Revised Mac mini now shipping?

[Agent69]

Cool. My newer Mini is also from the Hon Hai / Foxconn factory. The rest of the info is as follows:

Production year: 2005
Production week: 35 (September)
Production number: 32XX (within this week)

Interesting. So maybe we can increase our chances by buying Mini with serials numbers of YM535* or greater.

 

[ack_mac]

Man, people on this board make me laugh.. What is the big deal about waiting a few days, possibly a few weeks, to ensure that you get exactly what you want? I was all set to be a Mac Mini last Friday and am now waiting until Apple officially starts selling the updated mini's. I do not even own a Mac right now, but I recognize the fact that Apple is trying to get rid of the remaining mini inventory before they start shipping the updated ones.

Are some people going to be pissed when they buy the 1.42 and then 1.5 with the increased graphics ram, faster harddrive, better superdrive, and updated bluetooth are shipped.. I am sure there will be a few.. That is why I am waiting... But, in the big scheme of things these are minor updates. 1.42 to 1.5? That is barely even noticeable. Sure the increased the vram on the graphics card, but the chipset is the same. So your DVD burner is faster.. Minor updates. It's not like they dropped in a G5 processor and added a higher end graphics card.. Cmon.. The majority of the Mac Mini buyers would most likely not even notice..

So stop your crying and just be patient. Or buy one now and stop your crying. You might just get lucky and get a newer one...

 

[ErnieFrance4]

Sheesh, some people here....

I am glad that someone finally said this. Get over it. If you don't want to buy then don't. Apple is giving you what you pay for and for some people they are getting a bonus. It is not like you are paying for a 1.5 model and getting the 1.42.

 

[lickily]

I just lost a lot of respect for Apple. You might get a new one... or you might not. You pay your money and you take your chances. What kind of crap is this? Just lower the price on the previous models like any other company would do. I hope they get sued over this.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the point behind the stealth. No corporate communication on the update means noone can claim false advertising if they get an old unit. I think Apple has probably been having to do some inventory writeoffs for old models when new models are introduced and this is one of many things (trying to sell through overstock.com, etc) they are trying to do to minimize their losses.

I think that they will probably dump old-stock off on authorized retailers and new models for the Apple online/retail stores. IMO this may defeat their purpose because most of those retailers (ala Best Buy) will allow product returns w/o restocking fees, but perhaps they are betting that the majority of buyers at those stores won't be informed enough (ie-Apple cult members) to return product.

Smart business, probably, but it will just mean a lot of wasted gas, time, and headache for many savvy shoppers.

 

[gravitysux]

I repeat: it just boggles the mind. Apple is upgrading the specs of the Mini, and people complain. I mean, REALLY?

No ones complaining about this fact on its own.

Let's repeat: The specs of the Mini include 1.42GHz G4 and 32MB of VRAM. That is the machine you are buying, and that is the machine you will get AT LEAST.

Sorry, and it's a fine line, but for many I'm sure these revisions do take this machine just over the "low end consumer" mark. With these specs video becomes more fluid, audio compositing more reliable and 3D gets a boost from the card. As I said, i'll wait as long as it takes to get one, but as a long time mac consumer, I would just like to know.

 

[Yvan256]

Interesting... if it's true it's nice that they went to 64mb VRAM, but kind of a weak video card upgrade... a 9200 with 256mb of VRAM is still a 9200. Should be a 9550/64mb at the least!

A 80MHz upgrade on the CPU, I'll pass. But if they had upgraded the GPU to a 9550 with 64MB, I would've upgraded my Mac mini. Hey, I'll endure the splash effect for the widgets if it can give me transparent water in World of Warcraft.

But if the upgrades are only 80MHz on the CPU, 1200 RPM on the HD (which I already upgraded myself anyway), 32MB on the GPU (while keeping the 9200) and a faster superdrive (which I don't have anyway), I'll pass.

If I could sell my current Mac mini for a good price, though, I'd sell it. Buying the new model would give me 80MHz (bleh), 32MB VRAM (can't hurt), same HD speed and I'd get a superdrive, 802.11g and bluetooth for free.

But most people in Canada are cheap, and would think they're being generous for offering me 300$CAD for my Mac mini.

 

[ScubaDuc]

are you in the market for a mini? would you buy a mini with the specs listed on the box? if not then DONT, if yes then DO IT.

how could such a simple decision throw you into confusion. i'll try to say it another way. if your willing to buy a mini with the specs on the box then do it and DONT EXPECT the increased specs that some are getting.

Yes, I am in the market for a new mini and like many don't find the video card upgrade and a modest speed bump worthwhile for the following reasons.

