I think it depends on the direction Apple takes. If they get back to the iMac roots, a simple consumer Mac with decent specs and a good price, it'll probably be cute and white. If they go high end, with all the bells and whistles and higher prices, it might be aluminum. I'd like to see them get back to the basics so that they'll actually sell a bunch of new iMacs.elliemarshall said:
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New iMac In September
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I bet they will cost more than current model!
If they can't get the chip from IBM we will pay more!
Apple is a great company but isnt a part of innovation to make something better for less?
If they can't get the chip from IBM we will pay more!
Apple is a great company but isnt a part of innovation to make something better for less?
I think they might do something metallic, but anodized metals don't have to look ugly by any means. The G5 tower is a brute, but the mini manages to look cute and Xserve is unusually classy looking for something that's just going to be stuffed into a closet.elliemarshall said:
I'm not sure they were really trying to go with two distinct looks, so much as that's the way the timing worked out. The G4 cabinets were really little more than a continuation of the swoopy B&W G3 style, which was definitely intended to coordinate with the old iMac. iMac G4/eMac/iPod came in between that and G5, so they all bear a family resemblance (which is kind of evocative of early Macs, lots of straight lines and subdued curves). AirPort Extreme is more high end and got the white treatment. G5 has the metal look, but so do iSight and mini, both of which are more toy than tool. AirPort Express just matches all the other recent Apple adapters and cables.
I'd expect any future CRT all-in-one machines to retain a plastic case just because they're already so bulky and heavy, but another LCD all-in-one wouldn't be constrained the same way.
rtdunham said:
While individual purchases can be made in the fall, institutional, at least for K-12, are made in the spring. Even introducing and shipping the new iMac now wouldn't make a difference for those markets.
I seriously, seriously doubt that Apple is going to get the chip for the iMacs from a company other than IBM. They are committed to the G5 and the PowerPC architecture. I don't think that they will be switching from this for a long time.billystlyes said:If they can't get the chip from IBM we will pay more!
Color
I would like to see the return of color to the imac's. Instead of aluminum, what about using a plastic similar to what is currently being used, except employing the tech from this patent?
https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021227191929.shtml
I would like to see the return of color to the imac's. Instead of aluminum, what about using a plastic similar to what is currently being used, except employing the tech from this patent?
https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021227191929.shtml
MacRumors Half-serious Poll Idea #147
The announcement by Apple that no iMacs will be available till September is ..
1. A colossal disaster of epic proportions and will be the #1 computer story of the year in 2004.
2. College courses in marketing will add this to the list of the greatest foul-ups in business history, sandwiched right between the Indians sale Manhattan and that GUI thing.
3. Dvorak, over at PC Mag, will pronounce that Apple will be ... (well, you guess this one)
4. Apple will face the greatest collapse of computer sales in market history and then bounce back to an astounding 3 percent market share within 10 years.
The announcement by Apple that no iMacs will be available till September is ..
1. A colossal disaster of epic proportions and will be the #1 computer story of the year in 2004.
2. College courses in marketing will add this to the list of the greatest foul-ups in business history, sandwiched right between the Indians sale Manhattan and that GUI thing.
3. Dvorak, over at PC Mag, will pronounce that Apple will be ... (well, you guess this one)
4. Apple will face the greatest collapse of computer sales in market history and then bounce back to an astounding 3 percent market share within 10 years.
The link doesn't seem to be working, but I think I remember the patent that you are talking about. Is it the one about somehow changing colors? I can't exactly remember what the patent was, but it was interesting.PaulSbird said:
But that brings up a good point. Apple may not want to use the aluminum that's used in the PowerMacs and PowerBooks, in order to keep the professional and consumer lines more separate. They may not want to keep using the white, just because they have used it for a while. Who knows? Only time will tell...and maybe some more rumors between now and September.
