Either make the iMac easy to service again, or have Steve Jobs do all iMac repairs by himself. Hardware designers and salespeople have no idea of the amount of work that technicians have to do every day. Computer salesmen are no better than used car salesmen. They just want to collect the customer's money and if there are any issues afterwards, just dump it on the technicians.
It will probably take even more money from the true geeks as many will have gone in expecting the iPod deal but will be so taken with the new machine that they must have it and will probably buy the iPod also and at full price.
Are you calling me names??? (I did exactly this last year-- in my defense I bought a refurbished iPod with it...)
Seriously, though there's an element of truth in this problem with the timing. I was pretty angry they did that last year with the iPod promotion, which basically amounted to them stopping the promotion before its stated expiration date (they took the banners off of the front page and everything when the new iMac came out even though the deal hadn't expired). Would they really do the same thing more than 1 month before the end of the promotion?
What would make sense to me is to do a minor spec bump now to get the iMac matching the MB Pros (ALREADY!!!, for chrissakes), and then the big design overhaul when Leopard is released. This doesn't seem to be what AI's sources are saying tho'.
Personally, I'm gonna wait for the last day of the free printer promotion and if there's not a new iMac by then, I'm just gonna order the old one (for a friend who's a switcher...). Then again, last year they extended the printer promo until the end of the summer, I'm not sure why/?
Either make the iMac easy to service again, or have Steve Jobs do all iMac repairs by himself.
Steve Jobs doesn't design the innards, he is maybe involved with laying down the size and form factor requirements, but he can't be blamed for what the engineering team manages to squeeze into that form factor.
Friends, This update time frame makes no sense. Apple has a back to school deal going on right now. Buy a Mac get an iPod. They are set with all their products until that Promo is just about over. I bought a Core 2 duo upgraded model last September. It was in stores and overlapped the announcement by about a week and was not eligible for the iPod. I don't think they will release a new one now and anger every one by making the nano offer only good on old models. September 16th is the last day of the rebate, Look for your announcement on Sept. 4th and in stores by the 10th This way it will garner some last minute back to school sales for the discerning shopper and not take away from the bargain hunters who also want an ipod. It will probably take even more money from the true geeks as many will have gone in expecting the iPod deal but will be so taken with the new machine that they must have it and will probably buy the iPod also and at full price.
You're right about last year. However there are a couple of differences between now and then that make the current situation different. For one thing, in September of 2006, they had introduced updated iMacs 8 months previously in January. Now it's already been 9 months since the last update, and by September, it'll be nearly a year - which would really be egregious.
But the other dissimilarity with last year is the nature of the Back-to-school promo. Outwardly they're the same, but if you look at the wording, in last year's promo, computer model and part numbers were specified, so that when they introduced that new iMac, it was not part of the deal. This time around though, there is no mention in the BTS promo about Macintosh part numbers, only iPod part numbers. Here's the important part of the text: "This offer is available only on purchases of new products. All Macintosh computers and the Configure-to-order versions of these products are eligible, except for Mac
mini." Therefore any iMac updates made before the end of the promo will still be inside the program.
Now doesn't that make you feel a whole lot better? Probably not: you already have your (year-old) iMac. I, however, am still using a 7 year old dual 450Mhz G4 tower and I say "bring it on!"
in last year's promo, computer model and part numbers were specified, so that when they introduced that new iMac, it was not part of the deal. This time around though, there is no mention in the BTS promo about Macintosh part numbers, only iPod part numbers.
Was this the case from the beginning of last year's promo, or did they change it when the new iMacs were released? I was under the impression that upon releasing the new iMacs last year they changed the refund form to only include specific models where previously it was general... .I could be wrong. In fact, I was thinking of printing out the rebate form now, so that if they change it later I'd have a copy of the old one to send in that doesn't specify model numbers.
If this is in fact a difference between last year's promo and this year's, then yes, it does make me feel quite a bit happier.
Why are you so obsessed with this? I've read your other posts, and sadly there is not one polite word in any of them. All mean hearted. What is your problem?
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
Yeah, I second your opinion. The G4's were sexy as hell as opposed to the early G5 brick. The sculpted intel iMac is an improvement: they could make it sexy if they made the chin a little less pronounced (I don't want to start a chin thread here!).
But I'd be happy already if they introduce the click wheel in the remote.
Whilst they are making those changes they can design a mouse that fits in an adult's hand with a scroll device that doesn't stop after the first spec of dust hits it and how about putting a card reader and USB2.0 hub in the back of the keyboard. Don't worry Apple purists you'll not be able to see those ugly slots unless you need to use them.
--------
2.5" HDD would kill the iMac.
