[chrisutley]

If it ships with a G4, there will be a 1.5 GHz model. The iMac 1.5 is not going to cannibalize PowerBook sales, different markets and desktops vs. laptops.

Bluetooth kybd and mouse included? Maybe in the top of the line model, not the other two.

iPod mini dock built-in? Makes no sense. I doubt there will ever be a built-in dock on any Mac, but if they do it will support both both regular and mini iPods or none at all.

You say, "1 year paid subscription to .Mac. Just a hunch but really what does Apple have to lose by offering this?" What do they have to lose? Well, how about $100 per unit?? People seem to assume that .Mac is inexpensive to provide, that there is no overhead to Apple. I'd wager they have yet to even break even on .Mac.

It's about time Apple offered a consumer desktop without the monitor welded on again. The LC series did very well back in the day. Hopefully this iteration will include such an option.

If Apple wants to grow market share at this low end of the market, they need to offer a wider range of options. My opinion is they should offer machines that are highly configurable, from bare bones systems of say $600 (isn't that pretty much an eMac minus the 17" CRT?) that can be built-up and pimped out into killer consumer machines.

Originally posted by Evan_11:
No rock hard facts but just commen sense. If there is indeed a case re-design I highly suspect it will be for a shallower desktop footprint which means that there will be less room for cooling. For those who say they did it in the Xserve well yeah but the thing is 3 feet deep. They're working on scaling the G5 for such uses but it won't be ready for a september delivery and regardless they'll premier it in the Powerbook first. The fact that Apple has now released a statement saying that they expected to release the iMac revision now puts an even bigger hamper on the G5 inclusion.

What I do expect out of the iMac Sept. rev. is not just a smaller footprint but an iPod mini like case (abeit much larger). Annodized aluminum in an assortment of colors. Probably a max processor speed of about 1.4 (intentionally scaled back not to outshine the powerbook).

Other specs of note:
bluetooth keyboard and mouse
built in docking bay specific for the ipod mini
a handle for carrying around the house

Software specs:
1 year paid subscription to .Mac. Just a hunch but really what does Apple have to lose by offering this?

With the booming economy and huge success of the iPod, Apple has a shot of gaining marketshare again like they did with the original iMac. I believe the reason the first iMac G4 (partially) failed was timing.

The biggest obstacle the iMac has is the fact that seven years ago laptops were still cost prohibitave for 90% of computer users. Now you can buy a decent laptop for less than the cost of an iMac. Apple needs to put something revolutionary back into the iMac line besides a swiveling neck to attract buyers.

[simonjames]

Mattyd is the first person here in this long line of posters to actually see where Apple is headed.

Apple have been trying to become the electronic hub of people's lives. iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD and the iPods all wound up into iLife. The new iMac will continue and grow this idea. If the new iMac is going to be revolutionary then it is going to include the main electronic media that Apple doesn't currently cover - TV.

See the latest from Sony - Apple have to better this. Not the design but the content.

[Evan_11]

Yikes.

That Sony Vaio is one sexy computer that provides 80-90% of the power as the latest Powermac for almost half the cost. That's another topic however....

The tablet Mac that has been mentioned makes sense. In fact most the pieces are already here: Inkwell, Bluetooth, Airport. How much would you say a 13" (roughly the size of ruled notebook paper) touchscreen go for on it's own? I agree that laptops are only so comfortable to use. They're just not very ergonomic. With the iMac G4 Steve was all about ergonomics and I don't see that changing...

I'd like to see something molded similar to the original iBook. Sure it looked like a toilet seat but it was so comfortable to hold. It also had personality. The latest iBook does not. Anyway it needs to be something that can be tossed aside, thrown upside down and not break. Something you can actually take outside and not worry about scratching it. Make it analogous to a sketchpad in purpose but you'll also be able to lay back in bed and watch a DVD on it or to just veg out on iTunes visuals. The iMac needs to be fun.

[macaddict0001]

Originally posted by Evan_11:
How about a hover display involving the implimentation of magnets?

If they do go with the G5 I suspect they'll keep the same design. I love the G4 design but I don't think you'll see any boost in sales by installing a G5. More than likely it will take away sales from the low end Powermac instead of attracting new buyers.

magnets that fry your hard drive and kill airport recepcion and drop the display when the computer isn't plugged in?

