Briefly: more affordable iMacs from Apple expected by fall

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  • Reply 21 of 209
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Perhaps it's tied to purchasing schedules/planning... or something. I could never make heads or tails of their logic either.



    It always seems to fall right after the Back To School selling off of older HW and a month or so before the Holiday rush sets in.
  • Reply 22 of 209
    randythotrandythot Posts: 109member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by whatisgoingon View Post


    It always seems bizarre to me that Apple updates their 'school' line (namely iMac's) in late September or October. To me, it seems to make more sense to do it late August/early September, you know, when people are buying things for school.



    Actually, the back to school buying helps to clear out their inventory.

    Meanwhile, Sept./Oct. release is early enough to gain press coverage, adequate inventory and work out bugs before Black Friday.



    As the main consumer desktop, it, along with iPods, are important for Christmas.



    Finally, education purchases happen when budgeted and requisitioned between January and May for the fall school year (mostly iMacs & Mac minis).



    Hope this helps.

    et. al...please add corrections or comments to Apple's product refresh timing!



    ugh...solip beat my post!
  • Reply 23 of 209
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ..determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic backdrop in its corporate history...



    Can we get that in English, please?
  • Reply 24 of 209
    mactrippermactripper Posts: 1,328member
    Quote:

    Back in April, AppleInsider reported that the Mac maker, determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic backdrop in its corporate history, was gearing up to introduce more affordable versions of both its MacBook and iMac computers.



    Not to beat the glossy/matte horse any more, but a option for both would go a long ways in making a lot of people happy.
  • Reply 25 of 209
    bowserbowser Posts: 89member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Carmissimo View Post


    Which begs the question, what about the mac mini?... I just can't imagine Apple will try to sell minis that are priced virtually the same as iMacs and at that offering inferior performance.



    Because Apple actually sells a lot of them. They are very popular with design firms and media production houses because their small form factor allows them to be used as cheap servers. There are several places that are commercial server farms that use minis in the thousands.
  • Reply 26 of 209
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Seems for the time being Apple can afford to give a little on price. As the economy gradually recovers (which is aonyone's guess as to when), expect prices to freeze or slowly climb.



    Apple deals in margins, and that won't change anytime soon. But they're looking to have a good Christmas in light of the economic conditions, so it's understandable.



    More affordable Macs with Snow Leopard. Seems alright to me . . .



    (I've got my eye on a Macbook Air, myself, or a tablet if they'll ever announce one.)



    Why the air and not the mbp 13"?
  • Reply 27 of 209
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by whatisgoingon View Post


    It always seems bizarre to me that Apple updates their 'school' line (namely iMac's) in late September or October. To me, it seems to make more sense to do it late August/early September, you know, when people are buying things for school.



    Its an apple trick of light .

    YOU boy the old model but get the updated one instead .



    9
  • Reply 28 of 209
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    agreed, only it will be a 30" imac extreme and also introduce the new 30" monitor!



    you heard it here first! :d



    best



    with a uni body imac
  • Reply 29 of 209
    ljocampoljocampo Posts: 657member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    Not to beat the glossy/matte horse any more, but a option for both would go a long ways in making a lot of people happy.



    Wow I guess that person was right when he said you really must believe you're in the majority who care about matte over glossy when you're obviously in the minority. However, I got to give you A+ for effort on this piece of misinformation. A lot of people happy is, the case, still means just you.
  • Reply 30 of 209
    iMac pricing is definitely way off base right now. A $200 across the board price cut would be a good first start but I think Apple needs to reconsider the whole product line including the Mini & Pro. It may be time to stop focusing on the iMac as the mainstream Mac desktop entirely. It's a fine machine but desktop sales are in decline year after year. We're reaching the point where people who still buy desktops typically have a good reason for wanting one. I don't see the iMac as serving that market in either performance or price.



