eMac and PowerBook declared EOL

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  • Reply 21 of 315
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Republic

    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.



    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.
  • Reply 22 of 315
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Algol

    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.





    Sorry for that. Page 41.



    Quote:



    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?




    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.
  • Reply 23 of 315
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    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.
  • Reply 24 of 315
    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.
  • Reply 25 of 315
    auroraaurora Posts: 1,142member
    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.
  • Reply 26 of 315
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aurora

    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.
  • Reply 27 of 315
    auroraaurora Posts: 1,142member
    True but i see many mini's being sold and i do see base imacs price dropping by say summertime.
  • Reply 28 of 315
    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.)
  • Reply 29 of 315
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Republic

    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.



    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.



    Quote:

    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.



    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.



    Quote:

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



    They didn't with the CRT iMac.
  • Reply 30 of 315
    algolalgol Posts: 833member
    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.
  • Reply 31 of 315
    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.
  • Reply 32 of 315
    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?
  • Reply 33 of 315
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Alcibiades

    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 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.
  • Reply 34 of 315
    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.
  • Reply 35 of 315
    farvefarve Posts: 69member
    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
  • Reply 36 of 315
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    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.
  • Reply 37 of 315
    farvefarve Posts: 69member
    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.
  • Reply 38 of 315
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by farve

    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...)
  • Reply 39 of 315
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member
    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.
  • Reply 40 of 315
    farvefarve Posts: 69member
    Wall mount the iMac and that stupid kid wouldn't able to shit with it and some form of protectice case. Good point though havn't thought of that durabilaty. Maby an new more stable stand woul be reqired for the iMac when it in public spaces.

    Acually I wouldn't mind a product that has durabilaty as it main function, but then the design should clearly signal this



    Viktor
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