[revargent]

Originally quoted by yoyoman:
Apple charges too much for its computers. The PC market's benchmark price level is sinking quickly below the $1,000 mark -- turf where Apple has been loath to tread.

Too optimistic. You can get a nice minitower plus a 15" LCD from HP for around $800. For a bare computer (bring your own monitor) $300-$400 gets you a pretty good PC: nowhere near the "gamers edge" but then the iMac and eMac have pretty anemic GPUs too.

Add a *good* 17" trinitron-style display (as opposed to the cheesy shadow-mask in the eMac or the low-res 15" in the iMac) and you're still well under the eMac's price, and you can upgrade the video card when a new GPU comes out.

Apple needs a headless Mac for $500.

[Simon]

I'm starting to wonder if we really need the iMac as an AIO design. If somebody wants an AIO they can get an iBook, PowerBook or eMac.

I think I would like the new G5 iMac to be a revival of the LC. Small, inexpensive, rather full-featured and powerful enough for most daily tasks. Just like the LC 475 was at times when you paid twice as much for a Quadra 700.

Imagine a pizza box (in terms of size between the LC and the Centris/Quadra 610) with the same material and color as the new displays. Introduce a 17" Cinema display that gets really cheap if people buy it together with the iMac. Make the iMac and the display mount together with just a snap. Include pre-configured BT mouse and KB. Put in standard SuperDrives and a decent GPU on a 4x AGP slot. No PCI. One internal HD and 2 RAM slots in addition to the soldered 512MB. The box alone is $999, with the display it's $1399. Then watch it fly of the shelves.

[Simon]

Originally posted by macaddict0001:
magnets that [...] drop the display when the computer isn't plugged in?

Ummm, permanent magnets don't need any current. -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_magnet

[Casper Crane]

while i believe the iMac will become a tablet someday, apple does not appear to be entering the entertainment pc market yet. the primary reason i believe this is the lack of software.

the reason sony and gateway are building HTPCs with analog inputs is because of Windows Home Media Center.

unless the next version of iLife includes a DVR application, and some kind of iLife controller application, and it is released with the new iMac, there's no way it will be seen as cutting edge. it will be a tablet computer, which have been failing for 2 years already.

i would love to be wrong on this. i want a touchscreen Mac-TiVo!

oh, and wireless keyboards will not be standard on iMac for a while. this is a geek feature, not for the masses. it does NOT "just work." at least not like USB.

[cebritt]

1) Start with the old 605 mini-pizza box case, make it white pearl, stick the fastest G4 chip in it, a removable cheap AGP video card and sell it for $495. No monitor included but offer a plain-jane 15" flat panel for $200. There should be plenty of margin in there to keep the accountants happy. I remember buying the 605s for $800 back when components were a lot more expensive.

Those $400 Dells ($500 with monitor) everyone talks about come with a sluggish Celeron chip, 128MB RAM, 40GB HD, CD drive, cheap PS/2 keyboard and mouse. Dell makes their money on the upgrades.

2) Next, offer 17" and 20" G5 iMacs (no 15"). Retain the adjustable flat panel that everyone likes but make the base a silver cube. Go with an illuminated USB keyboard, like the Powerbook, and a Bluetooth mouse. DVD-10 double layer burner. 17" at $1495, 20" at $1895.

The eMacs would be positioned between the G4 iMacs and G5 iMacs.

That's how I would do it if I was the product manager.

[greenamp]

"Retain the adjustable flat panel that everyone likes but make the base a silver cube."


hehe, and these guy could promote it:



Seriously though, I actually think an anodized aluminum DOME cheese grater case (resembling the g5 PM) might not look so bad.

[teknopimp]

i think cebritt's post is the only one that makes sense in this thread. (and xdude's 'molar'...)

[macaddict0001]

Originally posted by Simon:
Ummm, permanent magnets don't need any current. -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_magnet

I know but I think that apple would use electro magnets because they cost less. Also to have a big enough magnet to hold up the display would be like 10 pounds or really expensive. besides the rest of my argument is still very valid.

