Apple can still make money on a basic desktop, like the iMac, that sells for under $1,000. And it must have such models to remain competitive in a soft consumer market that has been flooded with stripped-down PCs that sell for less than $900 from Dell, Compaq, and Gateway.
Given Apple's goal of keeping the iMac in the $1,000 range, flat screens and 1-gig chips had been just too expensive. The company rightly decided it would be a bigger mistake to raise prices than to have the iMac just slightly outdated. In the past six months, however, component prices have plunged, and Apple engineers have been emboldened to try to gain a new advantage.
The Cube was a very high profile failure for Apple. I dont think they intend to repeat this performance.
An $1800 iMac would move the machine into a different category of computers than it occupies now. And I dont think the LCD would justify the $300 price jump for the top of the line.
I have no idea what they will do, but it just seems that some of you are discounting the experience of the the 'Cube Fiasco'
So far, noone has said they'd buy an $1800 iMac. Im pretty sure this impromptu survey is fairly representative of the general public.
Lets hope Apple has learned more about market research since the Cube.
Who in his right mind would buy an $1800! imac?? Gateway has a profile all in one 3cx 15" lcd pc that dosen't sell! What is wrong with Jobs? I see cube all over again!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
Mmmm, never heard that one before. Go back to the last several MacWorlds and count the number of people who said:
"If we don't see LCD iMacs with G4 by July 2001, Apple will go bankrupt within three months!!?!"
or
"If Apple can't put 226mhz bus & ram speed in their Powermacs by next Macworld, they're doomed!!"
Somehow, all these hysterical proclamations have failed, as yet, to accurately predict the end of Apple. And somehow, I think even if Apple releases NOTHING but a purple iPod and LCD iMacs next week, they'll still be in business when the next MacWorld rolls around and people make the same hysterical proclamations.</strong><hr></blockquote>Yo! Who the heck want's a G4 imac? The G4 is overrated junk! Right now AMD and INTEL can blow the doors off any mac! Macs are soooo sloooow! Apple is pathetic!
<strong>Yo! Who the heck want's a G4 imac? The G4 is overrated junk! Right now AMD and INTEL can blow the doors off any mac! Macs are soooo sloooow! Apple is pathetic!
It really doesn't matter what Apple's new product(s) will be if, their Marketing remains as bad as it has been.
Yes, Apple just opened a brand new store in Buffalo, NY but, they have been discontinued at Sears. That's about 5 stores in this area.
So, that 5 less places one of the companies, I own stock in, will be selling their products. Oh, Joy!
George Eastman had a great idea when he Marketed the Brownie camera... He gave it away at a very low cost because, he knew, he would make a profit later.
In the Marketplace Apple's have always been overpriced for, the most part. This company is being undercut on prices and, outsold in product. Now, even their Educational line of products is endangered by overpricing. Apple left the door open to have Dell walk right in and start grabbing Marketshares.
So, lets say Apple comes out with a new iMac G4 Superdrive 1.5Ghz but, they price it at $3499.00 they will make a profit per unit but, will not sell many units.
I think the time has come for Apple to "Really" cut prices not by a mere $100.00 per unit. If Apple's continues to price themselfs out of the Market, they will make a profit per unit but, won't sell too many of them....Joe
P.S. This ol' 300mhz G3 Tangerine i-Book works just fine, thank you.
Why is that such an outrageous spec for the price?? Wintels offer more for under $1000. <hr></blockquote>
Because this is APPLE we are talking about. They like to pad their bottom line.
[quote]I think even $1300 is too much for the Cube. After all, it has no expansion capability, even the video card is non-standard. It is essentially an iMac without a monitor. So take the price of an iMac, $1200, subtract $200 for the display, and we have a $999 Cube.
I say the Cube should cost $1200, and it should have a 1 GHz G4, 266 MHz bus or faster, ddr ram, and add a few USB and Firewire ports to the front or top so they are easily accessable. <hr></blockquote>
Wasn't there a whole huge thread about the return of the cube?
It would be nice, but Apple probably wont doit anytime soon.
[quote]Then bundle the cube with Apple LCD displays, and knock off $100 from the display, so you can buy a GHz Cube + 17" display for about $2000. I bet Apple would have trouble keeping those suckers in stock.<hr></blockquote>
They would have trouble keepiong them on the shelves. But it wouldn't happen because Apple likes to make people may extra for their stuff.
