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eMac - 300 days since last update

MacSA

MacSA

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 4, 2003
1,803
5
UK
Just checked the buyers guide, it's now 300 days since the last update lol, the average is only 179. What on Earth could cause such a delay? I wonder if they put off updating last year to prevent it biting into sales of the new iMac and then again this year with the release of the Mac mini? :confused:
 
Both the eMac and the PowerBook were EOL'ed a few weeks ago. Last week new PowerBooks were released, so it follows that this week (tomorrow?) or maybe next week we should be getting new eMacs.

I think that the eMac fits a very small niche now that the Mac Mini is on the market, so maybe it will just be discontinued.
 
Does it really matter why Apple has not updated the eMac?

Apple will update the eMac when they get around to it. It already has an 8x SuperDrive...what more do you want? Minor speed bumps? That's probably not cost effective for Apple to do.

And with what the eMac was designed for, it doesn't need updates as often. Basically if it got updates once a year just before schools put in their annual orders, that would be just about right for the eMac.
 
Bear said:
Does it really matter why Apple has not updated the eMac?

Apple will update the eMac when they get around to it. It already has an 8x SuperDrive...what more do you want? Minor speed bumps? That's probably not cost effective for Apple to do.

And with what the eMac was designed for, it doesn't need updates as often. Basically if it got updates once a year just before schools put in their annual orders, that would be just about right for the eMac.
Click to expand...

I just think that with it's current price and specifications it's a bit of an embarrassment.
 
If availability is an indicator (same day shipping), they don't appear EOL'd. I think Apple probably isn't quite sure what to do with the eMac. I think they'd probably like to move it to the background and have it be for the education market. If they upgrade it to a 1.42 or 1.5Ghz G4, it competes with the mini. If they upgrade it to a G5 after the next iMac update (which would probably come after the next powermac update), it would compete with the iMac like when the iMac was a G4 (and often painfully not worth it compared to the eMac).

I think they should shift it for the education market only and offer an even cheaper new iMac in the next upgrade cycle: a 1.6Ghz with a 15" screen and lower specs than the new 1.8 and 2.0Ghz 17" and 20" models. Price the 15" at $999, keep the other two at their current price points. Keep the mini a G4 for the next couple upgrade cycles (1.42 / 1.5) (1.5 / 1.67).
 
Gawd, I hope they discontinue the Emac. It is such an ugly bulky computer. The could introduce a slightly larger Mac mini to replace it. No more integrated CRT please, that was so 90's.
 
Lacero said:
Gawd, I hope they discontinue the Emac. It is such an ugly bulky computer. The could introduce a slightly larger Mac mini to replace it. No more integrated CRT please, that was so 90's.
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Yes, but ugly, and especially bulky computers have a hard time walking out of loosely supervised computer labs in grade schools and high schools.
 
stoid said:
Yes, but ugly, and especially bulky computers have a hard time walking out of loosely supervised computer labs in grade schools and high schools.
Click to expand...
Exactly you knw how easy it would be to grab a iMac G5 and waltz out of a school with it?

The eMac is good what its for. Schools.

e(education)Mac
 
Lacero said:
Gawd, I hope they discontinue the Emac. It is such an ugly bulky computer. The could introduce a slightly larger Mac mini to replace it. No more integrated CRT please, that was so 90's.
Click to expand...
Actually, the MacMini is alredy as fast or faster (depending on the model) than the eMac. The only lmititations is 4x on the SuperDrive and smalle hard drives on the Mac Mini.

See you have what you wanted already.
 
Macmaniac said:
My guess is that we will see speed bump soon. Apple can't afford to drop the eMac, the mac mini may be nice, but it does not have a monitor, and its incredibly easy to steal. The eMac has its purpose, its just time to update.
Click to expand...
If Apple is updating the eMac, they will do so by the end of March at the latest they can really announce something and have schools be able to order it for the start of the school year in the fall (Northern Hemisphere fall).
 
MacSA said:
I just think that with it's current price and specifications it's a bit of an embarrassment.
Click to expand...

I don't know what you have to pay for it in the UK, but here in the USA it's only $300 more than the basic Mini........buy stereo speakers, a mouse, keyboard and a monitor and the two systems are pretty competative ...... even then the eMac has one more firewire port, one more usb port and a faster hard drive.....you can upgrade the eMac to 160GB hard drive and an 8X superdrive while Apple only offers an 80GB hard drive and a 4X superdrive for the Mini

people like to rag on the eMac because it's been around for awhile, but really it's not that much different than the Mini......it's just not as trendy
 
Bear said:
If Apple is updating the eMac, they will do so by the end of March at the latest they can really announce something and have schools be able to order it for the start of the school year in the fall (Northern Hemisphere fall).
Click to expand...