    I would argue that the Mini & Pro are better suited for where the desktop market is heading. The iMac is a nice machine but it's increasingly caught in the middle. It's either too expensive or too slow for the desktop market. The easiest solution is to either ditch the 20" iMac or get the price under $1k to exist along side the Mini as the cheap option and get an entry level MacPro using an i7 out there for $1499 for the higher end crowd. That puts the entry level 24" iMac at about $1299 as the MacBook Air of desktops -- something consumers choose to spend a premium on for its industrial design.
  • Reply 31 of 209
    ljocampoljocampo Posts: 657member
    As far student's buying Macs, the education has become much more trimester than it used to be. Meaning individual student purchases are basically year round. University buying is still in Apple's timeline.
  • Reply 32 of 209
    brucepbrucep Posts: 2,823member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    Not to beat the glossy/matte horse any more, but a option for both would go a long ways in making a lot of people happy.



    DUDE

    You need help/
  • Reply 33 of 209
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,324member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    The iMac is already quite reasonable, the Mac Pro has the sticker shock.



    Absolutely!



    Of course, in places where space is a premium the more compact iMac is sometimes preferred. Even so there are caveats to the iMac that do not stem from the price, as mentioned by this poster...



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTripper View Post


    Not to beat the glossy/matte horse any more, but a option for both would go a long ways in making a lot of people happy.



    Quite frankly, Gloss/Glare is horrible. I know because I have a new 2009 iMac 3.06GHz sitting on my desk at work, and I've done my darndest to cut light sources from behind me. I use this Mac for at least 9 hours each day, M-F. It's wicked fast and according to MacWorld it bests even a Harpertown Mac Pro with 3GB of RAM. And I love how colors pop and how sharp the IPS screen is. But oh the glare!



    But there is yet one other problem that in my book matches the "glare" problem in terms of sheer annoyance:



    iMac Uneven Backlight: Photo & Problem Description



    Don't forget to read through the Macintouch Reader Report that I have linked under the photo.





    A lower price is always nice, but the major problems need addressing too.
  • Reply 34 of 209
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JDW View Post


    Quite frankly, Gloss/Glare is horrible. I know because I have a new 2009 iMac 3.06GHz sitting on my desk at work, and I've done my darndest to cut light sources from behind me. I use this Mac for at least 9 hours each day, M-F. It's wicked fast and according to MacWorld it bests even a Harpertown Mac Pro with 3GB of RAM. And I love how colors pop and how sharp the IPS screen is. But oh the glare!



    I've never owned a glossy screen.

    Maybe that's why I've never understood the big deal over the glossy iMac.



    In the print world, it's fairly standard to use a monitor hood to shield the screen from distracting lights and colours. Given the fairly common complaints about the iMac's glossy screen, couldn't some enterprising third party develop a hood for the iMac?
  • Reply 35 of 209
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member
    This is fantastic news. I have always felt the iMacs hit a nice sweet spot for value/performance. Now they'll be even more compelling. Bring it on!



    A few months ago, when some of us nagged Apple to lower prices, many thought they'd never sacrifice margins. Well, as predicted, here come the lower prices! See, Apple DOES adapt to market realities. I give them kudos.



    Since a few are listing some of their wants, I'll ask for a few too:



    Affordable 500 GB SSD option. Or dual drive - an SSD AND an HD.

    SD Card Slot somewhere on the thing, maybe under the CD slot. I'm not picky.

    Desktop chips?

    Even larger monitor. Keep chipping away at the rim around the monitor. Each update looks less and less like an iPod on steroids. We could end up with a floating monitor with nary a bevel. That would be cool!

    I'm fine with glossy and lack of blue ray.
  • Reply 36 of 209
    jdwjdw Posts: 1,324member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bugsnw View Post


    SD Card Slot somewhere on the thing...

    I'm fine with glossy and lack of blue ray.



    As a 2009 iMac owner, I agree 100% with the SD card slot suggestion, and I would add to it by asking for a CF card slot too. The iMac 24" is enormous and there is plenty of space for such slots. And with the SD slot on the MacBook Pro now, no one can argue that Apple doesn't approve of such things. It is a great convenience and you don't have to string an unsightly cable across your desk with an external reader that way. An internal flash card reader is therefore a "no brainer" in the iMac.



