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Apple Lowers Prices for eMac

Originally posted by evilbert420
Umm... the eMac doesn't do DDR, and it's system bus is 133Mhz. The eMac also has several-generations-old graphics subsystem.
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We can choose to point our eyes only at the deficiencies but let's look at the whole picture.

1. A Healthy 200Mhz speed increase is nice.

2. DVD Rom Capability in ALL Macs now means Apple can now ship more large packages in DVD ROM format.

3. No price change.


Someone looking for an $800 Mac is probably not worrying too much about bus speeds and graphics cards. This is the perfect computer for Education(it's original intended market) and as a first Mac or second Mac for the household.

I'm looking to purchase one in 6 months. Probably the next bump to 1.25Ghz hopefully.
 
Originally posted by Bozola
Somehow I just can't get excited over fairly old technology.. sure it may be cheaper, but it still is old..

:mad:
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That's because you don't have kids.

As a "family" computer, the eMac is perfect: durable, simple, easy, and fast "enough" for most apps the kids want to do or play. No, it's not an 1337 gamerz system, but it certainly has its uses.

Looks like this (the low-end one; have a SuperDrive on my G5 and really don't need one in the living room) is what I'll be putting in our living room in January ...
 
Originally posted by evilbert420
Umm... the eMac doesn't do DDR, and it's system bus is 133Mhz. The eMac also has several-generations-old graphics subsystem.
Click to expand...

133MHz system bus isn't really all that far shy of a 167MHz system bus ... granted, it's no 1GHz FSB, but it's just downright silly to be comparing an eMac to a G5 machine anyways.

For home use where the most "gaming" that'll be done on it is a rousing round of Reader Rabbit, the two-year-old graphics (ATI 7500 debuted in November 2001 as far as I can tell) are certainly acceptable. Heck, my PC is still running on a first-generation GeForce from 1998-ish, and I *know* the types of games my kids want to play run on that card perfectly. Moreover, given the lack of expandability and the not-intended-for-hardcore-gaming audience (meaning, the memory is not used to feed custom peripherals or AGP), the DDR memory wouldn't be a useful addition for the most part anyways.

If these things are important to you, then you are not the eMac's target audience. For the eMac's target audience, the feature set and level of technology, combined with the price and overall design, make this a pure homerun.
 
Originally posted by jettredmont
That's because you don't have kids.

As a "family" computer, the eMac is perfect: durable, simple, easy, and fast "enough" for most apps the kids want to do or play. No, it's not an 1337 gamerz system, but it certainly has its uses.

Looks like this (the low-end one; have a SuperDrive on my G5 and really don't need one in the living room) is what I'll be putting in our living room in January ...
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Precisely!

I'm about to buy a G5 and I don't want my 3 year old to use it like he is using my G3. I have been thinking about getting an eMac for him, I even looked at older models and original iMac's. But with these new prices, I will probably be able to find a very nice eMac ( new or old model ) for his simple games.

BTW. Great move, Apple.... :D
 
I'm glad to see Apple keeping this product current with their ongoing technology improvements.

I'm surprised to find this thread, so soon after Apple's announcement, on page 3 of a "new posts" MacRumors search. I guess there are a lot of other discussions going on today!

I'd like to see Apple provide a headless consumer Mac, i.e., an eMac/iMac-level machine without a monitor, so people could buy one and then get a bigger/better (or even cheaper) monitor. I know people who want screen real estate but don't need Power Mac performance, and they would find that ideal.
 
Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Has anyone done an eMac/Dell comparison? It might be interesting to see...
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I tried that on dell.com, and 2.2 ghz P4 2400 spec'd out to match the low end eMac came out to $1151 (128mb RAM, 40 GB hard drive, FireWire, XP Pro, McAfee Virus, 1 year warr, DVD/CD-RW). And the video card on the 2400 stinks compared to the eMac.

And it gets even more favorable for Apple if you compare the SuperDrive eMac.

Apple needs to come out with a price/feature comparison of the eMac vs. Dell/HP/etc. The value of a Mac is overwhelming now.
 
Originally posted by jayscheuerle
Rip the heads off these babies and sell them for $200 less.

A $599 headless Mac would do well, even if it's the lowest of low-end. This niche needs a filling!
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I wonder if they could do that? The monitor is costing them less than $200 for sure. The case would be a bit smaller and could ease up some design challenges, would have to add cables, etc to hook up to a monitor. I don't think they could make it that much cheaper and maintain margins. Of course, if they sold a bunch at that price, the margins wouldn't have to be huge.

As they move to a business model where software plays a greater role, then it makes more sense to increase the units sold even if hardware profit decreases slightly. And if having a cheap Mac encourages people to buy a $300 iPod, then even better.
 
eMac is a great deal!

I love my eMac/700, and it can't touch the specs on the $799 model! $749 for students!

Imagine how low a headless eMac with lower, iBook-like specs could cost!
 
Ha!.. I do have kids, two of them.. and they have their own imacs. and so does my wife.. in the kitchen of all places!