500GB @ 3.5" = $120
250GB @ 2.5" = $280 x 2 = $560
Ditto on a 2.5" HD really cramping iMac sales.
For some of us, the iMac is our workhorse machine - so having the responsiveness of 3.5" HD is really a significant factor over the slower, smaller and more expensive 2.5 HD. Not to mention that most 2.5 HD I have used seem to constantly retract head and spin down quickly, further slowing response time (though, maybe that can be adjusted).
If 2.5" HD had same speed, data transfer, responsiveness and 'close-enough' cost, then fine. Currently, they don't (to my knowledge). So I'm hoping that responsiveness and usability trumps 'thin for thin's sake'.
does anybody remembers the transparent screen iMac design someone posted here? it was AMAZING! i wish that would come true one day...
also with blue tooth sound system and wireless power supply.
i HATE cables.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iJay
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
I'm totally with you on the G4 iMac design. 20" floating LCD - Ive's work at it's best.. but wireless power supply??? don't the laws of physics preclude such a beast. Short of a massive induction field it's not possible.
Friends, This update time frame makes no sense. Apple has a back to school deal going on right now. Buy a Mac get an iPod. They are set with all their products until that Promo is just about over. ... September 16th is the last day of the rebate, Look for your announcement on Sept. 4th and in stores by the 10th This way it will garner some last minute back to school sales for the discerning shopper and not take away from the bargain hunters who also want an ipod. ...
I agree on the timing vis-a-vis Apple's historical special offers, which have frequently been for a few months on the previous generation machine before a new model introduction.
If they do release 'the new' iMac only a month or two before Leopard, I would hope and expect them to have the decency (IMO) to include Leopard upgrade coupon in the package. Though the poster who suggested a minor iMac refresh speed bump at end of summer, so that later redesigned iMacs would come October with Leopard installed may be onto something.
Lastly, it sometimes seems to me that Apple's marketing is losing something on the (a) Education institutional purchase track and (b) consumer low end, circa $1000 (or sub) computer buyer.
As another poster indicated, to really capture major education purchases, you have to have your machines pretty well spec'ed and set way earlier than the August/September back-to-school time frame that individuals think of for school year. A lot of time required for RFQs, purchase process, approvals, setup, etc.
And if they go through with dropping the 17" iMac -- their only all-in-one that fits the $1000 and sub low-end range -- and the Mac mini, as some rumor posts suggest, they will be losing a lot of potential customers from the Mac fold.
(as always, these are my opinions, and i encourage you all to register your considered opinions and wishes with Apple Feedback (and store staff) as I do. As I believe that Apple probably doesn't read the forums for their design and marketing direction -- but, I could be wrong!).
Was this the case from the beginning of last year's promo, or did they change it when the new iMacs were released? I was under the impression that upon releasing the new iMacs last year they changed the refund form to only include specific models where previously it was general... .I could be wrong. In fact, I was thinking of printing out the rebate form now, so that if they change it later I'd have a copy of the old one to send in that doesn't specify model numbers.
If this is in fact a difference between last year's promo and this year's, then yes, it does make me feel quite a bit happier.
I'm pretty sure the promo last year didn't change after they released the new iMacs. I was paying pretty close attention at the time: The new one just wasn't one of the specified model numbers. The reason people were surprised was because they didn't expect a new iMac to appear during the promo period.
I myself was all set to buy an iMac and get the free iPod. But then they updated the iMac and the replacement didn't qualify. And at that point I couldn't justify buying old stock of the previous model - I wanted the new one! But then I thought since I wasn't getting the iPod anyway, that I could get along without a new computer till they released Leopard/iWork07/iLife07 - probably by March or April. Well, I think we all know how that turned out.
Anyway, if anyone's worried about the promo not covering a potential new iMac released in July or August this year, keep a copy of the promo on your hard drive. Apple can't exactly renege, and I think that's why this year's promo is worded differently: because unlike last year, they were pretty sure from the outset that one or more of the Mac models would change during the promo period.
Comments
It will probably take even more money from the true geeks as many will have gone in expecting the iPod deal but will be so taken with the new machine that they must have it and will probably buy the iPod also and at full price.
Are you calling me names??? (I did exactly this last year-- in my defense I bought a refurbished iPod with it...)
Seriously, though there's an element of truth in this problem with the timing. I was pretty angry they did that last year with the iPod promotion, which basically amounted to them stopping the promotion before its stated expiration date (they took the banners off of the front page and everything when the new iMac came out even though the deal hadn't expired). Would they really do the same thing more than 1 month before the end of the promotion?
What would make sense to me is to do a minor spec bump now to get the iMac matching the MB Pros (ALREADY!!!, for chrissakes), and then the big design overhaul when Leopard is released. This doesn't seem to be what AI's sources are saying tho'.
