Next-Generation iMacs Already in Production?

[hiimamac]

Well see I'd believe that but the LCDs in monitors aren't exactly expensive these days. And we are getting panels in monitors for less money like those Dell E-ISP? (not sure if that's right) monitors. I don't see the market converging...I thought there were different panels for tvs and monitors anyway. Not to mention the panels are built in different resolutions optimized for viewing distances and reading text and what not, stuff you wouldn't do with a tv necessarily.

I don't know... What you said was the only real thing I could think of nut I don't even see that making sense. I'll keep my 1080p 24" monitor, something you won't find often or cheap in the tv market.

I got mine on sale hdmi 1080p and fwiw 720p looks beget than 1080i at 24". Paid $249. Still goes for $599 and it's glossy and has quick buttons for games, photos, text, movies, normal, speakers, USB 2.0 x 2. But use my pro audio mackie hardware and Lucas media desk 5.1 for sound. Same speakers that they use in Lucas studios. Awesome.

Let's hope win 7 and msft new tablet is a hit as that will being us better specs on future apple products.

Peace

 

[thatdarnfish]

Laughable. There is no way they are kicking up the price to $1800.00 on the base model.

They want to increase sales, not lower em.

Again, those prices were in AUS$, not US$.

 

[hiimamac]

I know.

The sad part is years later the iMac now uses mobile parts and still offers no mid range tower and the hacks out now fir hack ntosh now allow you to use a retail disk to install the OE and get OS updates. I use my mbp all the time S a desk top so if nothing mote powerful comes out, and I'm certainly not dumping my 1080p HDMI 24" glossy monitor, I am going to build, Lord willing, i7 quad or quad 2 i7 hackntosh.



Time for apple to wake up. I only hope the supposed apple statements of going more pro means more power and not BR oe something consumer. Although BR is greT for movies.



Peace

Exactly...I mean, really, it's a DESKTOP computer that will BE ON A DESK...in someone's HOUSE...going from 1inch thick to .75inch thick (or whatever) is pointless for a DESKTOP. Apple's trying to convince me that I can't fit the last 3 generations of an iMac in my room?! The masses have already switched from 14" thick CRT 50lb monsters to 2" thick 12pound LCDs since 2004. Time to move on, Apple, in this ever increasing shrinkage of a DESKTOP computer.

Gimme more CPU power and the ability to swap and add a hard drive on the iMac.

I really like the design of the iMac...just overpriced for the guts you get.

 

[flottenheimer]

How about this as an idea for a refreshed line-up?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielmacdonald/3953536478/sizes/l/

Steve would love this kind of design consistency.

 

[hiimamac]

Hopefully it will teach you spelling.

Yeah. Well I hAve the click turned off on my iPhone as forum typing cause lag and sometimes the auto correct gets it all mixed up.
Peace.

 

[danielwsmithee]

The new iMac better be more powerful than the Dell Studio laptop. It has an option for i7 720QM with a Radeon 4570

HP, Dell, Acer, Asus ... they've all announced 15" and 17" laptops with the i7 720QM, 820QM or 920XM. It will be a sad day if Apple releases the iMac without at least a quad core i7 (or possible a special quad core i5 desktop chip).

If they stick with Core 2 Duo the change will be just BD, a small form factor change, and price drop ... lame.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Steve would love this kind of design consistency.

Interesting. Prices are good. A 30" model would be nice.

 

[MrBean]

Again, those prices were in AUS$, not US$.

I converted.

 

[xhambonex]

I didn't mean to suggest that Apple would use an unmodified HDTV panel for a computer display. It's just that if you are already setup to manufacture 16:9 displays then there is probably some cost benefit in using that aspect for both TVs and computer displays. Let's face it, one or two dollars in component costs can mean millions of additional profit for high-volume products like the MacBook or even the iMac. The only question then becomes will the customer really object (or dislike) that change and could it really prevent them from buying your product.

IMO, going to 16:9 would be a notable step down (please, please keep near to or at 16:10, we don't need anything "wider"). Of course, if Apple does switch to 16:9 then I can just see the marketing spin, "New and spectacularly wide display for HD content!"