Time Line of the iMAC
Timeline of the iMac
January 7, 2002
Apple introduces first flat-panel iMac
January 28, 2002
Apple announces it has 150,000 pre-orders for new iMac
March 21, 2002
Blaming flat-panel and memory prices, Apple hikes price of all iMac models by $100
April 29, 2002
Apple introduces eMac, cheaper CRT-based alternative to the flat-panel iMac
July 17, 2002
Apple introduces 17-inch flat-panel iMac
February 4, 2003
Apple refreshes iMac line with new 15-inch and 17-inch models
March 18, 2003
Apple discontinues original gumdrop-style iMac, ending its five-year run
September 8, 2003
Apple speeds up 15-inch, 17-inch iMacs
Nov. 18, 2003
Apple introduces 20-inch iMac
July 1, 2004
Apple announces new iMac on the way, but delayed; stops taking orders for current models
Timeline of the iMac
January 7, 2002
Apple introduces first flat-panel iMac
January 28, 2002
Apple announces it has 150,000 pre-orders for new iMac
March 21, 2002
Blaming flat-panel and memory prices, Apple hikes price of all iMac models by $100
April 29, 2002
Apple introduces eMac, cheaper CRT-based alternative to the flat-panel iMac
July 17, 2002
Apple introduces 17-inch flat-panel iMac
February 4, 2003
Apple refreshes iMac line with new 15-inch and 17-inch models
March 18, 2003
Apple discontinues original gumdrop-style iMac, ending its five-year run
September 8, 2003
Apple speeds up 15-inch, 17-inch iMacs
Nov. 18, 2003
Apple introduces 20-inch iMac
July 1, 2004
Apple announces new iMac on the way, but delayed; stops taking orders for current models
Just one more ok? I'm a cube owner and that baby is headless and nestled into a bookcase (and as an aside, the reason the cube "did not work" was due to the price, not the technology). Try doing that with a PM G4/G5. My cube is a webserver and right there I fork from the majority of home users. But for my purposes a compact headless wireless imac is a no-brainer. Drop it on a shelf, plug it into a power outlet, administer it using SSH or RDP, airport express for networking. What's not to like?JGowan said:
If I was an Apple junky I woud be imagining a home computing content-/file-server with streaming music via airport express, my family accessing it using their ibooks/powerbooks/whatever, wireless printing, at an affordable price-point.
The current all-in-one iMac may inform but won't dictate the design of the new one, and Apple rarely fails to impress/surprise when releasing a new product. I'm not saying the new iMac will be headless but it is foolish to deride it's potential as a platform.
The white, desk lamp-like iMac with its adjustable flat-panel screen debuted to both strong demand and critical acclaim, but sales quickly lost steam, leaving analysts unsurprised by Apple Computer's plans for an all-new design. Apple stopped taking orders for the flat-panel iMac on Thursday.
"The old iMac wasn't selling so well, and it was getting long in the tooth," said retail analyst Stephen Baker, who tracks the computer market for the NPD Group.
Apple has declined to comment on the replacement iMac, but the company issued a statement Thursday saying it had halted sales of the current model and would have a new one ready by September. Apple said it hoped to have the new model sooner but wouldn't say what led to the holdup.
The current iMac design debuted in January 2002, succeeding the translucent machine famous for its variety of gumdrop colors. The flat-panel landed on the cover of Time magazine just as CEO Steve Jobs showed the machine off before thousands of Mac fans at Macworld Expo San Francisco. In less than a month, Apple boasted 150,000 pre-orders.
For a time, the unit was scarce on store shelves, and Apple chose to briefly hike the price by $100 to make up for rising component costs. By June of that year, there were already signs that demand was flattening out.
Combined iMac sales of $448 million peaked in that first quarter and have steadily declined since.
"If you look at the history of this iMac, the one thing that has to strike you is the huge jump out of the starting line," Baker said. "Once it got going, I'm not sure it ever really caught on."
In the quarter that ended in March 2004, Apple sold 217,000 iMacs--the lowest total ever and below the 233,000 units of the original iMac sold in the last quarter before the flat-panel model was introduced.
The arrival of the flat-panel iMac also coincided with a shift among Apple buyers, and computer owners generally, toward laptops. Portable machines now account for nearly half of Apple's unit sales.
The flat-panel iMac's 30-month life was comparatively long for computer designs but only about half as long as the 5-year run of the original iMac, which debuted in 1998 and was finally discontinued in March 2003, more than a year after the arrival of the flat-panel machine.
In fact very few Windows computer makers followed suit with flat-panel all-in-ones may be a sign of the different ways Mac users and PC owners view their devices.
"A PC user is so used to the precedent of being able to buy displays separately from the (computer) and enjoys that freedom it - that the Switching Campain NEVER CAUGHT ON."
"The old iMac wasn't selling so well, and it was getting long in the tooth," said retail analyst Stephen Baker, who tracks the computer market for the NPD Group.