Personally, I'm gonna wait for the last day of the free printer promotion and if there's not a new iMac by then, I'm just gonna order the old one (for a friend who's a switcher...). Then again, last year they extended the printer promo until the end of the summer, I'm not sure why/?
Either make the iMac easy to service again, or have Steve Jobs do all iMac repairs by himself.
Steve Jobs doesn't design the innards, he is maybe involved with laying down the size and form factor requirements, but he can't be blamed for what the engineering team manages to squeeze into that form factor.
Friends, This update time frame makes no sense. Apple has a back to school deal going on right now. Buy a Mac get an iPod. They are set with all their products until that Promo is just about over. I bought a Core 2 duo upgraded model last September. It was in stores and overlapped the announcement by about a week and was not eligible for the iPod. I don't think they will release a new one now and anger every one by making the nano offer only good on old models. September 16th is the last day of the rebate, Look for your announcement on Sept. 4th and in stores by the 10th This way it will garner some last minute back to school sales for the discerning shopper and not take away from the bargain hunters who also want an ipod. It will probably take even more money from the true geeks as many will have gone in expecting the iPod deal but will be so taken with the new machine that they must have it and will probably buy the iPod also and at full price.
You're right about last year. However there are a couple of differences between now and then that make the current situation different. For one thing, in September of 2006, they had introduced updated iMacs 8 months previously in January. Now it's already been 9 months since the last update, and by September, it'll be nearly a year - which would really be egregious.
But the other dissimilarity with last year is the nature of the Back-to-school promo. Outwardly they're the same, but if you look at the wording, in last year's promo, computer model and part numbers were specified, so that when they introduced that new iMac, it was not part of the deal. This time around though, there is no mention in the BTS promo about Macintosh part numbers, only iPod part numbers. Here's the important part of the text: "This offer is available only on purchases of new products. All Macintosh computers and the Configure-to-order versions of these products are eligible, except for Mac
mini." Therefore any iMac updates made before the end of the promo will still be inside the program.
Now doesn't that make you feel a whole lot better? Probably not: you already have your (year-old) iMac. I, however, am still using a 7 year old dual 450Mhz G4 tower and I say "bring it on!"
in last year's promo, computer model and part numbers were specified, so that when they introduced that new iMac, it was not part of the deal. This time around though, there is no mention in the BTS promo about Macintosh part numbers, only iPod part numbers.
Was this the case from the beginning of last year's promo, or did they change it when the new iMacs were released? I was under the impression that upon releasing the new iMacs last year they changed the refund form to only include specific models where previously it was general... .I could be wrong. In fact, I was thinking of printing out the rebate form now, so that if they change it later I'd have a copy of the old one to send in that doesn't specify model numbers.
If this is in fact a difference between last year's promo and this year's, then yes, it does make me feel quite a bit happier.
No free upgrade to Leopard though.
Those same people add that the Cupertino-based Mac maker may also have a few smaller surprises in store for fans of its Mac line around the same time.
I personally believe that one of the "smaller surprises" will be a free upgrade coupon. Too bad I don't have any more money to give to Apple.
Why are you so obsessed with this? I've read your other posts, and sadly there is not one polite word in any of them. All mean hearted. What is your problem?
i'd say he has a small one
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
also with blue tooth sound system and wireless power supply.
i HATE cables.
Higher Res LED Screen
Intel Core 2 Quad CPU
750 GB 3.5" HDD, 1 TB optional, especially on the 24" model
2 GB memory as standard (for Leopard)
Mac OS X Leopard (possibly as a free upgrade for the first units)
BlueRay disk drive
Better iSight (for higher resolution Leopard)
New design
Santa Rosa
Apple, if you read this, don't disappoint me (if you want to get my money...)
does anybody remembers the transparent screen iMac design someone posted here? it was AMAZING! i wish that would come true one day...
also with blue tooth sound system and wireless power supply.
i HATE cables.
It sounds like you and ouragan are both channeling some fantasy world.
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
Yeah, I second your opinion. The G4's were sexy as hell as opposed to the early G5 brick. The sculpted intel iMac is an improvement: they could make it sexy if they made the chin a little less pronounced (I don't want to start a chin thread here!).
But I'd be happy already if they introduce the click wheel in the remote.
...
Whilst they are making those changes they can design a mouse that fits in an adult's hand with a scroll device that doesn't stop after the first spec of dust hits it and how about putting a card reader and USB2.0 hub in the back of the keyboard. Don't worry Apple purists you'll not be able to see those ugly slots unless you need to use them.
--------
2.5" HDD would kill the iMac.
