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Apple to drop sub-$500 Mac bomb at Expo
ThinkSecret.com ^ | December 28, 2004 | "Nick dePlume"

Posted on 12/28/2004 11:09:37 PM PST by HAL9000

December 28, 2004 - With iPod-savvy Windows users clearly in its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-based iMac without a display at Mac Expo on January 11 that will retail for $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret.

The new Mac, code-named Q88, will be part of the iMac family and is expected to sport a PowerPC G4 processor at a speed around 1.25GHz. The new Mac is said to be incredibly small and will be housed in a flat enclosure with a height similar to the 1.73 inches of Apple's Xserve. Its size benefits will include the ability to stand the Mac on its side or put it below a display or monitor.

Along with lowering costs by forgoing a display (Apple's entry-level eMac sells for $799 with a built-in 17-inch CRT display), the so-called "headless" iMac will allow Apple's target audience -- Windows users looking for a cheap, second PC -- to keep their current peripherals or decide on their own what to pair with the system, be it a high-priced LCD display or an inexpensive display. Sources except the device to feature both DVI and VGA connectivity, although whether this will be provided through dual ports or through a single DVI port with a VGA adapter remains to be seen.

The new Mac is expected to have a Combo drive only, but possibly an upgrade path to a SuperDrive at a higher price. It is unclear how big the hard drive capacity will be, although sources indicate it will be between 40GB and 80GB.

Other expected features of the iMac include: * 256MB of RAM * USB 2.0 * FireWire 400 * 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet * 56K V.92 modem * AirPort Extreme support

In terms of software, Apple will include a special iLife suite (minus iDVD) as well as AppleWorks, sources believe.

The new Mac is expected to be introduced by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs at his keynote address on Tuesday, January 11, but is not expected to be available until later in the first quarter. Sources indicate "issues" have arisen in production of the new Mac, but that Apple never planned on shipping the new device immediately upon introduction. The plan is to air freight the new model from its manufacturing plants in Asia for at least the first three months of shipments, sources report.

The announcement of the new, inexpensive Mac will be a dream come true for Mac aficionados who have begged and pleaded for years to see just such a PC. Until now, the company has downplayed speculation that it would get into the low-end PC market. "In terms of our pricing, I feel very good about where each of our product lines are priced," Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, said in October. "To date, we have chosen not to compete in the sub-$800 desktop market and have put that R&D investment in expanding our products in the music area, in software, and in hardware."

So what has changed to motivate Apple in producing a low-cost Mac? In a word, iPod.

"Think of your traditional iPod owner," said a source. "This new product will be for a Windows user who has experienced the iPod, the ease of use of the iTunes software, and has played around with a Mac at an Apple retail store just long enough to know he'd buy one if it were a little cheaper."

Apple executives announced on October 13 that 45% to 50% of its retail stores customers bought a Mac as their first PC or were new to the platform in the fiscal fourth-quarter. The company has refused to divulge more exacting figures on iPod buyers who also buy a Mac, for competitive reasons.

According to sources, internal Apple surveys of its retail store customers and those buying iPod's showed a large number of PC users would be willing to buy a Mac if it were cheap enough, less of a virus carrier (which all Macs already are), and offered easier to use software solutions not available on Windows-based PCs. Now, Apple feels they have the answer.

Apple has been working on the low-end Mac for almost a year, sources report. Indications are Apple has been working mostly on finding the right mix of price, performance and features that would motivate Windows users to consider a Mac, and less on the actual engineering of the product. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to design a bare-bones PC," said one source familiar with the project. "What it takes is a team of marketing and software experts to find the right mix to convince Windows users to buy a Mac at a price that is not much more than the cost of an iPod."

Sources familiar with the product cautioned that the low-end Mac will be marketed towards a totally different audience than those who traditionally buy even a $799 eMac. "This product is not going to be about performance," said a source close to Apple. "This is going to be the basics, but with just as much of a focus on software as any Mac could ever be."



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Technical
KEYWORDS: apple; g4; ieverything; imac; ithat; ithis; mac; macintosh; macuser; risc
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To: HAL9000
Wal-Mart Breaks Price Barrier with $498 Linux Laptop Running Linspire

Prices will come down. I love the smell of Capitalism in the morning!

21 posted on 12/29/2004 1:41:03 AM PST by dware (Go then. There are other worlds than these.)
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To: Bush2000; antiRepublicrat; LasVegasMac; Action-America; eno_; N3WBI3; zeugma; TechJunkYard; ...

Sub $500 MacPING!

As always should you or anyone want to become a member of the Mac Ping List, freepmail the secretary who will add you to the list (I am the secretary) should you want off the secretary will disavow all knowledge you were ever on the list...


22 posted on 12/29/2004 2:54:36 AM PST by Swordmaker (Tagline now open, please ring bell.)
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To: MediaMole

A $499 machine with those specs is not a money loser. You could get a PC at Wal Mart for $100 less. Oops, spoke too soon: Wal Mart's cheapest PC these days is $188: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3356850


23 posted on 12/29/2004 3:02:23 AM PST by eno_ (Freedom Lite, it's almost worth defending.)
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To: no_mm

Running OS X is not difficult. I have heard positive things about Panther running on ancient slow iBooks with small memory configurations.


