Apple iMac 2010 - What would you like to see changed?

[Preclaro_tipo]

Why don't people ask for ExpressCard 34 slot?

ExpressCard Slot needs much more hardware and software support to handle the PCIe bus associated yet 90% of cards only use the USB bus of card so for the most part express card slot would be a waste of engineering where for what really will be treated as a glorified USB port.

Okay, so I assume you know what you are talking about, BUT the 17" Macbook Pro has an expresscard slot, not a SD card slot like its smaller product siblings. I consider the 24" iMac the "Pro" consumer desktop and much like the 17" Macbook Pro. I expect the ExpressCard 34. (the engineering effort is done)

Anyone who wants to upgrade to USB 3.0, add eSATA, a TV tuner, Future Firewire, or just to add more ports.

Here's my list:
LED backlit 24" screen
ExpressCard/34 (for SATA HDs, or multi-card readers, TV tuner, etc)
Graphics card with 1 gig of ram (any will current card will suffice)
Core i7 (two or four core, don't matter to me)
Redesign away the "chin" of the iMac

If I can get those three, I will buy a new iMac. Until then, I can't justify the cost considering the iMac I have now (2 yrs old this winter).

As a bonus I would like
Auto focus Camera
Free Wireless mouse and keyboard, or Backlit wired option
More USB plugs
USB 3.0 (would be a surprise even though Apple lead USB to mass adoption)

The justification for the camera and the free wireless keyboard and mouse is that the Imac is getting less appealing at its current price point, it really needs some of my listed bonuses for my to feel justified in buying an iMac.

With the ExpressCard 34 slot the iMac 24" buyer should have access to a solution such as these products.
eSATA:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/te...express34.html

TV Tuner:
http://www.emarketplace.com.au/shop/miglia-tvbook-pro-express-tv-tuner-for-mac-pid-5365.html

Firewire + USB:
http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fwusbexpresscard34.html

Memory Card reader:
http://www.amazon.com/EXPRESSCARD-34-5-1-Card-Reader/dp/B000M5FATY

This is kinda cool, probably would dream of, but not actually buy. (for gaming when I boot into windows)
http://www.xpcgear.com/xfinotebook.html

 

[brendu]

And a better scroll wheel in the Mighty Mouse please!

fudge the mighty mouse altogether.. its a lame mouse design. Apple should setup a deal to have logitech build them an apple branded wireless bluetooth mouse that matches the mac lineup..

blue ray is stupid unless you want a massive data disk.. downloading is the future not discs..

backlight keyboard with black keys, much like the mbp's would be a nice touch.. the white just doesn't match the imac really.. it looks nice but black would match better...

USB 3.0 would be nice to see, but im gonna have to say that will still be a few years away for the imac.

quad core could be cool if it doesn't get too hot, i wouldnt sacrifice quiet for quad core any day.. my dual core imac performs quite well for average tasks.

 

[jvette]

For them to stop shipping every thing from CHINA!!!! At least stock some stuff in the US so we can get stuff faster. If you don't want a stock unit and want more ram it takes forever to get it.

On a second thought we pay enough for this stuff already so make it in the United States. That's all I want. I just hate buying stuff made in China.

 

[Hellhammer]

I just hate buying stuff made in China.

Stop buying then. You'll be naked in few seconds. Almost everything is made in China or other Asian country nowadays

 

[ag55]

Yup, you wont have anything left if you stopped buying stuff from China.

I think the new 2010 iMac will have blu-ray, a faster processor (but no way quad-core). USB 3.0 is dreaming, and a big re-design just doesnt seem likely.

Glad i ordered my imac now

 

[Buschmaster]

I will likely be getting the current or next generation iMac. The suggestions in this thread all sound great to me. What I will be doing is waiting for the next one to come out and either be getting the current generation as the "previous generation" model, or, if the next model impresses me enough I'll go after that one.

The one thing that scares me is that RAM will no longer be user-accessible. I cannot afford that spendy Apple RAM. (Or at least it's not worth it)

 

[theimacdude]

I definitely want to see an update to Apple Mice/Keyboard.
Also Quad Core would be amazing for the iMac, thinking about how thin it is for such power (99% Of PC's are big honkin' towers - bare that in mind)

 

[125037]

I will likely be getting the current or next generation iMac. The suggestions in this thread all sound great to me. What I will be doing is waiting for the next one to come out and either be getting the current generation as the "previous generation" model, or, if the next model impresses me enough I'll go after that one.

