Redesigned iMac?

[MacRumors]

AppleInsider claims that Apple is working on a major revision to the iMac.

According to the rumor site, the transition is said to be as dramatic as the shift from the CRT iMac to the LCD iMac, and is targeted at early spring of 2004.

 

[1macker1]

i just wonder what it will look like. Anyone care to guess?

 

[Flowbee]

Let the tablet rumors begin! (again)

 

[Powerbook G5]

Wow, I cannot wait to see what a radically redesigned iMac will look like. I am still taken with the current 17" LCD beauty that my girlfriend has.

 

[Thanatoast]

As dramatic as CRT to LCD, eh? 3D holographic display anyone?

 

[BOOMBA]

ok

I think the ony way to make as dramatic a change as from CRT to LCD would be for Apple to price it at what it is worth.
$800.

 

[SeaFox]

How can the shift be as major as the one from CRT to LCD? Getting rid of about ten pounds and 12" of backspace is pretty big. Short of making it an in-display computer (like that famous Gateway impersonator) I don't know what they'd do.


Wait. How about they change it to an aluminum screen and base.

And when you touch the base while the iMac's running your hair stands straight up with static electricity!

 

[gwangung]

Makes a lot of sense. Sucker needs a redesign on a regular basis, as a consumer machine. I wouldn't look for a G5 iMac just yet, but I'd certainly would expect as many goodies as can be crammed into a consumer box (or dome or.....)

 

[spankalee]

I hope so. Personally I love the new iMac. I think it's an industrial design masterpiece, and it's ergonomics are the best I've ever seen in any computer.

However it doesn't seem to really resonate with the rest of the world like it does with me. It's not "cuddly".

I think the iMac is actually a lot like the Cube right now. The over all package appeals to the high end customer. Like me, I'm buying a 2Ghz G5 pretty soon. If I ever wanted an AIO, say as a second computer in the living room or bedroom the iMac would be perfect.

But for the non high end comsumer the iMac is too expensive and too cold and impersonal. I think Apple's simply ahead of it's time yet again.

A redesign that's cheaper to manufacture and designed to get a little more emotional reaction (my mom needs to say "awwww" when she sees it) while retaining the ergonimics should sell very well.

 

[achmafooma]

I don't know about this... it seems such a great design.

The price could come down some, the specs could improve some, but from a design standpoint the dome iMac is still absolutely lovely, if you ask me.

Slot-loading optical drive would be a nice touch... as would bluetooth and all the other goodies on the newer hardware.

But Apple hasn't ever really disappointed me, so we'll see

 

[LordMord]

G5...

G5 in imac...with speedbumps on the G5s...nice

 

[mstur]

Originally posted by achmafooma
I don't know about this... it seems such a great design.

The price could come down some, the specs could improve some, but from a design standpoint the dome iMac is still absolutely lovely, if you ask me.

You really found the core of the problem: The current design is expensive to produce, thus no low price.

What Apple really needs is a small, inexpensive G4 Mac with built-in TFT display.

INEXPENSIVE !!! Not cool ...

So if you like the design of the current iMac G4, go and get one ! (As I did two years ago, buying my four Cube G4s).

;-)

 

[PyroTurtle]

i agree, tablet!!! i want a tablet!
holographic could be fun as well, i wish! maybe one of those psudo-3d displays apple put some money into awhile ago...

 

[greenstork]

Ideally they will offer a consumer-priced headless system akin to the cube. I could see this in addition to a beautiful all-in-one system like the current iMac.

In order to really get PC users to switch, Apple needs to offer an inexpensive system, that is also expandable. I have many PC friends who say two things. 1) Macs are too expensive for me 2) What do I do with my monitor? If they are looking to buy a low price system they are forced to scrap their monitor and start from scratch. Indeed they would save $200-300 if they could purchase a headless iMac.

I have a 333 MHz iMac at work and it's going on 4 years old. Already the monitor has been replaced (and it's still old and blurry) and the RAM maxed out and it still doesn't run OS X with the programs that I need it to at work. If we could afford to upgrade, we would, it's a non-profit. Granted today's iMacs can hold a lot more RAM and run OS X but perhaps 2-3 years from now people will be saying the same thing about today's iMacs. I think a headless sytem of some sort would mitigate at least some of these issues. If I could upgrade my monitor, I could easily get a couple more years out of this system.

 

[Lanbrown]

Originally posted by achmafooma
Slot-loading optical drive would be a nice touch... as would bluetooth and all the other goodies on the newer hardware.

You can get the iMac with BT.

 

[RichardCarletta]

see through fruit colors plus flavors !

they taste like grape, orange, lime, strawberry, and blueberry . do they have casing made of fruit rollups ? or are they powdered with kool-aid ? Yuo would have to be careful not to stick your tongue into the superdrive .

 

[bousozoku]

They simply need to redesign the base so that they can fit a G5 in there and keep it from melting everything on the desk.

Could they make it cheaper than it already is? It's possible, given that the G5 design would need fewer support pieces than the current G4 mess.

 

[mainstreetmark]

I bet they're gonna replace the LCD with a CRT.

That would be exactly as dramatic (well, negative dramatic)

 

[reyesmac]

Its just a cube with a built in monitor

All they have to do is make the base about the size of the cube and put a well engineered rotating LCD mounting bracket type thing on the top. The CD drive would be at the base of the unit like it is now. It would be like a bucket with an LCD display that can rotate 180° around the top.... At least, thats how I think it will look like.

 

[Dahl]

I still consider the latest iMac as "new", so I feel it's almost too early to try and introduce a new design. But if it's turns out to be a very cool design and a great machine, then we can retire the current iMac.

 

[greenstork]

Originally posted by bousozoku

Could they make it cheaper than it already is? It's possible, given that the G5 design would need fewer support pieces than the current G4 mess.

Perhaps it's simply a matter of marketing but I would argue that the perception is that Macs are really expensive.

I know that when you price out systems side-by-side Macs are comparably priced, if not cheaper but that doesn't change the fact that the front of the Dell catalog has EVERY SINGLE COMPUTER PRICED BELOW $1000. Now I know it says starting at $399 and that is far from your average price computer heading out the door but they have created a perception.

I mean, it doesn't take a rocket scientists to compare the two. iMac, starting at $1299 vs Dell starting at $399. For what you get, I know it's cheap but I still think they're not going to gain market share with this marketing strategy. Maybe that's not the goal. I could care less if my PC friends buy a Mac. I am simply saying that if the goal is to increase market share, they have to be more aggressive slashing prices and on entry level systems like the iMac.

 

[hobbes3113]

Originally posted by Flowbee
Let the tablet rumors begin! (again)

How does a new imac update translate into a flood of tablet rumors? Powerbook update maybe, but not the imac. I imagine the first tablet (if there ever is one) is not going to be a consumer device.

 

[kb9000]

Originally posted by mainstreetmark
I bet they're gonna replace the LCD with a CRT.

It will probably be CRT Extreme.

 

[jholzner]

Re: ok

Originally posted by BOOMBA
I think the ony way to make as dramatic a change as from CRT to LCD would be for Apple to price it at what it is worth.
$800.

show me a windows pc that includes a 17" lcd and teh design of the imac that can do what a mac can do with the ilife suite for 800 buck. get real

 

[jocknerd]

It's got to have a G5 and be under $1500

Even under a $1000 without a built-in display. Then Apple will have something for the masses.