I have a samsung 5400 rpm 2,5" drive that I can switch if I get a 4200

The processor setting is controlled by jumpers and people have "mod" their mini to 1.5 Ghz anyway

But the video card....I CAN DO NADA about it

However, I would prefer NOT having to open and take everything apart if I were to get one. Before, I gave it for granted I had to, but now I would be frustrated at the very least...

Hence, I ordered a 1.8 Sonnet upgrade for my G4 and a box of earplugs since it feels like I am working with a hairdrayer next to my ear I will wait for the intel mini so I'll have something really new to play with

 

[Evangelion]

No ones complaining about this fact on its own.

No, they are complaining about the possibility that they might actually get the machine they ordered! They see a 1.42Ghz Mini with 32MB of VRAM for sale. They then proceed to buy that machine. Apple Store tells them that they are about to buy Mac Mini with 1.42GHz G4 and 32MB of VRAM. Then they get upset when they actually receive a.... Mac Mini with 1.42Ghz G4 and 32MB of VRAM.

 

[balamw]

Imagine going to the car dealer and being told...

"Well, for $25,000 you'll either get a 170HP engine or a 100HP engine, leather seats or cloth seats, sunroof or no sunroof... we can't tell you though. You just have to take your chances."

I think what others have argued is that the Apple car dealer is saying: "For $25,000 you'll get at least a 100 HP engine with cloth seats and no sunroof." However when you actually take delivery you might actually get a 170HP engine, leather seats and a sunroof "thrown in at no extra charge".

'twould be nice if they at lesat mentioned this to you before shipment.

B

 

[Agent69]

But, in the big scheme of things these are minor updates. 1.42 to 1.5? That is barely even noticeable. Sure the increased the vram on the graphics card, but the chipset is the same. So your DVD burner is faster.. Minor updates. It's not like they dropped in a G5 processor and added a higher end graphics card.. Cmon.. The majority of the Mac Mini buyers would most likely not even notice..

I disagree. A faster HDD, a dual layer DVD burner, doubling of VRAM, improved Bluetooth, and faster CPU makes a for nice upgrade, when taken in whole. I intend to buy one, and there is nothing wrong with people wanting to make sure that they can get the faster machine.

However, getting angry about it is not the answer.

 

[ack_mac]

No, they are complaining about the possibility that they might actually get the machine they ordered! They see a 1.42Ghz Mini with 32MB of VRAM for sale. They then proceed to buy that machine. Apple Store tells them that they are about to buy Mac Mini with 1.42GHz G4 and 32MB of VRAM. Then they get upset when they actually receive a.... Mac Mini with 1.42Ghz G4 and 32MB of VRAM.

You nailed it.. I'll bet that most of the people whining about this are not even planning on buying a Mac Mini...

My gosh, I have been buying Dell's for years and they are constantly bumping their lineups with slight hardware increases.. This is nothing new... People are not screaming at Dell because they updated the CPU in their low end model from a 2.4GHZ Celeron to a 2.5GHZ... Or the video memory from 64 to 128... You guys need to get a life...

 

[gravitysux]

No, they are complaining about the possibility....

Should we take it you aren't in the market for a mac mini? I am.

 

[Evangelion]

Should we take it you aren't in the market for a mac mini? I am.

I already own a Mac Mini. If you are in the market then you can either

a) Buy now. Obviously the specs of the Mini were suitable to you before, are they now somehow less suitable?

b) Wait for a while. Even though there's a good chance that you will get the new version, waiting for few days would make that an absolute certainity.

 

[ack_mac]

Should we take it you aren't in the market for a mac mini? I am.

I definitely am. I was all set to buy one last Friday until I heard about the possible update. Now I am going to wait..

I can live with my crappy Windows box for a few more weeks if need be...

Remember, this is still a rumor until Apple officially announces what is happening. Who's to say that they will not drop the price of the remaining Mini's and keep the price of the updated mini's the same.. Might entice me to buy an older mini and do many of the updates myself..

 

[corywoolf]

Is it just me, or is the start up disk info. missing in those screenshots? Compare your "About This Mac" window to this guys. If it is fake, it was a very well put together attempt.

 

[lickily]

If Steve Jobs sold his farts in jars, there'd be at least a dozen people on this board claiming his jars of farts are more innovative, easier to use, and cooler than the other jars of farts available.

Yes, and they'd be right. What's your point?

 

[bodeh6]

Mac mini is now going to be updated twice in about 4 months and the Powerbook is going on to about 8 months. Not good Apple.

 

[lickily]

I disagree. A faster HDD, a dual layer DVD burner, doubling of VRAM, improved Bluetooth, and faster CPU makes a for nice upgrade, when taken in whole. I intend to buy one, and there is nothing wrong with people wanting to make sure that they can get the faster machine.

However, getting angry about it is not the answer.

