Date of 21" and date of 27" release?

[joe-h2o]

You may not be screaming, but you did call it a 'catastrophe' when it hasn't even slipped past the official release target.

I'm sure that the actual final ship day isn't planned terribly far in advance, but the whole product release and production process surely is. For a product that doesn't need to hit a specific announced date (iPhone, iPad), they probably start selling them as soon as they are confident that they have a decent supply without major production issues. They might wait for the next tuesday/wednesday, but that's probably about it.

They aren't going to release the iMacs until they can make enough of them reliably, nor will they keep thousands of them stuck in warehouses just to make people wait. Doing either of those things would hurt them.

I'd say what has happened with the iMac qualifies as a catastrophe - regardless of when Apple said they would release, the fact is that you haven't been able to buy one from Apple (of any vintage) since October, unless you hunted in the refurb section. That is a catastrophic hole in your supply chain leading up to one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.

 

[washburn]

Starting to think imac won't be released 27th cos usually sites start reporting updates are imminent like Appleinsider and soon it's all over the place, everything has just been quite.

 

[mohsy90]

Starting to think imac won't be released 27th cos usually sites start reporting updates are imminent like Appleinsider and soon it's all over the place, everything has just been quite.

That's not exactly an accurate indicator. As far as we know, it could very well be tomorrow. Most of the rumors of releases involve model numbers showing up in inventory of other retailers. Seeing how short handed Apple will be with the new iMacs, i dont expect other retailers to get a hold of them for at least until a couple weeks after launch.

 

[XofDyer]

I'd say what has happened with the iMac qualifies as a catastrophe - regardless of when Apple said they would release, the fact is that you haven't been able to buy one from Apple (of any vintage) since October, unless you hunted in the refurb section. That is a catastrophic hole in your supply chain leading up to one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.

And now it looks like limited availability! I'm glad I am not the only one to think things are not quite right here.

With the mass uptake of iToys, Apple (finally) have/had a brilliant opportunity to expand their desktops. Get them into the hands of the blokes who run the home networks, and the potential seems endless to me.

Or take too long with the refresh, obsess about thinness like an American teen, basically drop out of the market for over a month, and hope people still think you are serious about desktop PCs.

Such a rush also makes me worry - have they got it all right! or was there some problem that they couldn't get right prior to launch.

 

[gegeviana]

Considering they're limited do you think there's a chance they could all be sold out in the same day? (I'm going to apple store Paris)

 

[CoolSpot]

What do we think? 31st November for the 21' and 32nd December for the 27'?

WHat's history for Apple after such a call? Tuesday? Last day of month? On time?

Surely this is a catastrophe for Apple. With iDevices selling through the roof, you can't (or wouldn't want to) buy the cornerstone of their product line. Either there is something seriously wrong; or Apple are delaying release to minimise returns based on purchase date. What a mistake it would be if the latter were true.

I thought the press release was pretty clear. 21" iMacs available at stores, select retailers, and online starting 11/30. 27" iMac available for order online, shipping in December (none in retail, but available for order online)

Apple doesn't want to downsell people to the 21" model by delaying the 27" model. Having the 21" model in stores (along with the 27" TB display as a stand-in for the 27" model) lets them keep both options open for consumers.

 

[Siderz]

I thought the press release was pretty clear. 21" iMacs available at stores, select retailers, and online starting 11/30. 27" iMac available for order online, shipping in December (none in retail, but available for order online)

Apple doesn't want to downsell people to the 21" model by delaying the 27" model. Having the 21" model in stores (along with the 27" TB display as a stand-in for the 27" model) lets them keep both options open for consumers.

1. This thread is old.

2. 31st November doesn't exist; he was joking.

 

[CoolSpot]

I'd say what has happened with the iMac qualifies as a catastrophe - regardless of when Apple said they would release, the fact is that you haven't been able to buy one from Apple (of any vintage) since October, unless you hunted in the refurb section. That is a catastrophic hole in your supply chain leading up to one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.

As much as people really hope otherwise, Apple doesn't really give too much of a **** about desktops. They will sell orders of magnitude more ipads, iphones, and laptops than they will any desktop computer. Limited availability of the ipad mini will hurt them considerably more than delayed imacs.

 

[JohnDory]

I thought the press release was pretty clear. 21" iMacs available at stores, select retailers, and online starting 11/30. 27" iMac available for order online, shipping in December (none in retail, but available for order online)

I understand the announcement.

It is a question of whether this is good marketing or bad marketing? And why they stopped selling the old model so early (good machine, oder)? Either to limit the number of returns - 14 days; or quality issues - more costly than having no product available throughout key sales periods?

Are they freaking out, or is this to plan? People fall over running too fast.

 

[XofDyer]

I understand the announcement.

It is a question of whether this is good marketing or bad marketing? And why they stopped selling the old model so early (good machine, oder)? Either to limit the number of returns - 14 days; or quality issues - more costly than having no product available throughout key sales periods?

Are they freaking out, or is this to plan? People fall over running too fast.

If I were in charge of iMac release, I would fire myself before more people realise what an opportunity has gone begging.