-800 MHz 750fx, double the HD size, a 16 MB Radeon varient graphics card (preferably 32 MB), and 128 MB more RAM (which costs, what, $15 these days?). The current one is worth no more than $599, more like $499. Especially when you compare it to the current PC offerings at the same price point, $799 is just a horrible deal.
In the spirit of Apple choosing to bump specs rather than cut prices (I doubt Apple will ever sell a $599 computer in the next couple years), they should just make the CRT iMac an acceptible, low cost alternative to an eMac. Something that makes it a viable alternative to someone who just wants to use a computer for basic stuff. Maybe they'll cut it out of the line when OS 9 goes away in January.
For $200 more, you get:
100 MHz faster processor
Double the L2 cache
Much better graphics (Radeon 7500 vs. Rage 128)
LCD Screen with same resolution
Above all, portability
The CRT iMac is probably the worst deal ever now. To make it worth $799, it would need a 15" Trinitron display, a slot loading CD-RW or Combo drive, a 700-800 MHz 750fx, double the HD size, a 16 MB Radeon varient graphics card (preferably 32 MB), and 128 MB more RAM (which costs, what, $15 these days?). The current one is worth no more than $599, more like $499. Especially when you compare it to the current PC offerings at the same price point, $799 is just a horrible deal.
In the spirit of Apple choosing to bump specs rather than cut prices (I doubt Apple will ever sell a $599 computer in the next couple years), they should just make the CRT iMac an acceptible, low cost alternative to an eMac. Something that makes it a viable alternative to someone who just wants to use a computer for basic stuff. Maybe they'll cut it out of the line when OS 9 goes away in January.
Comments
I know for a fact that many schools are looking to spend no more than 499-599 for a complete computer, including monitor. While this doesn't affect the creative professional faculties, it gives macs presence, you see that they're still a viable option, wares are sold... market-share and all the good things that go along with it...
Apple should price these things out at 500USD and sell a shed load of them. For that matter they ought to have a 799 eMac by now.
Serious losses in Education may not show consequence now, but they will in 5-10 years from now.
Of course, that school is having no end to the problems with their new Dells. It does make me have less sympathy for them, but it's still a shame.
<strong>Too bad, Apple is getting slaughtered in education, and those are key sales for all those cliche "mind-share" reasons. </strong><hr></blockquote>
With the newly priced iBooks at $999, I would imagine these could be further reduced for volume purchases such as the one in Maine.
Maybe not quite $500, but say $750 and the portability factor would be so much better for all students concerned.
Problem here is that I don't think moto sells G4s nearly as cheap as IBM sells G3s, so it's hard to make the eMac as cheap as the iMac. However, if we can see some of those $200 price cuts hit the eMacs soon, maybe there will be hope for them.
They definitely have to get better price and performance before the next edu buying season, with price being more important for the most part.
<strong>Maybe Apple will lower them to 200 to 300 bucks for the holiday season.
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Stocking stuffers!
Hahaha. Ant farms are so yesteryear. Get five of those little bastards all running SETI@home silently, 24 hours a day, with their monitors sleeping, and you've got yourself your own little alien-discovery server farm! <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
But Apple isn't using anywhere near the fastest G4's in the eMac and certainly not the CRT iMac.