Should Apple Release Limited Edition Machines?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I think that Apple could possibly do well selling limited edition macs. Just think of all the designs and concepts that never get to be used.



Apple could make a line and intro a new one every year or 8 months.



They cold charge a boatload and people would pay. they would just have to limit them.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    No exorbitant price would cover design costs and production costs.



    I think it's a silly idea. Apple has to prioritize so many things ahead of making limited edition eliteware.
  • Reply 2 of 28
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    Wouldn't the R&D costs outweigh the amount they would make on the machines?



    The TAM was a great machine/design, but it was quickly outmatched- especially for the price. Would people actually drop $10,000 on a special edition G5 tower?
  • Reply 3 of 28
    macaddictmacaddict Posts: 1,055member
    Sort of like a Bang and Olufson Mac?



    i.e. a Cube that looks even cooler and is ten times as expensive?



    This could work. It could help in that it would elevate Apple's status from "nice stuff" to "holy !!!! nice stuff...wish I had more money".



    I doubt many people would buy a sort of "limited edition" computer. The people who have that kind of appreciation for computers and view them as a beautiful thing will know enough to realize they are getting ultimately ripped off.



    The R & D required for a niche computer for a niche market sector may not be worth it. When Apple already has issues with controlling a 4 product matrix and is cautiously persuing the consumer electronics market and retail strategy, I don't believe it is time to engineer a product that would cost a lot of money and have the potential to be a huge flop.



    The one way I could see a limited edition mac make sense would be the best tower combined with the Cinema Display. Add to this a beautiful sound system, maxed out RAM, HD, and the signitures of the industrial design team on the shiny sides of the Quicksilver case.



    I think Apple has better things to concentrate on, though. Who in the world would buy that? Certainly not me.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    Maybe if it was, like, totally freakin' insanely awesome. Not $10,000 though.
  • Reply 5 of 28
    No.



    Apple needs to make a competitive tower that doesn't get trounced by P4s and Athlon XPs at half the cost. That too much to ask?
  • Reply 6 of 28
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    I think it's a great idea. Special Editions need not require too much extra R&D. I imagine a different color scheme and features like Quad Processing and other thing as something that a small percentage of people out there could afford. Just because you and I don't need to spend large amounts of money on our Macs doesn't mean someone else won't. Especially when they can justify it by making money with it.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    No. Apple is already the "special edition" of computer makers. The only people who would be attracted to such a beast, are already buying Apple hardware. It would fail for the same reason the Cube failed; when it came time to plunk down the cash, most people opted for the tower, which was less money for better performance and expandibility. You're talking about an incredible small set of people who are one, willing to pay huge sums of money for a computer, and two, will pay more for a computer with equal or lesser performance.



    Unless they are going to start a new high end (I think they could sell 1.6GHz G5s for $5k but only if they're the absolute fastest thing and kick the sh!t out of the Pentium on all fronts.) But that would hardly qualify as a special edition
  • Reply 8 of 28
    What about all those rumoured G5 that are running over 2 GHz? Why not put some of those on ebay, then let Mac users go nuts trying to outbid each other.



    With the G5 said to be introduced at no greater than 1.6 GHz, I think a 2.8 GHz G5 would fetch an insane price on ebay, just think of the bragging rights, you could rightly claim to have the fastest PC in the world, for six months at least.
  • Reply 9 of 28
    Seeing that Macs are relatively rare anyway, and usually turn heads and their "regular" models are are already awe-inspiring, I don't think it would be a hot idea. But hey, Apple seems to be able to do anything, so who knows.
  • Reply 10 of 28
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    [quote]Originally posted by TigerWoods99:

    <strong>No.



    Apple needs to make a competitive tower that doesn't get trounced by P4s and Athlon XPs at half the cost. That too much to ask?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    TW, you seem to harp on this issue and I keep asking you how exactly do you expect Apple to do this? Oh I know, instead of putting in an order for 1.2Ghz 1.4Ghz and 1.6Ghz G4s for the Jan 2002 machines they should just change their order to 2.0Ghz 2.4Ghz 2.8Ghz G5s HEY BETTER YET why don't they just bump their order up to the 3.0Ghz 3.5Ghz and 4.0Ghz G6's yea that should do it!
  • Reply 11 of 28
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    In general it's probably not a safe, sane idea. IF they could do it and not at the neglect or to the detriment of their REAL stuff, sure. Knock themselves out.