Yeah, I guess my point is since both are manufactured at such high volumes, I can't see there actually being a difference in cost by converting to 16:9. If anything you'd have to make more 16:9 hi-res panel which aren't popular in smaller TVs smaller (>24"). Either way I just see that shift as something that's more marketable value than actual cost value.

I got mine on sale hdmi 1080p and fwiw 720p looks beget than 1080i at 24". Paid $249. Still goes for $599 and it's glossy and has quick buttons for games, photos, text, movies, normal, speakers, USB 2.0 x 2. But use my pro audio mackie hardware and Lucas media desk 5.1 for sound. Same speakers that they use in Lucas studios. Awesome.

Let's hope win 7 and msft new tablet is a hit as that will being us better specs on future apple products.

Peace

What's your point? Is that a monitor or TV specks because it sounds like monitor specs...and I have no idea what you were trying to prove.

 

[ibosie]

I'm not the least bit interested in Blu-ray and pretty sure I won't be buying into discs again. These days if I can't download it I generally won't buy it.

 

[fpnc]

...Again, I think apple doesn't do this to keep people locked into apple tv. Why release hdmi so a user can dvr, HD his/her shows when they can get $1.99-$2.99 per episode of lost abc, yet ABC stream HD all five seasons free. In fact just watched last nights ABC FF which had lost references in it as HD from ABC.

apple needs to get with the times let alone quad core, better gou, raid esata.

Why no HDMI output? Simple solution, buy one of the cheap mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters (since HDMI video is signal compatible with DVI and all of Apple's mini DisplayPort outputs support both DVI and HDCP copy protection over DVI). As for HDMI input, you do realize that DisplayPort offers a more direct and cheaper interface to the hardware driver that is used on LCDs. Furthermore, DisplayPort is technically superior to HDMI (I think there is little dispute on that fact).

In any case, it probably wouldn't be that difficult or even costly for Apple to offer an HDMI output on a new iMac. The only potential sticking point would be audio support over HDMI. However, HDMI inputs probably won't happen (neither on the iMac nor on any of Apple's Cinema displays).

 

[xIGmanIx]

The irony of this of course is BR has a greater market share than Apple in less amount of time and is growing, however some here label it as a still born technology and proclaim physical media dead. However historically Apple has never gotten above 12% market share in the past 10 years, however they are the way future. BR is cutting edge, if you want to claim to build cutting edge computers as a cutting edge hardware company, it should be included.

Im not sure we should put more into BR movie discs or players
according to Endgaget and VIDEOBUSINESS Q1,2 sales of BR to July 1 are abysmal;
despite being pushed like crazy BR's share of the pie is still 13% BR and DVD 87% market share

Even VOD/DDL are leaving BR WAY behind

1. DVD sales to date..........................$5 Billion
2. Video on Demand/DDL sales to date: $968 million (!)
3. BR sales to date.............................$410 million

A truer pie graph would show:

1. DVD sales.........85%
2. VOD/DDL sales..11% (and this is really only just getting off the ground)
3. BR sales............4%

a ROUGH figure
Since a VOD/DDL purchase is generally a LOT less expensive that buying a BR-that means it took a MASSIVE number MORE buyers to hit that near to one billion sales figure
Now ALL optical media sales are down at about 4%
But that doesnt hurt DVD much-but it kill BR-even if sales are rising(......?)
They must be rising a LOT slower than if the economy where OK
But I think it may be too little too late

With this XMas expected to be the worst ever, and the economy dropping still
BR, already being heavily subsidized by a deeply ailing SONY, could bite the dust

When things get tougher in discretionary spending, DVD has the cushion of near a Billion already familiar-and installed players-no need for all-new equipment;
Not sure what BR share has but its probably miniscule and the nations wallets are pretty much locked shut on entertainment electronics

But the REAL death knell for BR is that the young upstart VOD sales are closing in on one billion in sales-which really came into its won in just this year;
And everyone and their brother are jumping into the VOD/DDL Market Google UToob Vuze Stars
DVD/VOD rentals far outstrip BR rentals by a lopsided 90-10%