[Group51]

Originally posted by turtle777:
IMHO, it's ugly.

It's wanna-be good design.
No style.

-t

Like this?

[Paul Huang]

It's just silly and makes no sense. You will also have to beam up electricity wirelessly.

Wait, that's a brilliant idea. Apple would either have to include an UPS and design a "self-landing" when the power is going out. However, why even bother. This could generate trillions in repair revenues.

Originally posted by macaddict0001:
I know but I think that apple would use electro magnets because they cost less. Also to have a big enough magnet to hold up the display would be like 10 pounds or really expensive. besides the rest of my argument is still very valid.

[Zoom]

I'm hoping for just about anything headless - cube, pizza box, half-basketball, whatever. Okay, I'd prefer a pizza box - with a bracket to mount the LCD displays. It's gotta be headless, though. I think Apple has to move that way, even though that's not the original AIO form factor that has been the hallmark of the iMac since its inception.

I agree completely with the pricing arguments, too. This unit better be well under $1000, and you should get a discount if you pair it with a new LCD display. iMacs are way overpriced. Apple needs something sexy in the sub-$1000 range.

I'm fine getting rid of the eMac, too, unless Apple can't put together a headless G5 iMac and a 17" display for under $999 - then you'll still want the "econoMac" for the education market. (If iMacs go G5, then eMacs should, too.)

I also very much hope that the graphics card will be user-upgradeable (AGP slot). However, I think the iMac needs one PCI slot. iMacs shouldn't have tons of expansion options, but it needs more than zero.

So, here's my wish list for the new iMac...

- anodized (colored) aluminum pizza box
- G5 CPU between 1.5 and 2.0 GHz
- one 4x or 8x AGP slot, preloaded with 5200 (with 9600 BTO option)
- one PCI slot
- usual compliment of USB 2.0, FW 400/800 ports on back
- one USB 2.0 and one FW400 port on the front
- dual layer Superdrive (slot or tray, I don't care)
- 120GB HD
- 512MB RAM (soldered), 2 empty slots for more
- bracket to mount new LCD display
- built-in Bluetooth & WiFi (see below)

I know the HD and RAM numbers are high for Apple, but I think Apple needs to wake up and include more memory instead of the bare minimum crap. That stuff is cheap, so bump it up.

As for built-in wireless... I've been asking for this for a long time now. Here's my reasoning.

(a) Dedicated chips/modules would be much cheaper than building in brackets, connectors, manufacturing the specialized cases, etc. Ethernet, modems, FW and USB are all built in and are mass produced. Do the same with WiFi and Bluetooth, at least for the iMacs. (Pro users may want an upgrade path or a custom third-party device.)

(b) Knowing that every iMac has BT and WiFi would open lots of doors for cool apps and devices. It's like giving away the game console and soaking people on games. Give away the wireless stuff and then make money on the devices and accessories that use it, maybe even special iApps (iPhone anyone?).

(c) Apple is a leader in making cool technologies standard issue: USB, FW, Superdrives. Apple can lead the market again.

[DomDom]

I know I don't post much but i do read regularly. Do you think this is the new iMac. Of course only with the 20 inch screen max. All in one and with the box affixed to the back of the screen. Even less clutter. In the same finish as the PMs and new screens.

sorry I can't add the picture but it looks really good.

[Evan_11]

I don't think a pizza box shaped iMac G5 would be a huge seller outside a niche of present Mac users who want to upgrade from their outdated LC :wink:

The iMac is all about getting that first time Mac user in the door. It took the Powerbook G4 to do that for me.

Bring back the cube I say. Design it to look like a giant G5 heatsink. That would look fukin-A. I also want the ventilation shaft to shoot out a beam of light so it looks the MCP from Tron.

But seriously, put in a 1.6 ghz G5 and sell it for $999. It can't be any cheaper or powerful otherwise it would cannibalize Powermac sales. Keep it as upgradeable as the original Cube though. That way you could have a pretty decent setup that would appease many Mac users. Also who would resist pairing it up with a 20" Cinema Display?!

And last but not least, make it clusterable!

