Well, Steve Jobs ate his words about the CRT being dead when he brought out the eMac, and now I think it's finally time to recant entirely and start pushing the humble little 15" CRT iMac again. Why? Because Apple can stand on the strength of OS X and iLife, and the classic iMacs still have tremendous recognition and consumer appeal, if it weren't for the feature/price mix currently offered (which almost seems halfhearted - as if to kill the CRT iMac just to prove the point that the CRT is dead). Here's what Apple REALLY needs to do:
For $599:
700 MHz G3
ATI Radeon 7500 16MB
CD-ROM
20 GB HD
128 MB RAM
For $799:
800 MHz G3
ATI Radeon 7500 32MB
Combo Drive
30 GB HD
256 MB RAM
For $999: (and here's the piece de resistance)
800 MHZ G3
ATI Radeon 7500 32 MB
SUPERDRIVE
30 GB HD
256 MB RAM
Can you imagine the ruckus the above product mix would cost? Of course, the Superdrive eMac would have to be lowered to $1299 and the superdrive FP iMac to $1499. The combination of Superdrive and iLife is just so appealing. I think a LOT of switchers would buy a $999 Superdrive CRT iMac - it would just prove Apple's point that it's not GHz that matter - it's what you can do with the computer. And I don't think cannibalization is so much of an issue since most CRT iMac buyers would be switchers that wouldn't have bought a Mac anyway because they didn't think they could afford it (or weren't willing to pay the price premium over a PC). And anyway, on the eMac you get a G4, 60GB HD, and a 17" CRT screen, and on the FP iMac you get a G4, 60GB HD, and of course an LCD screen and incomparable style, so I still think deeper- pocketed consumers would still go for those if they could afford them.
What do you all think?
For $599:
700 MHz G3
ATI Radeon 7500 16MB
CD-ROM
20 GB HD
128 MB RAM
For $799:
800 MHz G3
ATI Radeon 7500 32MB
Combo Drive
30 GB HD
256 MB RAM
For $999: (and here's the piece de resistance)
800 MHZ G3
ATI Radeon 7500 32 MB
SUPERDRIVE
30 GB HD
256 MB RAM
Can you imagine the ruckus the above product mix would cost? Of course, the Superdrive eMac would have to be lowered to $1299 and the superdrive FP iMac to $1499. The combination of Superdrive and iLife is just so appealing. I think a LOT of switchers would buy a $999 Superdrive CRT iMac - it would just prove Apple's point that it's not GHz that matter - it's what you can do with the computer. And I don't think cannibalization is so much of an issue since most CRT iMac buyers would be switchers that wouldn't have bought a Mac anyway because they didn't think they could afford it (or weren't willing to pay the price premium over a PC). And anyway, on the eMac you get a G4, 60GB HD, and a 17" CRT screen, and on the FP iMac you get a G4, 60GB HD, and of course an LCD screen and incomparable style, so I still think deeper- pocketed consumers would still go for those if they could afford them.
What do you all think?