Maybe this is why APPLE has held off on BR-then again-it would still make for excellent storage-unless an even better format is on the horizon-
or THE CLOUD

I tracked BR marketshare on Endgaget until they took that chart down March 7, for obvious reasons as BR could never hold and defend more than 13% sales per week average,
in a pie graph of only DVD and BR

http://www.videobusiness.com/info/CA6673480.html

 

[fpnc]

Yeah, I guess my point is since both are manufactured at such high volumes, I can't see there actually being a difference in cost by converting to 16:9. If anything you'd have to make more 16:9 hi-res panel which aren't popular in smaller TVs smaller (>24"). Either way I just see that shift as something that's more marketable value than actual cost value.

It's not the physical size that counts, its probably the internal electronics that drive the LCD panel. Differences in the rows and columns and the ratio of those measurements can make differences in the required electronics that control the LCD display itself. LCDs are more than just backlights and display elements, they contain electronics for converting the input signals, timing circuits, and even local memory to buffer the image. I'm pretty sure that some of those components can be shared between HDTVs and computer displays and even more so when they use the same aspect ratios and resolutions.

Anyway, I'm not trying to suggest that this is the reason why Apple might switch to 16:9 displays. Some of what I've tried to explain may even be irrelevant or just plain wrong. I'm also not suggesting that Apple will switch to 16:9, I'm just commenting on the previous posts. Frankly (once again) I hope that they don't change, but since the question was raised I think there could be some merit to that rumor.

 

[gianly1985]

I was wondering.....would it be possible to see a Firewire3200 port on the upcoming iMacs? Any news about this technology?

I've just realized this is a stupid question

I've discovered that all fw800 ports are ALREADY S3200-ready

We just need FW3200 devices to come out. I hope they will come out next year to compete with USB 3.0.

http://www.1394ta.org/press/TAPress/2007_1212.html

 

[ViperDesign]

Dual Core? that is so 3 years ago....

 

[charlituna]

slow down. we can't keep up. no more $$$$. i love you Apple but how is it that every time i buy something from you it is an antique before i get it home?

it's not like very computer simply stops working because a new one was released.

heck in my place we still have a PPC machine. a G3 in fact. 1 frigging gig of ram and that was an aftermarket upgrade. didn't even have a super drive. i put on in it but the dang thing was never recognized by DVD player (thank you for VLC) because at that point aftermarket burners won't supported.

okay so we just use it for email and ichat (with an external camera) at this point and yes we are going to replace it in the next 3-4 months with whatever it out. but it is still working. as are the 3 imacs we've bought since then, the 2 minis etc. none of them just up and died because something new came out

How's this?

i think what most folks are thinking of is the original length wired keyboard but with the laptop pad from the current macbook pros.

if folks will forgive a very hasty and thus poor photoshop, something like

although I still like the idea one day of a keyboard that is basically a giant ipod touch/wacom tablet where you can flip it through very modes based on the software you are using. like Final Cut or Logic short cuts. or full screen tablet mode, perhaps even with Cintiq display type mode where you can see what you are drawing right there under you (with a pen for such uses). change keyboard layouts etc

If Blu-ray ISN'T an option in the next go-round, many of us are going to start calling for heads.

but in truth how many folks is that compared to the ones that just don't care. like 5%, maybe 10% of Apple's market place. and it isn't like Blu-ray is blocked. You can buy an external drive and a copy of Toast and have at it. it would be a plus if they would add software support for playback and they probably will before an internal drive is added (as a standard item at least. they might make it a BTO for the Pro before much longer. since that's the machine they want the big boys to buy)

 

[Maserati7200]

Why not? Both are media touted for their ability to pack in higher quality video than the previous playback standard on lovely shiny circular thingees. Both faced a battle of adoption beyond initial early adopters. There's a reasonably direct line of development within optical disc formats from LD>DVD>BD. There's plenty of reasons why they could be compared. Having said that, the original comment was a) a joke and b) rather funny.