I wonder if (ever??) when the update is 'officially' announced what they will do about the part numbers. Will they keep them the same or issue a new one? Since they've already shipped out some under the old part number it seems like they'd have to keep it the same. That becomes a bit of a support hassle and makes it hard for buyers. I know that the Best Buys where I live tend to receive old Apple stock, so even once this upgrade becomes legitimate how will I know from looking at the part number online whether this is a new or old unit? Some may call it whining, but I've already bought a mini there recently and returned it because it only came with Panther installed and no Tiger upgrade CD (the OS X up-to-date program expired months ago). Sure I could have bought a boxed version of tiger, but does that really make much sense, given the price of the mini? In my opinion creating unnecessary market confusion by having inventory in the channel with different specs all under the same part number is not a good idea.

 

[iMeowbot]

I just lost a lot of respect for Apple. You might get a new one... or you might not. You pay your money and you take your chances. What kind of crap is this? Just lower the price on the previous models like any other company would do. I hope they get sued over this.

That's a very common practice, and the only thing unusual about Apple is that they don't do it as often as others. That's why they have the disclaimer on all their specification lists: "Product specifications are subject to change without notice."

The Dell version of the disclaimer is "Specifications, availability, and terms of offers may change without notice." At Sony, they use "Features and specifications are subject to change without notice." At Sun, it's "Specifications subject to change without notice." Seeing a pattern here?

 

[devilot]

That's a very common practice, and the only thing unusual about Apple is that they don't do it as often as others.

Yes I agree. And as for comparing this w/ cars-- Car manufacturers do do this and they do NOT tell the consumers. Only major car buffs who have bought their own computer-reading/ scanning devices/programs end up knowing (and then posting on online forums) which cars have which kinds of engines. The example that comes to mind is w/ the VW 1.8T engines for the MKIVs. Personally, I'd rather 'not' know w/ a $400-$700 purchase (and get a better deal) than w/ a $30,000+ car (and end up w/ a worse engine).

 

[pizzach]

While the updates might not be considered major they are not exactly minor either. 64MB of video memory will help greatly with high resolution displays and a 5400rpm hard drive will allow you to run GarageBand without stuttering. Bluetooth wireless has been improved and the CPU speeds have been bumped a little too. I've never seen this many changes go undocumented in the PC world, maybe a small last minute revision here and there but not a whole bunch all at once.

Imagine going to the car dealer and being told...

"Well, for $25,000 you'll either get a 170HP engine or a 100HP engine, leather seats or cloth seats, sunroof or no sunroof... we can't tell you though. You just have to take your chances."

If they have excess inventory they either need to hold off on the new configurations or lower the prices on the previous models.

The new specs are all out in the open now and I cannot imagine anyone who needs the extra video memory or faster hard drives to take the chance of buying one not knowing whether or not they'll actually get them. This is not insignificant to those in the market for a Mac mini. Not everyone sees it as a cheap expenditure or something they can simply toy around with. I think a lot of "power" users here forget that.

Apple really screwed this one up.

Your twisting the facts because you're angry. It's more like being told that for $25,000 you'll either get a 100HP engine. No "or" about it. But then you realize you got a 105HP engine with power windows leather seats etc when you get home and think, "sweet! More than I payed for."

 

[danp]

That's a very common practice, and the only thing unusual about Apple is that they don't do it as often as others. That's why they have the disclaimer on all their specification lists: "Product specifications are subject to change without notice."

I have to confess that in all my PC machine and component buying time, I can't think of a single occasion where I have received an item with an alternative specification to the item I ordered -- barring incompetence in the packing room.

Even if for reputation alone, companies have a duty of care to ensure that what they are advertising and selling is what the customer receives.

Now obviously, no one would complain about receiving something higher spec than they ordered. And as someone who wants to buy a Mini, I can wait until I am guaranteed the best spec available.

But as a switcher considering his first step into the Mac world, I'm not exactly inspired by what appears (superficially, at least) to be a botched up effort to gloss over poor stock management. You have to confess, its a poor show for such a large company - exacerbated by these rumour sites, granted.

 

[nels0360]

I need to purchase this week since I am going out to Colorado to set it up for my parents. I don't have the option of waiting and I need to have a 5400 RPM drive. Therefore, this situation kinda stinks for me. I think I'm going to go to the local apple store and tell/ask them to give me the newest one they have based on the week of production. Hopefully, this nets me an upgraded one.

 

[wdlove]

Some just enjoy complaining. It's just best to wait and order the Mac mini that a person desires. It seems now that Apple is trying to sell off as many of the older version before the official release. No reason to gamble.

 

[Stella]

If you want the upgraded Mini Mac, then *wait*.

If your happy with the current Mac Mini, buy it, if your lucky you may get the updated version.

What could be simplier?!!!

However, I do think that Apple's strategy is kind of questionable.