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fener · Jul 19, 2003, 08:42 AM

Apple 's most successful iBook sale era was when these beautiful machines were Colored! Apple immediately needs to color these iBooks, and produce machines like iBook SE 466. This situation can be easily seen with people's ambition for 3 years old iBook. See below:

Apple iBook 466 MHz "Graphite" DVD-Spec Ed G3 This machine has a bid over $800. Its price is over most of the BRAND NEW iBooks, even it has much much lower configurations.(Such as 800x600 Resolution, 8Mb Video Memory,...) WHY? Just because its COLORFUL DESIGN!

WIRELESS Graphite iBook SE 466/320/10/DVD/CD

This is just an advise for Apple. If they want to compete with the PC World Laptop, they HAVE to continue to produce COLORFUL iBooks!

arnette · Jul 19, 2003, 09:11 AM

White is a mixture of ALL the colors. So, technically, they DO!

Seriously, though... I always hated the lime green/orange sherbet ibooks. It's a computer, man! Not an Etch-A-Sketch!!

chabig · Jul 19, 2003, 09:33 AM

Seriously. If you want to decorate your iBook, check out this thread.

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=165505

Chris

The Placid Casual · Jul 19, 2003, 12:18 PM

Welcome to the forum!!

You have hit upon an issue that has been pretty well discussed... Every few months since the release of the iceBook, there have been calls of 'bring out different colours'!

However, it will never happen again... and I for one am very glad.

We currently have a product matrix colour 'scheme':

White: Education and Consumer machines.
Metal: Pro-sumer and Pro machines.

Seems logical to me.

When we had the whole 'coloured' iBook thing going, we also had coloured iMacs, and coloured Powermacs. It was 'revolutionary' and a great change from the beige that was the norm until then... However, it was soon copied by every designer and company in the world!! We had Bondi coloured toaster, irons, phones, TVs etc etc It just became too much, and we moved on. I for one am glad we did. It had become a cliche and a bit embarrassing.

There are also loads of business reasons why it is a bad move...

Remember the whole '6 colour' iMacs thing? Well people naturally had their favorites... Apple made loads of each colour, and were left in some cases with stocks of some machines that didn't sell. Retailers were selling machines for much cheaper because they were 'Tangerine' and not 'Grape'! They were taking a loss in some machines not because of SPEC, but what the colour was! Unacceptable!

They realised this and gradually went to 3 (sage, ruby, indigo), and then one, snowflake!

I agree that the old Clamshells were great machines, I am typing this on a 466SE myself, but that is no reason to bring the things back, along with the cliche, production problems and sales issues...

Peace,

Marc

fener · Jul 19, 2003, 01:11 PM

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
Welcome to the forum!!

...

I agree that the old Clamshells were great machines, I am typing this on a 466SE myself, but that is no reason to bring the things back, along with the cliche, production problems and sales issues...

Peace,

Marc

Thanks for your wish!

My point isn't JUST to color the iBooks. If you go and check the links I had posted, you will obviously see that people are still ambitious about cute designed, colored iBooks. Moreover, the ambitions is however getting greater. People are READY to pay MORE! for great, cute and colored designed machines (Specifically, Blue, Graphite, Gray, Silver and so on machines. As you stated, NOT for Tangerine or Lime. Their sales percent is low in the market.)

Apple must produce machines which will satisfy these ambition. Of course, if Apple wants to increase its market share, and make MacVille happy!

fener · Jul 19, 2003, 01:14 PM

Originally posted by chabig:
Seriously. If you want to decorate your iBook, check out this thread.

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=165505

Chris

Thanks for the link. I have also checked MacSkinz, they are great and I wish the best of all.

BUT! My point in here is different. I am talking about a WHOLE NEW DESIGNED, colored machines.

Of course, people can also modify those , as they wish.

chabig · Jul 19, 2003, 01:29 PM

I am talking about a WHOLE NEW DESIGNED, colored machines.

Of course, people can also modify those , as they wish.

I know what you mean. But I don't agree. I know I wouldn't pay extra for a colored machine. White is perfect. And it can be customized easier than just about any other color. I think kids like to put stickers on them. And they are paintable and skinnable as well.

Of course, none of our opinions matter. Apple will do what Apple will do. I think going to colors now would seem like a step back 5 years, and draw media criticism that they're all about style, not substance. This would be occuring at a time when Apple is trying hard to prove they ARE about substance with the world's fastest PC.

Chris

The Placid Casual · Jul 19, 2003, 04:38 PM

Kind of reminds me of the Duos, or was it 1400s, which had a clear 'sleeve' in the top, in which you could place a picture or design of your choice on a sheet of paper...

It would save the production costs and satisfy, albeit in a small way, the need to customise your machine.

I really don't think that people will pay more for a different colour 'customised' machine.... surely the joy is in doing the conversion yourself, and making something genuinely unique?

