Why Not a 17

[SubFredZero]

I think it would be a lot better to have a 17" screen into an imac instead of a 15" lcd screen.
The 17" screen would cost less and you would have a bigger screen.

It's just stupid to make an iMac with a flat screen. It will cost a lot. It's gonna be like the cube : it look very beautifull but nobody want to pay the price for it. So bad for Apple. One more product like the cube could kill Apple....

But lets think positive....

 

[Falleron]

There would not be that much difference in screen size! A typical 17" CRT monitor has about 16" viewable (sometimes slightly less) whereas the 15" LCD has 15" viewable (less than an inch difference. I admit the LCD would be more expensive, but prices will drop + as they do apple will start to make more of a profit. I think it will be a long term plan from apple.

People would be dissappointed if apple just added a 17" screen and did not do some different! The imac design is getting old now.

 

[CHess]

Old design?

People keep talking about how the iMac design is getting old, but comparing this to the standard mini-tower PC design or even the G4 tower... Those general designs have been around since practically the beginning of time (well, in computer years, anyway ).

The overall design of the iMac is great, but the big attraction about it was that it was DIFFERENT. It was (is) small, all-in-one, plug-and-play, and relatively inexpensive. An LCD iMac would be cool and should make a splash, but it mostly needs to be functionally enhanced. Mostly, what it needs is to lose the low-end speeds, get a strong graphics board (or a video slot), and a combo drive at minimum. Maybe better speakers and a good software bundle with games and the option to buy it with Office v.X at a discount.

BTW, Falleron is right on about the screen sizes. Most listings describe 17" monitors as 16" viewable, but I don't believe them. I think most are somewhere around 16", but I believe most are more like 15.8".

Also, the iMac already weights something like 40 pounds. The last thing it needs is a bigger CRT which will only make it a big, heavy, clunky blob on your desktop. We don't need that.

As another aside, what I really miss are the color choices of the "Five Flavor" days. Now that everyone under the sun has been emulating Apple's color selection (even George Foreman), iMacs only come in Snow, Graphite, and for the low end, Indigo. I admit, while it looks kind of funky, I love my Blue Dalmatian iMac and I miss my old Tangerine iMac

 

[SubFredZero]

I Agree with CHess

The iMac is indeed an new design... It's not getting old.
PC still works with the same powers since the pentium I.

About all kind of flavours : i don't think that's a good idea. Then they would make 5 different keyboards with the flavoures of the iMac, like it used to be. It's better to have 3 colors that sell well then 5 flavoures where there are only 2 or 3 selling flaroures. Then there would be 3 or 2 flavoures not selling and that would be bad for apple to.
And who doesn't like graphit ? I love it....

 

[Falleron]

Re: I Agree with CHess

The only reason that I said that the iMac is getting old was because in terms of apple who change their product lines (including their cases) on average probably once a year (for the powermac), the imac has had a longer wait.

I agree that the imac is a great computer, but until it has a combo drive (or at least a dvd drive) + a decent graphics card I cant consider buying one. +++ I bit more speed is always nice!!

 

[SubFredZero]

I think apple is stupid by changing the imac : the iMac is about 3-4 years old and still it sells very good.

You are right about the graphical card. 8 mb is not enough. And also about the DVD player. My iMac (DV SE) has a DVD drive in it and i'm very happy about it. But i think in the new imacs there will be a combo drive. Apple has put a combo into all his models : iBook, Powerbook and Powermac G4... So why wouldn't they put one in the iMac ?

I've been thinking about this : why i'm a realy against the new upcomming imac ? And i figured out that it's not because its gonna be to expencive but only because my imac will now look old.... :-(

 

[agreenster]

exactly

Thats exactly it. You dont want to look 'old' in a sea of newly designed iMacs.

Welcome to Computer Land. It will ALWAYS be that way, and there will ALWAYS be something bigger, better, faster, and cooler looking. And thats okay! I dont want technology to stop just because I cant keep up with it.

Oh, and pay attention! The iMacs do NOT sell well. Apple has reported a steady sales drop in the last year and a half, 40% last year alone. Who wants a big fat iMac sitting on their desk nowadays, when its almost standard to have a flat screen monitor? Apple is making a great move with the new iMac, and I only hope it is as powerful and expandable as we have predicted.

And the color scheme? C'mon guys- its called trends in marketing. Apple popularized the multi-colored trend, (which a co-worker of mine was fortunate enough to work on, she actually named the 'Snow' iMac) and everyone picked up on it. So, Apple moved on to another, more professional, classy color scheme. (minus the flowerpower/dalmation fiasco) They would be silly to turn retro and move backwards in their marketing. It makes you look like you are not innovative at all. The multi-color thing has been dead for two years.

Their current line of equipment looks very sharp. Just wait till you see the new iMac. You might change your tune.

[Edited by agreenster on 12-28-2001 at 08:51 AM]

 

[eyelikeart]

iMacs

The iMac does need a change. There were a few posts in another thread comparing the computers industry to the auto industry, and I feel this holds true in many ways.

A company can not rely on one design alone to make it for them. If u look at the auto industry, they revise their models, on average, every 4-5 years. This is to ensure that they don't drag out the same idea and style too long that people lose interest in it.

The same goes for the Apple, I feel, these days. Take a look at the iMac. When it debuted, there wasn't anything like it on the market. It was a fresh design, very clever, and very user-friendly. It gave Apple a very much needed boost. But we all know all good things can't stay forever. I think the iMac's been a fixture long enough now that people know what it is. But, if Apple keeps the same design for too long, it will lose the interest of consumers as long as they don't see a change...something different....something more.

The iMac needs to be revised. A possible change with it's outer appearance could bring a fresh perspective to consumers. A performance boost would make it more of a contender with the cheaper Wintel boxes that people can buy for around the same price as well. If there are some newer features available, it would make a bigger impact....more than making different colors and minor speed boosts available like Apple's been doing.

I know I've probably missed some other points that need to be made here, but I'm at work and it's hard to get too involved in these posts with the boss lurking around!

 

[agreenster]

HA!

eyelikeart makes a great point. Ol' boss man sure keeps the fooling around down. I think we are all playing avoid the boss today. Heck, its Christmas week, half of my office is on vacation anyway.

Car vs iMacs: excellent point. However, I think computers have it worse since everything changes faster in the IT field than Automotive. Yeah, if you dont stay fresh, people can read into the fact that you are only sticking with what works, and arent being innovative.

If apple releases the flat panel iMac, which we all know they are going to, it will be the first of its kind, just like the original iMac. (Well, I guess the iMac is just a suped up version of the Apple LC 575. Remember those? http://www.apple-history.com for a picture)

Regardless, I cant wait to see it. Im sure it will just be awesome. Still, Im sticking to the G4 lines.