The way you put it, it seems as if Apple could find the desktop equivalent of the price/performance/value of the iBook with these specs (well maybe not with DDR).
The main reason why I felt it was to funny was because:
1. Apple would never do it.
2. Having such a high-end gfx card (which you seemed to omit) would need a retool of both the card and the cube which are both not cheap to do.
3. DDR in the cube would mean more R&D which costs $. And since you want such low margins (by apple's standards) that will not happen.
So think 1GHz G4 133 bus and GeForce 2MX, to be reasonable. But still Apple will not reintroduce the cube.
1. I'd rather there be an Apple Store in the mall that everyone passes as they head to Sears that takes real advantage of the Apple brand, and actually helps people make decisions about buying a Mac than 5 Sears stores that neglect the Mac section and have idoit salespeople that say "hmm... mac... idunno, look at this Dell though."
2. Apple will NEVER compete on price. They never should. Apple's are not a commodity like PCs are. Just because of sheer difference in volume Apple could not compete on price... though the iMac comes damn close.
They don't need to compete on price because the product itself is a premium. A premium product for a premium price. IS BMW a failure because they don't have a $15,000.00 car?
no G5s, not even a confirmed GHz G4? Come on, it must be a leak to lower expectations.
Apple planting leaks to lower expectations? It doesn't make any sense, as everything Apple's doing (publicly, that is) right now is about raising peoples' expectations.
Somehow, all these hysterical proclamations have failed, as yet, to accurately predict the end of
Apple. And somehow, I think even if Apple releases NOTHING but a purple iPod and LCD iMacs next week, they'll still be in business when the next MacWorld rolls around and people make the same hysterical proclamations.
I've been a in a number of stores that sell Macs and PCs lately, including 2 of the bigger Apple retail outlets in NYC. There was very little sales activity, and not too many browsers, either, in the Mac sections. At J & R, the pc section was hoppping, and the new Apple area, although quite nice looking, was pretty dead. (Being relegated to the 4th floor can't help.) There was one customer at Comp USA's Mac store, but lots of PC activity, no one at Datavision (although in this case the entire store seemed dead, but it was just about closing time, too), little activity at circuit city and none at the Wiz.
Apple's retail exposure is lousy; in all of these stores Apple feels like an afterthought. It's treated like a second rate platform, with few peripherals and software titles offered. Apple needs to attract Joe blow consumer, and in this economy, price, variety and value are what matters. Unfortunately, the Mac platform comes up short in all three.
It's understandable for Apple fans to frett after hearings specs like those in this thread. We're all tired of feeling like second class pc'ers. We want Apple to succeed, and the latest info isn't very encouraging.
Steve Jobs has taken leave of his senses! How the heck can he sell a 867mhz computer for $2400! a duel 800mhz for $3000! Both these machines are slow junk! Now he expects people to buy a $1800 i mac? Is he kidding or what! How stupid does he think mac people are? With his outrages prices the only people that can afford his computers are the liberal hollywood elite!!!!!!!!! He's been out in that California sun way too long!!!!! And just wait till you see the prices of whatever machines he comes out with this monday!!! And another thing! Does anyone really believe that MHZ dosen't count balony he puts out?????
Nah, you shot yourself in the foot. An iMac with LCD display, G4 and Superdrive would rock at $1800. It would be the top of the line iMac model in any event. Its a far better value than a PowerBook G4 aside from portability. I would sell my PowerBook G4 in a heartbeat if they came out with that. What is this sleep you speak of?
Anybody know how much super drives go for by themselves now days? Last I heard ( and admitably this was about a year ago ) they went for $900.00. That leaves $900.00 for the imac and the screen doesn't sound that bad to me. However when you are buying these things you get to a point that you wonder why didn't I just spend a little bit more and get a tower instead?
Comments
Apple can still make money on a basic desktop, like the iMac, that sells for under $1,000. And it must have such models to remain competitive in a soft consumer market that has been flooded with stripped-down PCs that sell for less than $900 from Dell, Compaq, and Gateway.