Bozola



Originally posted by jettredmont
That's because you don't have kids.

As a "family" computer, the eMac is perfect: durable, simple, easy, and fast "enough" for most apps the kids want to do or play. No, it's not an 1337 gamerz system, but it certainly has its uses.

Looks like this (the low-end one; have a SuperDrive on my G5 and really don't need one in the living room) is what I'll be putting in our living room in January ...
Click to expand...
 
agreed - time for a headless emac

As wiht all the other posts, I agree - a headless emac would be grrreat!. I have a 700/combo emac that I would really enjoy increased screen real estate on. With iChat, photoshop or a few java chat windows open, things get crowded mighty quickly. Maybe in a frosted plastic slab somewhat similar to the old Quadra 660 but in an emac- type finish with a slot loading drive?

Wicked . . .
 
Well now every desktop Mac is 1Ghz or higher with the 800Mhz model dropped. I don't know if anyone realized this, but I thought Apple finally completely hit the Ghz world on their desktops. The price is nice and I am thinking very strongly about replacing the iMac DV 400 now. I just know however the second I buy a new 1Ghz Combo eMac they will release a 1.25Ghz with a better graphics. So what to do? I know the 1Ghz eMac will completely dust my old DV in everything I do...but should I wait a couple more months...how sweet a 1.25Ghz, DDR memory, better graphics chip, Combo drive for the same $749 (I am a teacher) would be....
 
Originally posted by machan
one other great thing about the new emacs is that you can BTO a 160gig hard drive!!!! i love that!
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Yeah, I saw that too! $90 with edu discount. I'm no expert in HDs but going from 40 gigs to 160 gigs for $90 seems like a awesome deal for me. I think this will be enough for my entire family. [1 kid, 3 adults, 1 grandmother ;-) ]

I join many in this thread in announcing a future purchase of eMac before Christmas. It will be my family computer that will withstand potential abuse by a 4 year old. But I'm also going to max out the RAM and add Airport Extreme for some fun network games. I think Age of Mythology will run just fine, along with other games like EU2, Hearts of Iron, etc.
 
Originally posted by Dros
I wonder if they could do that? The monitor is costing them less than $200 for sure.
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i guess that's reason there hasn't been a headless consumer Mac. the inclusion of monitors in i/eMacs allow Apple to increase the margin.

in their analysis, it must be estimated that the additional revenue from lower margin headless mac and increased marketshare isn't offset by decreased revenue from the sale of higher margin, monitor included i/eMacs... so they just "expect" people with different monitor needs than the bundled ones to just buy a PowerMac...
 
Originally posted by Belisarius88
I join many in this thread in announcing a future purchase of eMac before Christmas. It will be my family computer that will withstand potential abuse by a 4 year old. But I'm also going to max out the RAM and add Airport Extreme for some fun network games. I think Age of Mythology will run just fine, along with other games like EU2, Hearts of Iron, etc.
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Yep, and I'll do the same and make yet another announcement. :D After mulling it over today, this is what I'm going to go with for a Christmas gift for my Mother. And it'll be her first Mac too. Ah, what the joys of switching will influence you to do for others. :)
 
Originally posted by jxyama
they just "expect" people with different monitor needs than the bundled ones to just buy a PowerMac
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Which makes sense. The low-end-model buyers are likely to be the novices and switchers getting their feet wet, and the all-in-one simplicity suits them. I think those of us who might want a headless consumer Mac should be looking at one-generation-behind Power Macs. That's how to get less performance for less cost, while retaining configurability (your choice of monitor). The upside: this choice is already available. The downside: you miss out on the other developments, e.g., improved communication interfaces and included software, that come with the very latest models.
 
Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
I think they should make a new Cube for this market.
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Hmm I think you're probably the 10,000 person to post this on these forums since I first came here in March...
 
STOP!!!!!!!

DO NOT BUY!!!

While Apple has dropped the price of the 1Ghz eMac, they have also crippled the computer, by once again using 5400 rpm drives. Check it out. All eMac pages on the apple site have been stripped of any mention of hard drive speed.

The emac, on its debut, had 5400 rpm drive, but were later upgraded to 7200 rpm drives and its website noted the speed. No longer.

Another clue? The cost to upgrade from 80gb to 160gb on the Superdrive eMac is $50. The same upgrade on the iMac is $100.

It's crazy how they want to screw over those who can least afford a computer. I have an emac, and was planning on upgrading to another one, but there's no way I'll accept inferior technology. Plus, it's so freakin difficult to take apart this thing to upgrade a hard drive on your own, so that's out. I guess it'll have to be an iMac for me.
 
I just bought this model last week for a client. I told them about the price drop, and they are cool with that, but I would love to get them $200 back from Apple. What do you guys think the odds of getting a rebate are, without returning the one that is setup on their network?
 
My god, it's a 5400 rpm drive! IT'S CRRRRRAP!!!

:rolleyes: If you're going to be using an eMac anyway, it doesn't matter. Get a life, or better yet get a job so you can afford a better Mac, if 7200 RPM is so important to you.
 
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