Have Apple opened a gap in their product line?...

[TBi]

I'd like to see a headless iMac. Although i'm sure lots of people have said this.

Let me upgrade cpu, memory and have an upgradable standard sized SATA hard drive and i'll be happy. Although having the graphics card on one of those removable MXM cards would be nice too

Definately not pro, but good enough for me.

 

[roland.g]

Though I have a Rev. A G4, I have said that I am not buying an iMac or Mini, and because I want to go headless I lean towards the Mini even though integrated graphics and slow drives scare me, so I am just waiting for Rev. B with speed bumps and/or Merom to make a purchase. Which means I am probably waiting for Paris. However, all that said, I would buy a Mac Midi/Mac Cube/whatever else you want to call it headless-Mac the day it gets announced.

And so would a lot lot lot more of us. Including, and I hate to say it, all those hey-just-get-an-Xbox-and-leave-MR-gamers.

 

[bbrosemer]

why not just downgrade the Mac Pro in every way possible... then upgrade it

 

[roland.g]

why not just downgrade the Mac Pro in every way possible... then upgrade it

Because personally I would like a smaller form factor. And I don't really need a quad. But I would like things like BT and Airport built in. Lastly, I would like to still be able to afford a 23" ACD.

Ideally:

2.16 or 2.33 Yonah or comparable Conroe.
160, 250, & 500 GB HDD options. 3.5" 7200s. Not really even concerned with space for second.
Dedicated upgradable graphics. X1600 or X1800 is fine. Ability to push 2 screens would be nice.
BT & Airport of course.
One PCI slot, not for me, but I'm sure some want it.

 

[Thanatoast]

Because personally I would like a smaller form factor. And I don't really need a quad. But I would like things like BT and Airport built in. Lastly, I would like to still be able to afford a 23" ACD.

Ideally:

2.16 or 2.33 Yonah or comparable Conroe.
160, 250, & 500 GB HDD options. 3.5" 7200s. Not really even concerned with space for second.
Dedicated upgradable graphics. X1600 or X1800 is fine. Ability to push 2 screens would be nice.
BT & Airport of course.
One PCI slot, not for me, but I'm sure some want it.

So what's the price point?

For the record, I would love to have Apple make this so I could sell my still-PC-using friends on it. There are only a few left who haven't switched, but as mentioned, the gap between the iMac and the Mac Pro is large and I know at least one person who would fit perfectly there.

 

[roland.g]

I really have no idea on price $1399, $1499, $1599. All depends on what it really includes base-wise, as well as slots and such. Doubt it would hit as low as $1299 to start unless it was 160 HDD with a crap video card, no ram or keyboard/mouse.

 

[milozauckerman]

Yes. I think the prosumer market for Apple is bigger than a lot of people think. Creative professionals, artists, hobbyists, etc. - people who aren't going to be editing Miami Vice, but who need more than what an iMac offers (or don't like the idea of paying for an LCD screen they can't reuse - irrelevant as prices drop, but real for now). (And, honestly, I see no reason to own a Mac Mini unless it's running your home entertainment system or something.)

These are the type of people buying the low-end MacBook Pros and black Macbooks - they don't need the bells and whistles of a 17", but they don't really want the white MB (whether for genuine reasons or ego) - and they were a huge, huge, huge part of the G4 and G5 tower market.

(Yes, the new Quads are the same price and a better value than the G5 towers were - but computer prices trend down over time, hobbyists/prosumers don't expect to pay that much or put up with a tower that large for their needs.)

So we're talking Core 2 based, smaller tower form factor, two hard drive bays, a games-capable GPU stock (hey, we want switchers and Bootcampers, right?), four RAM slots (not the FB ECC heatsinked stuff on the Mac Pros - I want to fill it with 4GB and not pay $850) and however many PCI/PCI-E/PCI-X (whatever the current standard is, it escapes my mind) slots you get with a normal mid-tower.

Basically, an Apple version of the mainstream desktop line, priced in line with Apple products - I'm not asking for a $999-1299 deal. $1500-2000 is enough. And that top end leads people to the Xeons, for not a whole lot more.

 

[brbubba]

1) If Apple fills this "gap", it won't be any time soon. They'll want to keep demand for the Mac Pro strong.

I think we are talking totally different market segments. The Mac Pro is seriously toeing the server solution line, and some would argue squarely within it. If they take out a processor and drop the price by $500-600 it would appeal to the performance enthusiast market. In addition it may attract PC users, as they have become accustomed to the full desktop footprint.

As it stands now there is absolutely no reason for a quad core solution in the home or even for a gamer. Unless you have a specific application where you need 4 cores or a server, its just overkill.

 

[Flowbee]

1) If Apple fills this "gap", it won't be any time soon. They'll want to keep demand for the Mac Pro strong.

If they *are* planning a mid-range Pro desktop, they'll wait until demand for the Mac Pro has cooled. Much like they did when they introduced the MacBook Pro. If the MacBook had been available at the same time, it would have cannibalized a lot of MBP sales.

I can't be the only Apple fan who doesn't want an integrated desktop and would pay $1700-1800 for an expandable Core 2 Duo machine.

 

[miloblithe]

Of course, while I don't think they will do it, I am also on board for this being exactly the computer I'd want. I can't afford and don't need a Mac Pro, but the Mini is a little too restricted and too weak for me to think it has a really long useful lifespan. I'd love to see something in between. The real problem is how do you make this truly a different segment from the iMac and keep both iMac and mid-range mac sales strong? If Apple can figure that out, then the model makes sense. Otherwise I don't see it happening.

The other option would be scrapping the iMac. I'd be on board for that, but I doubt most Mac fans would.

 

[cube]

Basically, an Apple version of the mainstream desktop line, priced in line with Apple products - I'm not asking for a $999-1299 deal. $1500-2000 is enough. And that top end leads people to the Xeons, for not a whole lot more.

$2000 is not enough. It would be a bad deal compared to the Mac Pro.

$1500, tops.