Peace,

Marc

slider · Jul 19, 2003, 06:55 PM

I have this iBook, with Airport and I added a 512MB chip (which btw was really worth it, even coming from 320) and Apple installed a new HD, which is now very quite and a new power adaptor. I will never get rid of this. I believe, however, you are making a huge assumption saying it is b/c of the colors. I will never get rid of my Firewire iBooks SE graphite because this is one of the most unique laptops I have ever seen, I see it as a collectors item. It is currently running Jagaur and I'll see how others are doing with Panther before I upgrade (although I am sure she can handle it) I want this to remain functional, ie open her up and type a word document on Office X 5 or ten years from now. I'll probably display it as it was advertised, with the lid cracked open and standing splayed on a bookshelf, be able to take it down and turn her on.

sniffer · Jul 19, 2003, 07:55 PM

I too kind of miss a bit more personal options in the current iBook design. They look great IMHO, but it would've been really cute if they had a small detail that would distinguish one from the other. I don't know if it would be possible without loosing the current elegance but a small optional snap on part aka what you have on Nokia cell phones would have been pretty cool. Not in the same way done on Nokias, but their solution fits very good with their products. But I'll guess I can also live with the macskinz option, or just find some cool stickers to put on it..

Thinkdiff · Jul 20, 2003, 12:14 AM

No colors. Creates too much inventory. One color is bound to sell really well and another is not going to. White is something everybody can get into (the Titanium look is even better) and it allows apple to only need to make two cases.

OldManMac · Jul 20, 2003, 08:23 PM

Where do you get your info that Apple's "most successful sales era" were when the iBooks were colored? I doubt that's true.

BrunoBruin · Jul 21, 2003, 02:49 PM

Don't base the value of a used computer on the going rate on eBay. People pay insane prices for computers there, as if they have no idea at all what new ones go for. I bet the person bidding $960 on that old iBook would burst into tears if they knew they could get a brand new one for $999.

Scooterboy · Jul 21, 2003, 03:23 PM

These eBay iBooks mentioned also include extra keyboards, Airport Base stations and cards, extra memory, and other accessories. I doubt very much an older iBook stripped down to as bought status would sell for $900.

dragonbong · Jul 21, 2003, 05:38 PM

I don't want to remember the horror of "flower power" it still hurts my retina.

sniffer · Jul 22, 2003, 01:18 AM

Originally posted by dragonbong:
I don't want to remember the horror of "flower power" it still hurts my retina.

LOL! ..They was kind of cute wasn't them?

BTW: Wonder how they did in Japan.

vvedge · Jul 22, 2003, 06:00 AM

am I the only one who's sick of people asking for and predicting colors for new macs?

The only recent machine to have colors that were updated were the indigo/snow/graphite imacs. Which quietly disappeared off Apple's store because of the new iMac.

Apple has really turned the corner from being the fruity colored computer company (which was quickly copied because they saw how much a sucess that was) and became the slick, smooth and hip designs of today. There's very little translucent plastic left in Apple's design. What, we have Crystal white, opaque white, rounded edges, clear plastics, and solid metal colors.

Keep in mind, most PC designers are only now catching up with the idea of color can sell a machine. (Beige is still a problem!) Apple's beyond beige, beyond fruit, and beyond translucent plastic.

Otherwise, Apple would look just like the competition. But I'm glad the design turns that have been made since the Titanium Powerbook. Because my white icebook looks infinitely better than any PC laptop any of my friends own.

sniffer · Jul 22, 2003, 06:38 AM

OTOH, I think picture threads was funnier before.

radarbob · Jul 22, 2003, 10:51 AM

Originally posted by fener:
Apple 's most successful iBook sale era was when these beautiful machines were Colored! Apple immediately needs to color these iBooks, and produce machines like iBook SE 466. This situation can be easily seen with people's ambition for 3 years old iBook. See below:

Apple iBook 466 MHz "Graphite" DVD-Spec Ed G3 This machine has a bid over $800. Its price is over most of the BRAND NEW iBooks, even it has much much lower configurations.(Such as 800x600 Resolution, 8Mb Video Memory,...) WHY? Just because its COLORFUL DESIGN!

[

If the photos on the eBay posting are truthful that iBook must be new, never used. Couldn't see a single scratch anywhere. Now that would help the price; but frankly it's not worth what it sold for IMHO. I know of a fella who sold his couple-months-old iBook on eBay, about the time the 800MHz models came out, for more than he paid for it (not a lot more, just more). The buyer decides what these things are worth.

But my casual observation over time tells me that used Macintoshes keep their value pretty well compared to PCs. Why? Looks, quality, leading edge technology, the OS itself. Notice that my precious (see below) is running OS 9 AND Jaguar (a major engineering feat - go Apple!) AND BTW I'm still using some pre OS 9 apps (one, WriteNow, is from OS 7!) and it may be 3.66 years old but I have built-in ethernet (my 9 year old PPC has buit-in ethernet!), wireless networking & USB. I can network my precious with my PowerPC (new in 1994) or the newest on the market - all this is *standard equipment.*

OH, and finally, notice that my precious has a 512MB memory SIMM. Look at Apple's own specs on that machine - it says the largest it can use is 256MB. There ya go!

indigoimac · Jul 22, 2003, 02:52 PM

Originally posted by dragonbong:
I don't want to remember the horror of "flower power" it still hurts my retina.