Given Apple's goal of keeping the iMac in the $1,000 range, flat screens and 1-gig chips had been just too expensive. The company rightly decided it would be a bigger mistake to raise prices than to have the iMac just slightly outdated. In the past six months, however, component prices have plunged, and Apple engineers have been emboldened to try to gain a new advantage.
<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2002/nf2002013_4857.htm"; target="_blank">http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2002/nf2002013_4857.htm</a>;
_________________________________
thinking $1800 is too much except as a SE with everything....there will be much cheaper models...g
[ 01-03-2002: Message edited by: thegelding ]</p>
An $1800 iMac would move the machine into a different category of computers than it occupies now. And I dont think the LCD would justify the $300 price jump for the top of the line.
I have no idea what they will do, but it just seems that some of you are discounting the experience of the the 'Cube Fiasco'
So far, noone has said they'd buy an $1800 iMac. Im pretty sure this impromptu survey is fairly representative of the general public.
Lets hope Apple has learned more about market research since the Cube.
If I am thoroughly underwhelmed by the new product, line this is what I'm going to do:
Get a used cube.
Get a Mac Radeon 8500 (available at MWSF)
Get a Sonnet Dual 500MHz G4 card.
And do this all for 1800 dollars.
<strong>
Mmmm, never heard that one before. Go back to the last several MacWorlds and count the number of people who said:
"If we don't see LCD iMacs with G4 by July 2001, Apple will go bankrupt within three months!!?!"
or
"If Apple can't put 226mhz bus & ram speed in their Powermacs by next Macworld, they're doomed!!"
Somehow, all these hysterical proclamations have failed, as yet, to accurately predict the end of Apple. And somehow, I think even if Apple releases NOTHING but a purple iPod and LCD iMacs next week, they'll still be in business when the next MacWorld rolls around and people make the same hysterical proclamations.</strong><hr></blockquote>Yo! Who the heck want's a G4 imac? The G4 is overrated junk! Right now AMD and INTEL can blow the doors off any mac! Macs are soooo sloooow! Apple is pathetic!
<img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
<strong>
G3's suck. I would only buy a G3 in a portable. Anything else and you're running on 3 year old tired technology.</strong><hr></blockquote>
You got that right!!!!
<strong>sorry but no machine that has a fixed display size and has no other upgrade paths than RAM is worth 1800 dollars.
anyone saying it is is insane.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Then your insane because you bought a PowerBook G4 and for a lot more money too.
<strong>
You got that right!!!!</strong><hr></blockquote>
technology snobs... gotta love 'em. oh wait. no i don't. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
<strong>
Then your insane because you bought a PowerBook G4 and for a lot more money too.</strong><hr></blockquote>
BURN!!!!! hahahahahahaha! nice one...
<strong>Yo! Who the heck want's a G4 imac? The G4 is overrated junk! Right now AMD and INTEL can blow the doors off any mac! Macs are soooo sloooow! Apple is pathetic!
<img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
Right on! These G4s are pathetic. My 100kHz ENIAC destroys these feeble attempts at engineering. MHz myth? try kHz myth.
Yes, Apple just opened a brand new store in Buffalo, NY but, they have been discontinued at Sears. That's about 5 stores in this area.
So, that 5 less places one of the companies, I own stock in, will be selling their products. Oh, Joy!
George Eastman had a great idea when he Marketed the Brownie camera... He gave it away at a very low cost because, he knew, he would make a profit later.
In the Marketplace Apple's have always been overpriced for, the most part. This company is being undercut on prices and, outsold in product. Now, even their Educational line of products is endangered by overpricing. Apple left the door open to have Dell walk right in and start grabbing Marketshares.
So, lets say Apple comes out with a new iMac G4 Superdrive 1.5Ghz but, they price it at $3499.00 they will make a profit per unit but, will not sell many units.
I think the time has come for Apple to "Really" cut prices not by a mere $100.00 per unit. If Apple's continues to price themselfs out of the Market, they will make a profit per unit but, won't sell too many of them....Joe
P.S. This ol' 300mhz G3 Tangerine i-Book works just fine, thank you.
Why is that such an outrageous spec for the price?? Wintels offer more for under $1000. <hr></blockquote>
Because this is APPLE we are talking about. They like to pad their bottom line.