24 posted on 12/29/2004 3:06:10 AM PST by eno_ (Freedom Lite, it's almost worth defending.)
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To: HAL9000
Good move by Apple though I won't need or want one. 

Still, this a low ball priced Apple computer which most people will need to upgrade to be worth a dang. Below is what I would spend good money on:

DellSB - Dimension 3000 w/ 2.8Ghz P4, 512MB of DDR SDRAM, 80GB HD, 48x CD-RW, and 2 Year Warranty for $349 after Rebate w/ FREE Shipping!
Instant $90 discount and $100 rebate! You`re getting the Intel Pentium 4 Processor (2.80GHz, 533 FSB), 512MB of dual channel DDR SDRAM ($50 value), 80GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive ($30 value), 48x CD-RW Drive ($50 value), 10/100 networking, Windows XP Home and 2 year warranty ($139 value) to boot! This is a great choice for basic computing (no AGP
slot, but you can upgrade to a different PCI video card later).

http://www.gotapex.com/

 

25 posted on 12/29/2004 3:08:54 AM PST by dennisw (G_D: Against Amelek for all generations.)
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To: HAL9000

Thanks for posting this. Good morning. :)


26 posted on 12/29/2004 3:10:44 AM PST by BunnySlippers (Happy Festivus ...)
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To: eno_

That's bare bones with no hard drive, no CD ROM, no floppy, not enough memory .... What's the OS?


27 posted on 12/29/2004 3:13:31 AM PST by dennisw (G_D: Against Amelek for all generations.)
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To: dennisw

OS? What, you don't have a knoppix disk in your briefcase? (Uh, for data recovery purposes, yeah.)


28 posted on 12/29/2004 3:20:15 AM PST by eno_ (Freedom Lite, it's almost worth defending.)
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To: HAL9000

Be still my beating heart!

Maybe now I'll be able to talk my Mother in Law into off-loading her POS Gateway.

The existence of that thing is an offense to my wireless home network.


29 posted on 12/29/2004 3:40:33 AM PST by papertyger
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To: Swordmaker

Better start planning your second career.

I figure you've got ten more years, give or take.


30 posted on 12/29/2004 5:14:38 AM PST by papertyger
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To: dennisw

What, are you kidding? "Most" people think that Dell Holiday commercial is funny for a *reason*.


31 posted on 12/29/2004 5:20:22 AM PST by papertyger
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To: HAL9000

Did any tech companies have manufacturing plants in the area of the earthquake and tsunami?


32 posted on 12/29/2004 6:14:17 AM PST by tubebender (If I had know I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself...)
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To: HAL9000
With iPod-savvy Windows users clearly in its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-based iMac without a display at Mac Expo on January 11 that will retail for $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret.

Uh, it doesn't have a monitor. This is not a sub $500 Mac. What's next, selling just the keyboard for $10 and claiming that it is a $10 dollar computer?

33 posted on 12/29/2004 6:20:09 AM PST by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along.)
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To: HAL9000

Will all of your old software work on your new Mac?


34 posted on 12/29/2004 6:39:40 AM PST by freepy smurf (Yes, Santa Claus. There is a Virginia.)
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To: HAL9000

Jobs is doing something right. A year ago Apple stock was around 20. It closed at just over 64 yesterday. Once again, I sold too early.


35 posted on 12/29/2004 6:50:44 AM PST by cowboyway (My Hero's have always been cowboys.)
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To: dennisw
http://www.gotapex.com/

There are other deals sites with rss feeds: bensbargains.net, dealnews.com, techbargains.com, slickdeals.net. Probably others I don't know about.

Now, if Thunderbird would import opml files.
36 posted on 12/29/2004 7:15:21 AM PST by Mike Fieschko (A thunder of jets in an open sky ... a streak of grey ... and a cheerful 'Hi!')
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To: HAL9000

Finally, Apple makes the right decision.


37 posted on 12/29/2004 7:15:58 AM PST by B Knotts
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To: Rodney King
Uh, it doesn't have a monitor.

Which is why I asked about KVM switches working with it. (KVM == keyboard video mouse, for sharing between boxen.)
38 posted on 12/29/2004 7:20:45 AM PST by Mike Fieschko (A thunder of jets in an open sky ... a streak of grey ... and a cheerful 'Hi!')
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To: Temple Owl

ping


39 posted on 12/29/2004 7:33:10 AM PST by Tribune7
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To: Flyer
>I could find room for one

You know, if you tell
that dirty, strange looking guy
on the street corner

you've never done drugs,
he will give you a pop free!
The first pop, that is . . .

Similarly, some
stores give away cell phones free . . .
Leave it to APPLE

to charge half-a-K
to play hook-the-people games . . .
Line up folks! Buy in!

40 posted on 12/29/2004 7:40:47 AM PST by theFIRMbss
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