Apple has declined to comment on the replacement iMac, but the company issued a statement Thursday saying it had halted sales of the current model and would have a new one ready by September. Apple said it hoped to have the new model sooner but wouldn't say what led to the holdup.
The current iMac design debuted in January 2002, succeeding the translucent machine famous for its variety of gumdrop colors. The flat-panel landed on the cover of Time magazine just as CEO Steve Jobs showed the machine off before thousands of Mac fans at Macworld Expo San Francisco. In less than a month, Apple boasted 150,000 pre-orders.
For a time, the unit was scarce on store shelves, and Apple chose to briefly hike the price by $100 to make up for rising component costs. By June of that year, there were already signs that demand was flattening out.
Combined iMac sales of $448 million peaked in that first quarter and have steadily declined since.
"If you look at the history of this iMac, the one thing that has to strike you is the huge jump out of the starting line," Baker said. "Once it got going, I'm not sure it ever really caught on."
In the quarter that ended in March 2004, Apple sold 217,000 iMacs--the lowest total ever and below the 233,000 units of the original iMac sold in the last quarter before the flat-panel model was introduced.
The arrival of the flat-panel iMac also coincided with a shift among Apple buyers, and computer owners generally, toward laptops. Portable machines now account for nearly half of Apple's unit sales.
The flat-panel iMac's 30-month life was comparatively long for computer designs but only about half as long as the 5-year run of the original iMac, which debuted in 1998 and was finally discontinued in March 2003, more than a year after the arrival of the flat-panel machine.
In fact very few Windows computer makers followed suit with flat-panel all-in-ones may be a sign of the different ways Mac users and PC owners view their devices.
"A PC user is so used to the precedent of being able to buy displays separately from the (computer) and enjoys that freedom it - that the Switching Campain NEVER CAUGHT ON."
MacFan25 said:
I entirely understnd what the speculation is, and it would be great if Apple were attempting to put a g5 processor in the iMac, even with the current trouble it may have just gotten Apple into.
What I am saying is, or to be more accurate, what I'm doing is raining on everyone's parade. As you point out, Apple (and the rest of us) know that the g5 is a hot chip, and we've all known for some time that IBM have been having problems fabricating 90nm chips with a large yeild.
Which is why I very much doubt Apple would commit themselves to ceasing production on the g4 iMac to start production on a g5 iMac unless they were certain these pre-existing, well-anticipated problems were rectified beyond all reasonable doubt. From the unusually frank message on Apple's iMac page, it certainly seems that the problem they've encountered has come as something of a shock to them. If, which I sincerely doubt, the g5's problems have come as such a shock to Apple so far down the line of producing a new product, then Apple really should consider another line of business.
billystlyes said:If they can't get the chip from IBM we will pay more!
Nope. Innovation has nothing to do with making anything better for less. And why the **** should it?
Too many people sing Apple's praises for their innovation then have a tantrum because they can't always afford what Apple produce.
Here's an idea I like. People who put thought, ingenuity, passion and dedication into producing something genuinely good being paid the same for their efforts as the ****s at Dell get paid for pushing second rate lumps of plastic at bargain bin prices.
TranceClubMusic said:The white, desk lamp-like iMac with its adjustable flat-panel screen debuted to both strong demand and critical acclaim, but sales quickly lost steam, leaving analysts unsurprised by Apple Computer's plans for an all-new design. Apple stopped taking orders for the flat-panel iMac on Thursday.
"The old iMac wasn't selling so well, and it was getting long in the tooth," said retail analyst Stephen Baker, who tracks the computer market for the NPD Group.
Apple has declined to comment on the replacement iMac, but the company issued a statement Thursday saying it had halted sales of the current model and would have a new one ready by September. Apple said it hoped to have the new model sooner but wouldn't say what led to the holdup.
The current iMac design debuted in January 2002, succeeding the translucent machine famous for its variety of gumdrop colors. The flat-panel landed on the cover of Time magazine just as CEO Steve Jobs showed the machine off before thousands of Mac fans at Macworld Expo San Francisco. In less than a month, Apple boasted 150,000 pre-orders.
For a time, the unit was scarce on store shelves, and Apple chose to briefly hike the price by $100 to make up for rising component costs. By June of that year, there were already signs that demand was flattening out.