[Zoom]

Someone in another thread suggested a compromise to the whole headless vs AIO issue: ship the new iMac with a new LCD display, but make the display easily replaceable. That is, bundle the display with the CPU, already attached on a VESA-standard mount. This is essentially an AIO product, but the user can upgrade the display at a later time.

I think Apple would also have to sell the CPU as a stand-alone item, too, to let people upgrade the CPU later. But Apple could mix-and-match for you using BTO options on this first purchase. They would still need three different boxes to put them in, like the current iMac, but they could offer 9 combinations (3 LCD sizes x 3 CPU configs).

This avoids the issue of forcing mom and pop to assemble even a butt-simply display and bracket, but still allows the two to be sold and upgraded independently.

[turtle777]

Original posted by Group51:
Like this?

No !

-t

[Simon]

In response to the title of this thread: NO.

This AppleInsider article claims that the reason for the whole iMac delay is design issues with the new case and incorporation of the G5.

I'm anxious to see what those, claiming it will have a G4 and arguing that AppleInsider said no G5 iMac, are going to say now.

[BRussell]

So they just said in the conference call that the new iMac will be a G5.

[turtle777]

Originally posted by BRussell:
So they just said in the conference call that the new iMac will be a G5.

Really ?
Link ?

-t

[Eug Wanker]

So the G5 iMac is official. Finally, the no-G5-iMac-in-2004 statements will cease.

And Apple says IBM is primarily to blame for the G5 iMac shortage.

[hmurchison2001]

Originally posted by Evan_11:
No rock hard facts but just commen sense. If there is indeed a case re-design I highly suspect it will be for a shallower desktop footprint which means that there will be less room for cooling. For those who say they did it in the Xserve well yeah but the thing is 3 feet deep. They're working on scaling the G5 for such uses but it won't be ready for a september delivery and regardless they'll premier it in the Powerbook first. The fact that Apple has now released a statement saying that they expected to release the iMac revision now puts an even bigger hamper on the G5 inclusion.

What I do expect out of the iMac Sept. rev. is not just a smaller footprint but an iPod mini like case (abeit much larger). Annodized aluminum in an assortment of colors. Probably a max processor speed of about 1.4 (intentionally scaled back not to outshine the powerbook).

Other specs of note:
bluetooth keyboard and mouse
built in docking bay specific for the ipod mini
a handle for carrying around the house

Software specs:
1 year paid subscription to .Mac. Just a hunch but really what does Apple have to lose by offering this?

With the booming economy and huge success of the iPod, Apple has a shot of gaining marketshare again like they did with the original iMac. I believe the reason the first iMac G4 (partially) failed was timing.

The biggest obstacle the iMac has is the fact that seven years ago laptops were still cost prohibitave for 90% of computer users. Now you can buy a decent laptop for less than the cost of an iMac. Apple needs to put something revolutionary back into the iMac line besides a swiveling neck to attract buyers.

You just crashed and burned dude. Now just how common is that sense?

http://www.macminute.com/2004/07/14/imacg5

Just razzing you man. You gotta eat crow when you put your neck out there like that.

[anoetic]

Maybe we can get ryan_becker in here to so he can join him in the crow eating. Especially after some of the comments he made.

It's all fun and games until the come out with a G5 iMac

[ApeInTheShell]

Just give us another cube with better capabilities and more fans and call it iCube.

[Randman]

Time to lock this thread up....

[Eriamjh]

<homer>Mmmmmmmmm, crow. Arrrgggghhhhlllllll</homer>

[buffalolee]

If Apple did come out with a G4, they can kiss their iMac sales goodbye. G5 is the future, and the iMac must be forward looking.

[Stradlater]

Originally posted by Evan_11:
Eventually I think we'll see the iMac evolve into a tablet like device. A self contained unit that will be very appliance like. Completely wireless, all in one, with no-hinges or external mechanical devices. In fact I could see the only internal mechanical device being the hard drive. Like an iPod on steroids. If I were working for Apple I'd argue for a slot loading optical drive but it would go against Steve's vision for the device. It would have a dock for plugging in your usb and firewire devices.

You're just full of ideas, aren't you?

[chrisutley]

I think we will see the iMac evolve into a heated toilet seat that doubles as an Easy Bake Oven and bidet.