    But I don't know. I don't see the point really, because as someone said above, their standard stuff (TiBook, Cube, iPod, iMac, etc.) look 40 gazillion times cooler than any other computer maker's stuff.



    I was kinda disappointed that a 25th anniversary model wasn't released last year (or is it this year?). If they could do something that actually had legitimate reasons to exist (and NOT price it at some wild-ass $10,000...), it would certainly be cool to own a limited-edition G5-based 17" flat panel, SuperDrive-equipped iMac in a Quicksilver finish and some cool-ass, cutting edge design.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    Didn't they do this already with the iMac SE and iBook SE? Worked for the iMac really well at first anyway. They also held out on the idea until the case revision in '99, it seemed like they pounced on the call for a graphite/ more neutral model, and beefed up some specs. Now that was smart business.
  • Reply 13 of 28
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by BuonRotto:

    <strong>Didn't they do this already with the iMac SE and iBook SE? Worked for the iMac really well at first anyway. They also held out on the idea until the case revision in '99, it seemed like they pounced on the call for a graphite/ more neutral model, and beefed up some specs. Now that was smart business.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Those were "special editions" not "limited editions". The limited ones wouldn't always be around like the specials are.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    Um, yeah. What were you saying Dave?
  • Reply 15 of 28
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by BuonRotto:

    <strong>Didn't they do this already with the iMac SE and iBook SE? Worked for the iMac really well at first anyway. They also held out on the idea until the case revision in '99, it seemed like they pounced on the call for a graphite/ more neutral model, and beefed up some specs. Now that was smart business.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    plus, those "special editions" are a joke now.



    what's special about them. it's just a name now for apple to charge an extra 200 bucks for a few more Mhz and gigs.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    Go into your local Sears store and go into the tool department. Ask to see a Craftsman Limited Edition table saw and compare it to the regular line Craftsman table saw. You will see that for the most part it is the same saw, with a few differing features, the least of which is a sticker that says "limited edition." The price, however is actually lower than the regular line table saw. As for sales, it does quite well. Who says that a "limited edition" Mac has to be the highest end machine in the Mac universe. Can't it be a Mac with a different feature set, different design and a reasonable price? Maybe this is more of a "special edition" than a "limited edition" though.



    Joe
  • Reply 17 of 28
    eh.. nevermind



    [ 12-25-2001: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</p>
  • Reply 18 of 28
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    [quote]holy !!!! nice stuff...wish I had more money<hr></blockquote>



    People already say that.



    The problem with unique limited edition machines is that something truly special an unique int he Apple line-up would cost too much to 1) design, 2) produce, 3) market.



    On the other hand, a limited edition Mac with only a different color scheme and premium price is going to be a hard sale.
  • Reply 19 of 28
    Car makers do this all the time, it's a good business practice. By making a dream machine, it creates a "halo effect" over the other products. The worth of such a halo is intangible. Examples: BMW Z8, Dodge Viper, Mazda RX-7, Acura NSX, Volkswagen W12, and so on.



    But Macs are not cars. It's much easier to put a car in the public's line of view than it is a computer. This would have to be one amazing computer to warrent the cost of development. More to the issue, they would need to be placed where people saw them.



    Thus, the Limited Edition Macs would have to be seeded to news shows, movies, and anywhere else in the media they would be showcased. Their power would have to take center stage so that people would then start thinking of Macs as decending from the same lineage as these über-Macs.



    Hey, IBM did it with Big Blue....



    - Pook
  • Reply 20 of 28
    No. I'd rather see a very non-special edition tower, that is less expandable than the current towers, and is priced about the same as the iMac. This would be a nice way to fill in the midlevel gap in Apple's lineup. These "consumer towers" with displays would cost 1400-1900, and would give people an alternative to the 15" imac that doesn't cost $2000+.
Sign In or Register to comment.