new imacs

8th

I think we can see 'some kind of' new iMacs on Jan 8th. (Macworld SF 2002)

Guy

They always have these types of deals. Don't read too much into them. Apple is not trying to get rid of stock. There inventory/production system does not allow for stock sitting around. Therefore great deals are just that, deals. not a cleansing of the warehouse.

Out of stock

currently quite a few AppleStores and other Mac Outlets in England are out of stock of the high-end iMacs and running low of all other products, void Powerbooks and iBooks.

Guy

I agree that sales do not necessarily indicate inventory reduction for new product. More likely, Apple like everyone else expects a lackluster Christmas and is trying to be as competitive as possible. However, I do believe a new iMac will appear early next year. The iMac is the only product Apple has not metallicized yet and it stands to reason that they would do so eventually. The question then becomes what can we expect? I won't comment on the appearance of the box since it seems likely Apple will surprise us all but I bet it is some shade of polished gray. The inside of the machine has been open to rampant speculation over the months, so I will take my cut at it.

I expect a fast G3 in the neighborhood of 1 gHz. A G4 is a possibility but I don't think Apple will go there yet. I expect a LCD display probably at 15". The folks who talk about 17" screens are off their rocker IMHO. Optical storage will NOT include DVD-R but will probably include combination DVD/CD. I hope Apple will push the system bus to 133 mHz and upgrade the graphics card to a GEForce 2MX with 64 MB DDR but doubt they will. The bottom line is the new iMac IMO will be slick looking but only incrementally better than the current offering.

Spedly

Since Apple's been pushing this whole digital hub thing and pushing the DVD aspect as well, I would not be surprised to see them go G4 for a high end iMac with a DVD burner and iDVD.
Also, I'd be a little leary of investing in any machine with a G3 at this point. All the rumors point to a G5 on the horizon and there are some things (MPEG encoding) that just can't be done very well on a G3 chip at this point.
I'm not saying they won't make a new very fast G3 iMac2, but a G4 imac2 seems just as likely.

Oh crap! My foggy memory has reminded me of something...Apple bought a hardware based encoder maker this summer, maybe they're tinkering away on a simpler hardware based CBR MPEG encoder card that will come built in to the high end iMac2 so it can make DVD's without a G4 and the questionable software encoder available now.
____________________
"Hmmmmm, could be."

Cheap = CRT

LCDs are still too expensive.

How about a 17", shortneck, flat-screen CRT? It should be possible to fit that into an only slightly modified case. Look at all that wasted space around the front of the iMac.

Okay, so your kid's using her iMac as a stereo in her dorm room... Why not throw in TV tuner and remote control to finish that package? It should add $100 max to the price.

I doubt that any new iMac will look radically different than the existing line. With the minor updates that Apple has given them, they still look damn good.

There seem to be a couple of current design schools at Apple. I will name them as follows.

------------------------

"Candy - Fruit"
Introduced with the iMac, the look was carried into Mac OS 9 background and color highlights. It was also integrated into some apps like Internet Explorer. The most recent addition to "Candy - Fruit" is Mac OS X's Aqua GUI. Note the subtle pin-stripe theme that it shares with the iMac and the "transparency" that abounds.

"Brushed Metal"
Introduced with a brushed aluminum & leather PowerBook concept several years ago. It has since appeared in Quicktime 4, Sherlock for OS 9, the Titanium PowerBook and iTunes.

"Black Ice"
This was introduced with the special edition "smoke" iMacs, the Apple CRT monitors, the redesigned Apple keyboard and redesigned Apple Mouse.

"White Metal"
This seems to be the latest design concept shared by the iBook and the iPod. The iPod merges the concept more with the "Brushed Metal" look. Look for more of this in the consumer lines.

"Metal Ice"
Metal ice seems to be the latest "professional" look from Apple. It is shared by the CRT monitors and the new G4.

-----------------------------

So what will the new iMac be like?

I predict the following:

1) No radical departure from the current design.
- retain "all-in-one" form factor
- have roughly the same dimensions
- retain a CRT

2) New looks in two themes
- "Black Ice"
- "White Metal"
- Candy colors likely still available (it ain't broke)

3) Beefier Internals
- 1Ghz G3s
- more RAM
- bigger drives
- CD-RW (CD-RW/DVD available)
- 17" CRT likely
- no DVR option

4) Remote Control & TV Card
- Remote controls iTunes & TV

5) Price = $899 to $1299


[Edited by oldMac on 11-06-2001 at 01:54 PM]

"4) Remote Control & TV Card
- Remote controls iTunes & TV "

DOUBT IT!


though it would be nice for college students, it's kind of a waste to have a 15-17" (whichever happens to come out) screen size for a tv. and remote controls are already available that work just fine with iTunes.