[quote]I think even $1300 is too much for the Cube. After all, it has no expansion capability, even the video card is non-standard. It is essentially an iMac without a monitor. So take the price of an iMac, $1200, subtract $200 for the display, and we have a $999 Cube.
I say the Cube should cost $1200, and it should have a 1 GHz G4, 266 MHz bus or faster, ddr ram, and add a few USB and Firewire ports to the front or top so they are easily accessable. <hr></blockquote>
Wasn't there a whole huge thread about the return of the cube?
It would be nice, but Apple probably wont doit anytime soon.
[quote]Then bundle the cube with Apple LCD displays, and knock off $100 from the display, so you can buy a GHz Cube + 17" display for about $2000. I bet Apple would have trouble keeping those suckers in stock.<hr></blockquote>
They would have trouble keepiong them on the shelves. But it wouldn't happen because Apple likes to make people may extra for their stuff.
The way you put it, it seems as if Apple could find the desktop equivalent of the price/performance/value of the iBook with these specs (well maybe not with DDR).
The main reason why I felt it was to funny was because:
1. Apple would never do it.
2. Having such a high-end gfx card (which you seemed to omit) would need a retool of both the card and the cube which are both not cheap to do.
3. DDR in the cube would mean more R&D which costs $. And since you want such low margins (by apple's standards) that will not happen.
So think 1GHz G4 133 bus and GeForce 2MX, to be reasonable. But still Apple will not reintroduce the cube.
-Paul
1. I'd rather there be an Apple Store in the mall that everyone passes as they head to Sears that takes real advantage of the Apple brand, and actually helps people make decisions about buying a Mac than 5 Sears stores that neglect the Mac section and have idoit salespeople that say "hmm... mac... idunno, look at this Dell though."
2. Apple will NEVER compete on price. They never should. Apple's are not a commodity like PCs are. Just because of sheer difference in volume Apple could not compete on price... though the iMac comes damn close.
They don't need to compete on price because the product itself is a premium. A premium product for a premium price. IS BMW a failure because they don't have a $15,000.00 car?
Fun.
NeilyB
Apple planting leaks to lower expectations? It doesn't make any sense, as everything Apple's doing (publicly, that is) right now is about raising peoples' expectations.
Somehow, all these hysterical proclamations have failed, as yet, to accurately predict the end of
Apple. And somehow, I think even if Apple releases NOTHING but a purple iPod and LCD iMacs next week, they'll still be in business when the next MacWorld rolls around and people make the same hysterical proclamations.
I've been a in a number of stores that sell Macs and PCs lately, including 2 of the bigger Apple retail outlets in NYC. There was very little sales activity, and not too many browsers, either, in the Mac sections. At J & R, the pc section was hoppping, and the new Apple area, although quite nice looking, was pretty dead. (Being relegated to the 4th floor can't help.) There was one customer at Comp USA's Mac store, but lots of PC activity, no one at Datavision (although in this case the entire store seemed dead, but it was just about closing time, too), little activity at circuit city and none at the Wiz.
Apple's retail exposure is lousy; in all of these stores Apple feels like an afterthought. It's treated like a second rate platform, with few peripherals and software titles offered. Apple needs to attract Joe blow consumer, and in this economy, price, variety and value are what matters. Unfortunately, the Mac platform comes up short in all three.
It's understandable for Apple fans to frett after hearings specs like those in this thread. We're all tired of feeling like second class pc'ers. We want Apple to succeed, and the latest info isn't very encouraging.
<strong>
Then your insane because you bought a PowerBook G4 and for a lot more money too.</strong><hr></blockquote>
stop patting yourself on the back. you know damn well I was reffering to desktop macs and the supposed 1800 dollar imac.
go back to sleep
edit: reallyreally screwed up text
[ 01-03-2002: Message edited by: applenut ]</p>
[ 01-03-2002: Message edited by: rbald ]</p>
<strong>
stop patting yourself on the back. you know damn well I was reffering to desktop macs and the supposed 1800 dollar imac.
go back to sleep
[ 01-03-2002: Message edited by: applenut ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Nah, you shot yourself in the foot. An iMac with LCD display, G4 and Superdrive would rock at $1800. It would be the top of the line iMac model in any event. Its a far better value than a PowerBook G4 aside from portability. I would sell my PowerBook G4 in a heartbeat if they came out with that. What is this sleep you speak of?