AidenShaw said:
I wouldn't suggest a return to the Performa days, but Apple could make some simple improvements to satisfy more people.
- Add a mini-tower to the lineup - fill the gap between the constrained mini and the huge PowerMac
- Add a "small and light" entry to the laptop line (3 lbs or less, no optical)
- Increase the number of BTO options, rather than all the upselling (if I want a fast laptop, why do I have to have a 17" screen with the faster CPU?)
No explosion of SKUs, just fill a couple of gaping holes and add some flexibility to configurations. The shareholders would love it.
If you want big-and-heavy, perhaps. If you want small-and-light, nope.
I wouldn't disagree with your suggestions, Shaw, but it seems like you guys are crying over "unspilled" milk, to say the least. Apple has always offered a fairly good set of computers, ranging from a headless CPU to a big notebook; the only exception is that "minitower" thing, which is yet highly controversial from a marketing point of view.
The important points to be made are:
1) We are, right now, in the middle of the transition to Intel chips, so no conclusions may be drawn yet;
2) Apart from the Pro markets, Apple has ALWAYS advocated for AIOs as the best and simplest solutions for consumers. Unsurprisingly, the Cube fiasco has shown them that mid-level towers might not be the best choice, market-wise.
Besides, if we presume that all lines migrate to Intel by the end of this year, what will we have?
A great performing Mini for households and small offices;
A great performing iMac, for demanding consumers and medium offices;
A powerful MacPro for the traditional pro markets.
Now tell me, why does Apple need to offer a minitower, if they already give you a great little Mini and the best consumer desktop on the planet? I know you will say expandability, but MOST people don't care about that...and if they do, they will buy a MacPro.
3) Ditto for notebooks...let's presume we have 15/17 MBPs and a 12/13 MB, all of them with great Core Duo offerings and good GPUs...subnotebook level? I don't think that's Apple's cup of tea...the Duo Dock is dead long ago, and less than 12" is too small for a screen, not to mention the lack of optical...I don't really see the point.
I remember watching a Chinese classmate working with a tiny Toshiba (or Sony) 10" notebook...boy, was that small or what? No optical drives or anything, and a minuscule screen to do text editing or spreadsheets...no, thanks...the loss of features is not compensated by 2" less in terms of screen real estate...
I know some people want it, but I'd rather have Apple devising a tablet or palmtop, instead of a crippled subnotebook...
4) As for your CTO suggestions, I mostly agree...if this doesn't affect Apple's inventories, it should be offered across the board (especially for notebooks); but again, too much flexibility may be Apple's undoing, as a tip-top 12" MB would cut on the margins of more expensive models...think shareholders, guys, think shareholders...
