AppleInsider is saying that a new iMac is coming soon, while Think Secret is saying that there won’t be an iMac at the wwdc which starts next week.
So what (apart from the fact that it is probably a bad idea to belive everything you hear) does this tell us. Currently I’m tending towards the appleinsider view that something will happen soon, because they have evidence that retailers are not being restocked. You don’t restock if if you’re replacing the product next week, it’s bad for retailer morale and worse for their profits.
Think Secret on the other hand is saying that no iMac will turn up at the wwdc. This might be true as well, Apple might ship a new iMac just after conference, but why? It doesn’t make that much sense.
Who knows?
One thing that is essential however is that the new iMac must be cheaper than the current one. It might just about get by at the current price, but when you compare the current units against offerings from Dell as I did only yesterday, the Apple machines tend to look overpriced. This makes me sad to some extent, but it shows how a company like Dell that essentially doesn’t innovate can offer lower prices. The inovative companies tend to charge higher prices (Intel,Microsoft,etc).
The eMac is probably the right way to go. It’s a common thought but if Apple offered an eMac without the screen for $50 or $100 less I would probably buy one immediately. Even if it only had a G4 processor. The bottom end of the market is where I and quite a lot of other people permanently sit. So it’s worth making sure that there is something there for them to buy.
I only hope that people will learn to appreciate their macs more and be willing to pay the premium for the stuff.
Apple computers have always been significantly more expensive than PCs; in the past this was probably due to the use of SCSI disks and generally more expensive components, as well as simply having a smaller market share. Now that Apple are using components from the PC industry they are starting to be able to compete on price – I was amazed when I saw an eMac for less than £600 when I’ve always seen Macs starting at ~£1400 and going up to over £2500. I think people will keep paying a premium just because Apple produce such special machines – both in terms of look and style of the machine, and the software they put on it. Having said that, I think iBooks are already exceptionally competitive on price – while they’re not as powerful as most PC laptops, they’re one of the cheapest you can buy in the shops. You just have to look at the success of the iPod to see that a lot of people are willing to pay a lot of money to get something from a company whose products are seen to be stylish and cool.