[SillyMe]

I've been tossing around the idea of what reasonable feature set would Apple could use if they decided to produce a Special Edition iMac for January. Here's what I would love to see:

* 100% Chrome body and screen bezel
* Slot load Super Drive
* 19" Wide Aspect Screen
* Airport Extreme and Bluetooth standard
* 512MB RAM
* 1.25+ Ghz processor
* Largest HD available - 160 right now I think... 200 Would be nice in a few months
* Matching Mouse and Keyboard
* The existing feature set of the current selling iMac

Mostly this would be a maxed out iMac with the addition of aesthetic Cylon style dress up.

The next gen iMac would be based on these specs, with the addition of a swivel pivot arm for portrait as well as landscape viewing. Possibly even the addition of a piston to allow 2-4 inches of telescoping of the screen. Also, a few convenience ports (USB2, FW400, and headphones) on the front would be nice.

Just fantasy, but what would you folks like to see in a SPECIAL EDITION iMac?

-SM

[SillyMe]

Oh yeah, given that a current 17" iMac with a feature set close to this goes for $2148 on the Apple Store, I would expect Apple to offer the Special Edition (19" LCD) for around $2199 +/- $100 in January... if LCD prices don't surge.

[Luca Rescigno]

Realistically, a special edition iMac might be the same as now, except with a 1.4 GHz G5, 512 MB of RAM (expandable to 2 GB), a 160 GB hard drive standard (perhaps even SATA but I wouldn't count on it), a Radeon 9600 graphics chip, SoundSticks included instead of the Apple Pro Speakers, and the bluetooth mouse and keyboard bundled instead of the regular keyboard and mouse. Bluetooth and Airport standard.

That would be a NICE machine. Power comparable to the 1.6 GHz G5, but with a better standard graphics card, kickass speakers, and nearly unlimited cool factor. It wouldn't come cheap, though, my guess would be well over $2000 based on current iMacs.

[SillyMe]

I was thinking in terms of updates that wouldn't require a motherboard update, etc. But hey, you never know what those Apple folks are capable of in short order!

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by SillyMe:
... you never know what those Apple folks are capable of in short order!

Not a whole lot, I imagnie, if the delay in updating the PowerBook line is any example.

[Luca Rescigno]

Well, everything I said in mine is doable without a motherboard upgrade if you just cut out the G5 processor and maybe use a 1.33 GHz G4.

So:

1.33 GHz G4
512 MB DDR
160 GB hard drive
Radeon 9600 w/ 64MB DDR
Bluetooth
Airport Extreme
SoundSticks
Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

It's $2150 for a 1.25 GHz iMac with 512 MB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, Bluetooth, and Airport Extreme. Add $50 for the Radeon 9600 (same as the upgrade price for the G5s), $140 for the SoundSticks (replacing the Pro Speakers), and $40 for the wireless keyboard and mouse upgrade. Total: $2380.

Pretty freaking expensive. I think it's more likely that they'll put a 1.42+ GHz G4 in the high end, with 1.25 GHz on the low end, in the next update. And they won't include the cool stuff, like the SoundSticks or the wireless keyboard and mouse.

Apple has moved on from making "Special Edition" machines. Last time they did was late 2001, with the 700 MHz G3 iMac. There's the slight possibility of one because next year is the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh. Even so, it's not a great decision and I think an iMac that expensive would be a horrible seller.

[SillyMe]

Personally, I really think Apple is missing an opportunity by not introducing an iMac with a 19" LCD. At $1999, I would snap one of these up in a heartbeat.

[mathew_m]

A special edition iMac would have a G5. Another G4 iMac could be gold platted but no one would buy it.