    But as to your comment on being "fine with glossy," you apparently glossed over my previous post here where I mention something that you have not considered: the Uneven Backlight. And no, that is not something you once read about that "only affects older 2007 iMacs." Apple seems to have improved the screens since then, but there is now noticeable dimness at the left/right edges. Again, look at my photo to see for yourself. It is subtle, but it is there. And some of us look at our screens enough to care. (Sorry, I just love rhymes.)



    The Uneven Backlight will also not be remedied by the poster who recommends a "hood." That may address glare, but it won't magically improve the backlight consistency.



    "Glossy/Glare" and "Uneven Backlight" are two separate problems.



    I don't say all this to in any way slam the iMac. Again, there are many, many things I absolutely love about it. But at the same time, I feel it only proper to bring attention to legitimate iMac caveats so that some won't be let down after they purchase one. And perhaps some of you iMac owners may be further compelled to even write Apple about the screen issues, especially the backlight. It seems like Apple doesn't improve things sometimes UNTIL there is an outcry among its user base.
  • Reply 37 of 209
    I am really hoping that on these new iMacs, there will be a matte screen option. I myself need to upgrade my 2.16GHz white iMac, but refuse to if there is no matte screen.



    I am not alone on this. On a recent poll conducted on this MacRumors website in June 2009 -- i.e. this month -- 53.85% prefer glossy, and that means 46.16% prefer matte. Also, of the portion that prefers matte, 18.68% of total respondents would not buy matte. That's close to 20% who will not buy a Mac because of glossy screens.



    There's a review of about a dozen polls, see http://macmatte.wordpress.com where it shows that over a dozen polls, the average is 40% prefer matte. That is entirely consistent with the recent June 2009 MacRumors poll.



    I desperately need a new iMac, but I must have a glossy screen.
  • Reply 38 of 209
    ouraganouragan Posts: 437member
    Quote:

    Back in April, AppleInsider reported that the Mac maker, determined to grow its share of the personal computer market during the worst economic backdrop in its corporate history, was gearing up to introduce more affordable versions of both its MacBook and iMac computers.



    Roughly six week later at its annual developers conference, the Cupertino-based company announced price cuts of between $100 - $300 on its 13- to 17-inch unibody aluminum notebooks, all of which are now dubbed MacBook Pros.



    iMacs were just recently refreshed in March but will see another update by fall, at which time they'll also be repositioned as more affordable offerings. Apple is reportedly mulling similar 7% - 10% price reductions alongside the introduction of those models, people familiar with the company's thinking say.



    Thus far, Apple's move towards more affordable notebooks appears to be paying dividends. Citing market sources in Taiwan, DigiTimes reported Friday that Quanta this month is picking up momentum in its notebook shipments "due to increasing orders from Apple."





    It's not a moment too soon. Apple doesn't licence Mac OS X (and why not?) or iPhone OS (again, why not?), so no matter how good the system software is, you must buy Apple Macs or iPhones to use them.



    But the prices and the profit margins are outrageous. That's what is keeping people from buying Macs and iPhones. Prices are outrageous right now. Why wait untill the Fall?





  • Reply 39 of 209
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rokken View Post


    I know a price drop of the Mac mini is rather unlikely, but is there any chance they receive an update before the end of this year? I am travelling to Hong Kong in December and hopefully pick one up there.



    I too would love to see either a price drop or a throughput boost, or at least a lower price for the 2.26 GHz CPU upgrade option.



    Or all three, woo-hoo!



    Come on Apple, make your "affordable" computer more affordable -- don't leave them out of your plans.

    I've been holding off a bit, hoping for a stronger incentive (to part with the meager/modest computer upgrade 'fund' ).
  • Reply 40 of 209
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by whatisgoingon View Post


    It always seems bizarre to me that Apple updates their 'school' line (namely iMac's) in late September or October. To me, it seems to make more sense to do it late August/early September, you know, when people are buying things for school.



    Agreed! I'm a bit upset at the timing. As my daughter is going to England for school, she'll need a new iMac 24" for her photographic studies. The new machines should be Nehalem based, with better graphics cards as well. I'd love to get one of those. but it seems that I'll likely have to get one of the current models at most a month before the new ones come out. Very frustrating! It wouldn't be a problem if she was going to school here, as she could continue using her current one in the beginning of the term. I'm not shipping her early 2008 model overseas.
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