Because almost no one bought laser discs. Blue-ray is catching on fast. Sales are up 91% since last year and DVD's are down 16%. Moreover, there are only a few hundred titles on Blu-ray, there are tens of thousands of DVD titles. If Blu-ray had more titles, it would have even more growth than it already does now.

 

[charlituna]

You misread it. It says the new iMac takes DESIGN CUES from Apple's LED displays. It doesn't say the iMac will actually have an LED display ... it may do or it may not. We'll have to wait and see.

i suspect it will. Apple really isn't one for having two forms of anything for long. the only reason the 30" display has held on is likely cause they get enough in sales from the big business boys. but eventually even it is likely to change up

In case there is any question left as to if this is going to happen, I just checked Clubmac, Macmall, and onsale.com and it looks like they don't have anymore 2.93's in stock.

yes but is that because Apple stopped shipping them, because they were the old model and finally sold out and these places haven't gotten the newer one yet. or because they didn't order more believing the rumors that something new is about to happen

A while ago I asked in my local apple store about Snow Leopards release and whether new macs would come with it and they told me "We're not even allowed to speculate" so im afraid your conversation is no use

If there is an update coming out there is probably ~100 people working at apple that actually know for sure about it. None of the retail employees or online apple store representatives would know.

Apple staff don't get told about new products beforehand. Just like everyone else, they are made aware of it as it is released.

yep. yep and yep. industrial espionage via getting a job in the stores is thwarted by simply not telling them anything ahead of time. good thing with the turnover and all this Microsoft Retail stuff going on

Interesting. Prices are good. A 30" model would be nice.

I can't see a 30" imac just yet. but a new 30" display perhaps

Because almost no one bought laser discs. Blue-ray is catching on fast. Sales are up 91% since last year and DVD's are down 16%.

yeah but that math isn't so impressive if last year you sold 100 Blu-rays and 100k DVDs.

 

[fpnc]

I've just realized this is a stupid question

I've discovered that all fw800 ports are ALREADY S3200-ready

We just need FW3200 devices to come out. I hope they will come out next year to compete with USB 3.0.

http://www.1394ta.org/press/TAPress/2007_1212.html

I'm sorry, but this is an old and completely misinformed posting (or "rumor"). The existing Firewire 800 ports can only run at 800Mbps. However, it's likely that if Firewire 3200 devices ever appeared they'd be backward compatible with Firewire 800 ports, but they'd run at the slower 800Mbps speeds.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

Don't even bother to read that "whirlpool" thread. I wasted a few minutes looking at the notes from that "source" and the person who is posting those specs obviously knows very little about practically nothing. What I mean is that he appears to be a complete and utter computer novice. ...

Ahhh, so they are an high street chain store computer salesperson.

 

[ncmason]

I hope the next iMacs have a non-gloss display. It is time!

 

[gianly1985]

I'm sorry, but this is an old and completely misinformed posting (or "rumor"). The existing Firewire 800 ports can only run at 800Mbps. However, it's likely that if Firewire 3200 devices ever appeared they'd be backward compatible with Firewire 800 ports, but they'd run at the slower 800Mbps speeds.

"Misinformed rumor" on the official 1394 Trade Association site? (although it may have been badly interpreted)
Have you got any link to support this? (just asking)

 

[gr81mgbgt]

does anyone think these announcements will be just in a press release and have their website updated or they will have a media event like last October?

 

[AidenShaw]

Apple staff don't get told about new products beforehand. Just like everyone else, they are made aware of it as it is released.

Case in point:

I was at MacWorld SF a couple of years ago waiting for the exhibit hall to open after the keynote. Read the keynote stream from my WinMobile phone (with a couple of Iphone users looking over my shoulder - the AT&T network had basically crashed so they couldn't follow on their phones).

Got in to see the MacBook Air that had just been announced. I chatted up a booth babe while waiting for my hands-on turn - and she said that nobody in the Apple booth at MacWorld had seen the MBA before the keynote.

They had their MBA training during the keynote - that was the first the Apple staff had heard of it.

 

[Maserati7200]

does anyone think these announcements will be just in a press release and have their website updated or they will have a media event like last October?

For this case it would be a media event because of the time of year it is now. But if it were early 2010, it would just be a press release.