iMac...the last one to be upgraded?
So the laptop line has been all upgraded. The G5 towers are kickin' a**. Even the lowly eMac had a sort of a refresh (well price wise at least). iPods and iTMS were upgraded too.
That leaves the iMac as the only one that needs a refresher. Perhaps at MacWorld in January? or will Apple quietly update this in time for the holiday season?
If the a major re-design (i.e. G5) won't happen by new year, certainly, they could in the interim lower the 15" model by a few hundred dollars.
That leaves the iMac as the only one that needs a refresher. Perhaps at MacWorld in January? or will Apple quietly update this in time for the holiday season?
If the a major re-design (i.e. G5) won't happen by new year, certainly, they could in the interim lower the 15" model by a few hundred dollars.
Comments
It would be nice to see another Digital Lifestyle device, Steve did hint that more were to come when the iPod was released if I remember correctly. To date though only the iPod and iApps fit the bill as "accessories" for the digital hub (iMac). I think that there is definatly room to grow in the video arena, at least on the Mac side, for affordable video in/out from the Mac to a TV (PVR type appliance). The camera market I think is too crowded, and is taken care of with software (iMovie/iPhoto directly import from a good range of cameras). Phones/PDA's are a dicy market right now, though I think Apple could do a better OS for one than what is on the market today. For my money, Palms phones inch ahead becouse of the available software. I'm not sure what else there is, an iRemote that you can download the controls for all of your entertainment devices, and create macros using AppleScript? I guess thats why I'm not in new product development...
Originally posted by satchmo
So the laptop line has been all upgraded. The G5 towers are kickin' a**. Even the lowly eMac had a sort of a refresh (well price wise at least). iPods and iTMS were upgraded too.
That leaves the iMac as the only one that needs a refresher. Perhaps at MacWorld in January? or will Apple quietly update this in time for the holiday season?
If the a major re-design (i.e. G5) won't happen by new year, certainly, they could in the interim lower the 15" model by a few hundred dollars.
If any Apple product needs to be upgraded right now it's the eMac. Sure, Apple cut the slow 900MHz processor from the lineup, added Panther, and lowered the price. That's not really an update.
The eMac now has the slowest RAM, the oldest graphics card, no USB 2.0, no bluetooth option, and it still uses a processor that should have been replaced with something more powerful at least 4 months ago.
Great ... Apple lowered the price. Whoopty-**cking-Doo.
I hate PeeCees, but I can go to down the street to Wal*mart and buy a computer with a 2+GHz processor, fast DDR SDRAM, a 64MB graphics card, a 120GB HD, USB 2.0, and a 17-inch flat-panel LCD monitor for LESS than $800. Sure, it runs XP and will NEVER be as cool as a Mac, but it KILLS the eMac in terms of raw computing power, compatibility with peripherals (like USB 2.0 camcorders, memory card readers, and scanners), and graphics card performance for games.
A minor price drop on the eMac doesn't cut it. Apple needs an affordable desktop that can compete with cheap PC desktops ... not just in terms of price, but in terms of features.
Here's what the eMac needed today:
- A 1GHz and 1.25GHz G4 option
- 266MHz or 333MHz DDR SDRAM (up to 1GB or more)
- A better 32MB graphics card standard and a 64MB graphics card option
- USB 2.0 and a bluetooth option
- A 80GB HD in the low end and a 120GB-160GB HD in the high-end
- All the above starting at $899 ($799 with edu discount) and $1199 for all the options ($1099 with edu discount).
So, I think the lineup should be the Combo eMac at the low end for $799, a 15" Combo iMac for $999, a 17" Combo iMac for $1299, and a 17" Superdrive iMac for $1499. The prices for the iMacs right now are just way too high.
Strangely, it's $50 to go from 40 to 80 GB on the new eMacs, and $100 to go from 40 to 160 GB (so you can assume that it's $50 to go from 80 to 160 GB). But on the iMacs, it's $100 to go from 80 GB to 160 GB.
Originally posted by Luca Rescigno
I'd have to disagree, rustedborg. I agree the eMac could be better but I think they should just cut out the high end eMac. Make it fill in for the iMac. The $799 eMac has a 1 GHz processor, same as the low end iMac. It also has only a 40 GB hard drive, a 20 GB drop from the previous 1 GHz/Combo eMac (but you can BTO an 80 GB for just $50 or a 160 GB for $100).
So, I think the lineup should be the Combo eMac at the low end for $799, a 15" Combo iMac for $999, a 17" Combo iMac for $1299, and a 17" Superdrive iMac for $1499. The prices for the iMacs right now are just way too high.
Strangely, it's $50 to go from 40 to 80 GB on the new eMacs, and $100 to go from 40 to 160 GB (so you can assume that it's $50 to go from 80 to 160 GB). But on the iMacs, it's $100 to go from 80 GB to 160 GB.
Yes. The iMacs are WAY too expensive. The eMac is what the iMac was supposed to be ... an affordable desktop Mac for people who couldn't afford a PowerMac but wanted much of the same performance. Now, we have to sacrifice performance just to get the price down.
It's ALMOST enough to make me want to buy a PeeCee for my next computer ... almost.
Originally posted by JCG
Didnt the iMac just get an upgrade to 1.25's?
According to MacRumor's "Buyer's Guide," the iMac was refreshed on September 8th of this year.
PB's should also be at around this speed as well - it remains to be seen if Moto can ship faster 7447's by then.
The other interesting point is that Apple now relies on Moto for ALL of its CPU's except for the G5. Im thinking the 90nm G5 will get the better of the PB's in time (WWDC?) and by then IBM (if not sooner) compete for the G4 business with the 750VX G4 class CPU - especially if it can clock faster than the 7447/57 of the time.
Any thoughts?
Originally posted by LudwigVan
According to MacRumor's "Buyer's Guide," the iMac was refreshed on September 8th of this year.
Interestingly enough, powermacs are now the oldest machines in the lineup! Hmmmmm