Combined iMac sales of $448 million peaked in that first quarter and have steadily declined since.
"If you look at the history of this iMac, the one thing that has to strike you is the huge jump out of the starting line," Baker said. "Once it got going, I'm not sure it ever really caught on."
In the quarter that ended in March 2004, Apple sold 217,000 iMacs--the lowest total ever and below the 233,000 units of the original iMac sold in the last quarter before the flat-panel model was introduced.
The arrival of the flat-panel iMac also coincided with a shift among Apple buyers, and computer owners generally, toward laptops. Portable machines now account for nearly half of Apple's unit sales.
The flat-panel iMac's 30-month life was comparatively long for computer designs but only about half as long as the 5-year run of the original iMac, which debuted in 1998 and was finally discontinued in March 2003, more than a year after the arrival of the flat-panel machine.
In fact very few Windows computer makers followed suit with flat-panel all-in-ones may be a sign of the different ways Mac users and PC owners view their devices.
"A PC user is so used to the precedent of being able to buy displays separately from the (computer) and enjoys that freedom it - that the Switching Campain NEVER CAUGHT ON."
Man I'm so sick of this.
FIRST
The flat panel iMac was far from a flop. Yes it didn't sell as well as the original iMac, but it was on the market for HALF as long AND it split that market with the old iMacs in the begginign and the eMac later on. I swear people refuse to look at the facts, they just like to read what they want to see.
SECOND
The switching campaign never caught on? Becuase they iMac sales didn't go through the roof? Wow thats some great logic there. Or maybe its that the switching campaign did just fine, it just didn't switch the market over night. Also um, laptop sales went way up, so iMac sales went down, that still doesn't mean the iMac was a flop.
The only reasonable and logically back up complaint I have seen on here is that the iMac that was just phased out wasn't a great deal because of the suped up eMacs. So that means they need to update the iMac. Ok, thats what they are doing.
I swear people are NEVER happy, it doesn't matter what Apple does they are never happy, not ever for a day. The glass isn't just half-empty around here its half-empty and got a gun pointed at its head or something. Gimme a break. So Apple outsold there estimate and will have a NEW iMac line in September, thats GOOD news. At worst its just news, its not really bad news other than that a few people won't be able to buy an iMac from the Apple store for a little while (note: retail and catalogue locations still have iMacs).
elliemarshall said:
Yes, I think the new iMac will be G5 - I'm sure people said the exact same thing when the G3 iMac moved to the G4, since that was the "pro/serious" chip at the time.
Krizoitz said:
I'm happy...
see!
And happy with my PowerBook and all the other Macs I have ever used and/or owned. Frustration be gone.
Link for patent
Color link = Sorry the link didn't work. If you do a search on this site for:
Apple Patent: Dynamic Ornamental Appearance (December 27, 2002)
I'l try this again...
https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021227191929.shtml
While the current design hasn't sold as well, I don't think it was marketed very well, and as a previous poster stated, laptops are what people are buying. Once you use a FP imac for a period of time, you realize the form factor is great, especially with multiple users in a single household.
link still doesn' work, although you can cut and paste it.
Color link = Sorry the link didn't work. If you do a search on this site for:
Apple Patent: Dynamic Ornamental Appearance (December 27, 2002)
I'l try this again...
https://www.macrumors.com/pages/2002/12/20021227191929.shtml
While the current design hasn't sold as well, I don't think it was marketed very well, and as a previous poster stated, laptops are what people are buying. Once you use a FP imac for a period of time, you realize the form factor is great, especially with multiple users in a single household.
link still doesn' work, although you can cut and paste it.
Apple Patent: Dynamic Ornamental Appearance is the story on the patent.
It's an interesting concept, just hard to imagine. If they do implement this into the next revision iMacs, it will probably be something that no other computer has or can do. Still, I don't know how they could do something like that, but with Apple, a lot can be done I suppose.
It's an interesting concept, just hard to imagine. If they do implement this into the next revision iMacs, it will probably be something that no other computer has or can do. Still, I don't know how they could do something like that, but with Apple, a lot can be done I suppose.
g4cubed said:
Still new to the forums...I see where I screwed up.
I dont know what we'll see in Sept., but I'm sure it'll be nothing we expect.
I think the iMac model lends itself to a prominent place in the home or office, where it it integrates with the environment as opposed to being just a computer on a desk with a dedicated business function.