Good point. If it is indeed relegated to the education market only, there's no need to update until the buying season. Actually, the eMac has really only been updated once in the past 2 years. The update before the last was little more than a price drop and reshuffle, not real update.
 
about that smaller monitor

I am thinking that the smaller monitor will be rolled out by apple. think about it, what do the masses (insert:penguins,lemmings,zombies,etc.) think of when they think of a new computer from Dell or G-way, or whoever? blah blah blah ghz blah blah 900gig blah blah blah FSB blah blah the only thing that sticks in their mind is "ooh, well that one had a FLAT monitor for only 199 more" Give the penglembies a flat monitor for the mini and its bye bye emac. I would hope for either a 15, or to be competitive 17 inch monitor with a price tag of *gulp* 399. not gonna happen i know, but hey.. thats the price you pay for beauty and pain-free computing. go apple.
 
MacSA said:
Just checked the buyers guide, it's now 300 days since the last update lol, the average is only 179. What on Earth could cause such a delay? I wonder if they put off updating last year to prevent it biting into sales of the new iMac and then again this year with the release of the Mac mini? :confused:
Click to expand...

The mini is the reason. I'm guessing the emac will eventually just die out after another few years because the mini is better and cheaper.
 
cyanide said:
I am thinking that the smaller monitor will be rolled out by apple. think about it, what do the masses (insert:penguins,lemmings,zombies,etc.) think of when they think of a new computer from Dell or G-way, or whoever? blah blah blah ghz blah blah 900gig blah blah blah FSB blah blah the only thing that sticks in their mind is "ooh, well that one had a FLAT monitor for only 199 more" Give the penglembies a flat monitor for the mini and its bye bye emac. I would hope for either a 15, or to be competitive 17 inch monitor with a price tag of *gulp* 399. not gonna happen i know, but hey.. thats the price you pay for beauty and pain-free computing. go apple.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I had to point out that it's kind of funny that your colon and then p turned into a smily... It always seems to happen to me in iChat... :)
 
Well I am hoping for a 15" LCD, a sort of mini iMac...but that may be slated for 2006...

Its the perfect switcher machine if they LCD imnsho but time will tell.

Here's hoping that if the crt remains it at least gets a G5 in that bulky shell.
 
miloblithe said:
I think they'd probably like to move it to the background and have it be for the education market. If they upgrade it to a 1.42 or 1.5Ghz G4, it competes with the mini.
Click to expand...
Yep, agree with that, and that the mini is totally unsuitable to an education environment. I'd say the product line only had about 18-24 months left of shelf life before the ed market will be blessed by low cost iMac G5s.
 
Bear said:
Does it really matter why Apple has not updated the eMac?

Apple will update the eMac when they get around to it. It already has an 8x SuperDrive...what more do you want? Minor speed bumps? That's probably not cost effective for Apple to do.

And with what the eMac was designed for, it doesn't need updates as often. Basically if it got updates once a year just before schools put in their annual orders, that would be just about right for the eMac.
Click to expand...
Would the next rev 's superdrive in the eMac could support the DVD±R and DVD±RW formats ?(like the new rev PBG4's support)-currently only DVD-R/CD-RW in the emac.
Edit- according to http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300665, says the current emac does support DVD±R and DVD±RW burning with iLife '05.

Anyway, maybe Bluetooth EDR support and perhaps more VRAM is some of my ideas for the next emac rev. to include
 
aafuss1 said:
Would the next rev 's superdrive in the eMac could support the DVD±R and DVD±RW formats ?(like the new rev PBG4's support)-currently only DVD-R/CD-RW in the emac
Click to expand...
Actually the current eMacs (1.0GHz or later with 4x or faster SuperDrive) are DVD+R/RW in addition to DVD-R/RW.
 
Phat_Pat said:
Exactly you knw how easy it would be to grab a iMac G5 and waltz out of a school with it?

The eMac is good what its for. Schools.

e(education)Mac
Click to expand...

Hmmm.... I bought an eMac for our home use and I think it's great.
Big, yes, but so's my desk so that wasn't an issue.
Plus, it was more-or-less the same functionality as the going iMac at the time but cost quite a bit less... and it does everything I need (except sit on my lap :) ). With the Superdrive, it's all around fine machine. I even do a bit of movie editing with Final Cut Express, iMovie and iDVD.
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
If Emac was going to get an upgrade you would have seen it. Emac is EoL. Mini took its place :)
Click to expand...
One it's eMac and not Emac. And two, what makes you so knowledgable? Apple has gone a while between updates on various products before.
 
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