500GB @ 3.5" = $120
250GB @ 2.5" = $280 x 2 = $560
Ditto on a 2.5" HD really cramping iMac sales.
For some of us, the iMac is our workhorse machine - so having the responsiveness of 3.5" HD is really a significant factor over the slower, smaller and more expensive 2.5 HD. Not to mention that most 2.5 HD I have used seem to constantly retract head and spin down quickly, further slowing response time (though, maybe that can be adjusted).
If 2.5" HD had same speed, data transfer, responsiveness and 'close-enough' cost, then fine. Currently, they don't (to my knowledge). So I'm hoping that responsiveness and usability trumps 'thin for thin's sake'.
does anybody remembers the transparent screen iMac design someone posted here? it was AMAZING! i wish that would come true one day...
also with blue tooth sound system and wireless power supply.
i HATE cables.
if it looks anything like that, i'll be the first one to buy it... the G4s are the best looking computers EVER made and it will be hard for it to go into second place
I'm totally with you on the G4 iMac design. 20" floating LCD - Ive's work at it's best.. but wireless power supply??? don't the laws of physics preclude such a beast. Short of a massive induction field it's not possible.
So Apple is once again abandoning the sub-$1000 market? I guess they just can't handle success.
Not everyone can afford $1300 for a new computer and for all we know the 20 inch will start at a higher price.
Sounds like a bad move to me. At least keep the 17 inch version.
That's like saying Porsche aren't a success because they don't make a value compact hatchback.
Friends, This update time frame makes no sense. Apple has a back to school deal going on right now. Buy a Mac get an iPod. They are set with all their products until that Promo is just about over. ... September 16th is the last day of the rebate, Look for your announcement on Sept. 4th and in stores by the 10th This way it will garner some last minute back to school sales for the discerning shopper and not take away from the bargain hunters who also want an ipod. ...
I agree on the timing vis-a-vis Apple's historical special offers, which have frequently been for a few months on the previous generation machine before a new model introduction.
If they do release 'the new' iMac only a month or two before Leopard, I would hope and expect them to have the decency (IMO) to include Leopard upgrade coupon in the package. Though the poster who suggested a minor iMac refresh speed bump at end of summer, so that later redesigned iMacs would come October with Leopard installed may be onto something.
Lastly, it sometimes seems to me that Apple's marketing is losing something on the (a) Education institutional purchase track and (b) consumer low end, circa $1000 (or sub) computer buyer.
As another poster indicated, to really capture major education purchases, you have to have your machines pretty well spec'ed and set way earlier than the August/September back-to-school time frame that individuals think of for school year. A lot of time required for RFQs, purchase process, approvals, setup, etc.
And if they go through with dropping the 17" iMac -- their only all-in-one that fits the $1000 and sub low-end range -- and the Mac mini, as some rumor posts suggest, they will be losing a lot of potential customers from the Mac fold.
(as always, these are my opinions, and i encourage you all to register your considered opinions and wishes with Apple Feedback (and store staff) as I do. As I believe that Apple probably doesn't read the forums for their design and marketing direction -- but, I could be wrong!).
So is the consensus that Apple will honor the ipod deal if the new imac is released before the student special is finished?
NO. I honestly have no idea. I figured that would be the case last year, but it wasn't..
That's like saying Porsche aren't a success because they don't make a value compact hatchback.
Porsche uses the same roads and fuel as everyone else. They also don't have major educational sales to deal with.
Was this the case from the beginning of last year's promo, or did they change it when the new iMacs were released? I was under the impression that upon releasing the new iMacs last year they changed the refund form to only include specific models where previously it was general... .I could be wrong. In fact, I was thinking of printing out the rebate form now, so that if they change it later I'd have a copy of the old one to send in that doesn't specify model numbers.
If this is in fact a difference between last year's promo and this year's, then yes, it does make me feel quite a bit happier.
I'm pretty sure the promo last year didn't change after they released the new iMacs. I was paying pretty close attention at the time: The new one just wasn't one of the specified model numbers. The reason people were surprised was because they didn't expect a new iMac to appear during the promo period.
I myself was all set to buy an iMac and get the free iPod. But then they updated the iMac and the replacement didn't qualify. And at that point I couldn't justify buying old stock of the previous model - I wanted the new one! But then I thought since I wasn't getting the iPod anyway, that I could get along without a new computer till they released Leopard/iWork07/iLife07 - probably by March or April. Well, I think we all know how that turned out.
Anyway, if anyone's worried about the promo not covering a potential new iMac released in July or August this year, keep a copy of the promo on your hard drive. Apple can't exactly renege, and I think that's why this year's promo is worded differently: because unlike last year, they were pretty sure from the outset that one or more of the Mac models would change during the promo period.