I can tell you one thing for certain. There will be no Candy-Fruity computers leaving Cupertino anytime soon. Many folks may be content with the current iMac but its current sales are terrible. The new iMac will be redesigned. It will probably still be all-in-one, but I don't think it will look at all like the current version. I also don't think a 15" LCD would put it over budget.

overbudget

i agree since i have seen stand alone LCDs for $399 and $449 at office depot and they have fifty dollar rebates on top of that

...so an LCD iMac is definitely a possibility but maybe not at $799 to begin with - the age of the CRT is truly coming to and end

BTW john123, i just caught up with you (11-6-01) with my hat man "essays", now its on to kela, but i know i could never catch spikey since he's up near 300 or so

LCDs

I figure that since Apple is virtually giving away 15" LCDs with it's crystal clear promotion, then an LCD iMac could be very likely.

Granted, you have to buy a DP800 for the $500 of a monitor, but still.

Re: LCDs

I reckon that the imac will slightly increase its size so that it can have a 17" monitor. Then september next year we might see a LCD imac if nobody buys the 17" models!

Hmm, not a bad strategy really. Introduce an all new redesigned iMac with a bigger screen (short neck 17") and then later release a "Special Edition LCD" version that looks similar just much thinner.
MWSF is the wrong time to introduce new iMacs. They should have done it already to capitalize on Christmas sales. It is a consumer item isn't it?
__________________
Where's my G5?

Even if 15" LCD's are $350, have you ever bought a 15" CRT, those are less than $100. There is still a huge gap.

Retail price of 15" LCD is $179!

FRY's was selling 15" LCD screens for $ 179 at their
Silicon Valley stores - granted, that was a sale, and who knows whether they made a profit on them, but
that would make it seem extremely realistic for Apple
to use 15" LCDs for iMac.

I agree about 1 GHz G3, no G4, no DVD-R, and
probably a sleek, slender iBook/iPod-like design.

Re: Retail price of 15

Originally posted by true777
FRY's was selling 15" LCD screens for $ 179 at their
Silicon Valley stores - granted, that was a sale, and who knows whether they made a profit on them, but
that would make it seem extremely realistic for Apple
to use 15" LCDs for iMac.

I agree about 1 GHz G3, no G4, no DVD-R, and
probably a sleek, slender iBook/iPod-like design.

Click to expand...

Put it this way, having an LCD imac with a DVD/CDRW drive, TV-tuner, GeForce2, will put the price up to much I think.

Originally posted by rekras
Jobs said himself in an interview that people want their computers and tvs seperate.

Click to expand...

hmm. just try, really try, to think what the world will be like in 5 years. television and computers/internet will be so integrated we will have to take pills for food. whaaa?

They will become integrated, thats why the imacs will come with a tv card.

two years ago

i was told dot.coms would lay to waste brick and mortar companies and that networking WAN style would replace LAN which would replace standalones which would move into in a dummy terminal setup and oh yeah, all us techs, no matter what we did, would become rich

...sounds like those microsoft and cisco skool recruiters as well as buzinessweak and other mags who will say anything for sales

guess what, we still have bulky crt wielding desktops and beige plastic on pc computers and some mac/pc peripherals

...in some specific ways, this field moves too sloow

...but i said only in some ways does IT move slow! so don't jump on me spikey, mymemory, and the jj twins (i know i say stupid things sometimes because after a gazillion posts, some are out of ass generated)

at least i am not a vc suit where everything has to be out of ass generated! i hated working with those guys

Chill jef.
I agree, many parts of this industry move slowly. In my opinion the GUI hasnt moved a hell of alot in the past few years.

I can see integrated PC+other product, but whether it will be a TV or not i dont know.
PCs will become more powerful, and they will be able to do more. People will want to use all the power. Right now PCs can do everything expected of them so a PC's abilities will have to expand.
Im waiting until skin texture is available in games, maybe one day.

Throwback

New iMac Headline:

Retro is In. And Bigger is Better.

iMac Specs:
21" CRT.
Coming in all colors as long as you like beige.
Floppy drive makes a come back.
Design a la the 10th Anniversary case style
Radio tuner included!
No expansions slots.

All this for only: $4200.

Whatever they really come up with, it'll be something (hopefully) well thought out. They have to keep us 5% coming back for something.

At least that would be something.

Im wondering if i should give that marks for effort.



Personally i would like to see a hippie imac, full on flower power, with its own spliff holder, and can double up as a Bong.

Seriously though i think TVs and computers is a good idea for students, and possibly a second TV for adults.

The imac will take off again when the digital products used with the "digital hub" become cheaper. Right now the products are too expensive.