But, Blue Dalmation was nice

dragonbong · Jul 22, 2003, 05:14 PM

Originally posted by indigoimac:
But, Blue Dalmation was nice

It was alright but was it nice enuf to usher in a new wave of flower power like models lol.

vvedge · Jul 22, 2003, 08:12 PM

Originally posted by indigoimac:
But, Blue Dalmation was nice

I thought I was going to like Blue Dalmation, but it ended up looking too 'scaley' for me.

I fell in love with flower power (yes, shoot me) when I saw a real picture of it. MMMM....

Flower Power is even my desktop pattern today

yg17 · Jul 23, 2003, 12:13 AM

Looks aren't everything, its what's inside that is.

The new G5s aren't, IMO, the prettiest things. I think the Quicksilver G4s was the best design Apple ever had on the PowerMacs with the G5 being one of the worst (not including the beige's). However, I'd take a G5 over the QS G4 any day because of the power. I don't see why people are taking a 500MHz speed drop just to have a pretty blue or orange machine. I'd take an uglier machine as long as it's faster. Besides, spray paint and a dremel can make just about any ugly piece of equipment look good

(Although I would never put a can of spray paint or dremel within 10 feet of my brand new iBook 900)

sniffer · Jul 23, 2003, 01:17 PM

On the other hand a good looking design gives better comfort in my opinion. But speed counts as well, it's just that I get more connected to good designed stuff. That might be another reason why people sticks with their mac for so long. (As opposite to the PC side)

Superchicken · Jul 24, 2003, 12:44 AM

I'll probably mod my iBook eventually once I buy it... I'd love to see blue... but ultimately I'd just like for the case to be SLIGHTLYless minimalistic. I mean the old iBooks used to have the like coloured rim and then the apple and that looked cool. The new ones are just. White, and a glowing apple.
I personally wish they'd put like a little aluminum around edges it'd match the iMac better too.

macskinz · Jul 24, 2003, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:
Welcome to the forum!!

You have hit upon an issue that has been pretty well discussed... Every few months since the release of the iceBook, there have been calls of 'bring out different colours'!

However, it will never happen again... and I for one am very glad.

We currently have a product matrix colour 'scheme':

White: Education and Consumer machines.
Metal: Pro-sumer and Pro machines.

Seems logical to me.

When we had the whole 'coloured' iBook thing going, we also had coloured iMacs, and coloured Powermacs. It was 'revolutionary' and a great change from the beige that was the norm until then... However, it was soon copied by every designer and company in the world!! We had Bondi coloured toaster, irons, phones, TVs etc etc It just became too much, and we moved on. I for one am glad we did. It had become a cliche and a bit embarrassing.

There are also loads of business reasons why it is a bad move...

Remember the whole '6 colour' iMacs thing? Well people naturally had their favorites... Apple made loads of each colour, and were left in some cases with stocks of some machines that didn't sell. Retailers were selling machines for much cheaper because they were 'Tangerine' and not 'Grape'! They were taking a loss in some machines not because of SPEC, but what the colour was! Unacceptable!

They realised this and gradually went to 3 (sage, ruby, indigo), and then one, snowflake!

I agree that the old Clamshells were great machines, I am typing this on a 466SE myself, but that is no reason to bring the things back, along with the cliche, production problems and sales issues...

Peace,

Marc

Hello Marc,
We've had a few orders from Apple Computer. I was wondering if they've ever popped up in discussions there.

Thanks,
Doug
www.macskinz.com

The Placid Casual · Jul 24, 2003, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by macskinz:
Hello Marc,
We've had a few orders from Apple Computer. I was wondering if they've ever popped up in discussions there.

Thanks,
Doug
www.macskinz.com

Hi

Hi Doug,

I really wish I knew! I unfortunately am not linked to Apple employment wise...

I was using 'we' in the 'royal' Mac user community way... sorry for the confusion it caused!

Marc

(Very, very cool products though... makes me wish I had a dual USB machine!)

rytc · Jul 28, 2003, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by The Placid Casual:

However, it will never happen again... and I for one am very glad.

Never say never, hey perhaps Beige will be back one day

and that is a colour (of sorts)

cheers Ry

lipstick.smears · Aug 2, 2003, 04:05 AM

I loved the look of the "colored" iBooks when they first came out but I am a girl so anything colorful really attracts me. Of course I was still using a pc then and had no desire to use anythng else. Then when the all white iBooks came out I was totally in love. I think they look better than any of the laptops out there. Except maybe the powerbooks

Cipher13 · Aug 2, 2003, 04:59 AM

This is silly.

It is unreasonable.

Colours, fine. Patterns? No way.

Look at the atrocities that were the skinned iMacs.

Do you really want Apple picking your designs? No. You want to pick them yourself. That won't happen.

You're better off with something that can easily be customised, post-manufacture.