The one thing that scares me is that RAM will no longer be user-accessible. I cannot afford that spendy Apple RAM. (Or at least it's not worth it)

$900 for 8GB! LOL. That is ridiculous, I saw that for the first time yesterday.

 

[Buschmaster]

$900 for 8GB! LOL. That is ridiculous, I saw that for the first time yesterday.

It is beyond ridiculous. Luckily, they come with 4GB standard, so an upgrade wouldn't be completely necessary, but I would love to drop 8GB in my iMac if it's user accessible.

I find out Tuesday if I can get an iMac or not, and even then, I'll wait for the next revision either way.

I may as well throw in the key things that may make me jump at the new iMac:
-The rumored 10% price cut
-Blu-Ray
-LED
-Redesign

And while it wouldn't likely swing me either way at all, I'd love to see an SD card slot.

 

[queshy]

I doubt it. iMacs don't have ExpressSlot so I can't see SD slot in iMac. ES was much better than SD by the way

Whether ES is better than SD has nothing to do with what Apple what do. Apple made a huge point about the SD slot in their new notebooks at WWDC. For some reason, on every review you read, one of the "pros" of the new machines are that they have an SD card slot, something notebooks already have had for years already! This is the RDF at its finest! Apple will shove an SD card slot into the next iMac and people looking to buy it will be wowed by this prospect because of how brilliantly Apple will market it. I didn't say I actually cared if there was an SD slot in the iMac (I wouldn't mind one, to be honest), but a lot of future customers will be drawn to this feature.

 

[queshy]

Okay, so I assume you know what you are talking about, BUT the 17" Macbook Pro has an expresscard slot, not a SD card slot like its smaller product siblings. I consider the 24" iMac the "Pro" consumer desktop and much like the 17" Macbook Pro. I expect the ExpressCard 34. (the engineering effort is done)

Anyone who wants to upgrade to USB 3.0, add eSATA, a TV tuner, Future Firewire, or just to add more ports.

Here's my list:
LED backlit 24" screen
ExpressCard/34 (for SATA HDs, or multi-card readers, TV tuner, etc)
Graphics card with 1 gig of ram (any will current card will suffice)
Core i7 (two or four core, don't matter to me)
Redesign away the "chin" of the iMac

If I can get those three, I will buy a new iMac. Until then, I can't justify the cost considering the iMac I have now (2 yrs old this winter).

As a bonus I would like
Auto focus Camera
Free Wireless mouse and keyboard, or Backlit wired option
More USB plugs
USB 3.0 (would be a surprise even though Apple lead USB to mass adoption)

The justification for the camera and the free wireless keyboard and mouse is that the Imac is getting less appealing at its current price point, it really needs some of my listed bonuses for my to feel justified in buying an iMac.

The iMac is a consumer machine, not a pro machine. Apple's pro desktop is the Mac Pro. I highly, highly doubt ExpressCard will make its way into the iMac. eSATA and TV tuner - this is dreaming.

Apple wants you to buy content off of iTunes and download it. Because of this we'll probably never see a TV tuner in the iMac. Also, I think the iMac will maintain FW and USB 2.0. Too soon to move to eSATA (which hasn't penetrated the market that well, anyway).

Free wireless mouse and keyboard won't ever happen since people are paying extra for them now! Apple is making a ton of money selling people these accessories which cost them barely nothing to make.

I'd love to see backlit options for the keyboard and a better mouse. The current MM is terrible because of the scroll ball.

Auto-focus camera - what would be the purpose of this in a stationary desktop? I thought the iMac's cam was put there pretty much just for conferencing.

More USB ports? Maybe, but they may not have room for this.

Finally, a "chinless" iMac has long been asked for by fans. I don't find the current chin that bad, and I think the machine is very nicely designed. I think what you WANT is a 24" LED display form factor, but you want them to somehow shove an iMac in there which probably won't happen for quite some time.

If the next iMac is significantly better than the current one (and not just a small speed bump!), I'll sell my 24" white iMac. Otherwise I don't really see the point in upgrading - I will also be forced into getting a glossy screen!

 

[MacAndy74]

There are 2TB 3.5" HDs and iMac would use them. Apple already offers 1TB....

SnowLeopard2008 is amazingly opinionated.

I agree, I don't see a reason can't fit a larger capacity hard disk.

As far as SnowLeopard2008 comment about upgraded graphics, yeah I care. I want to play my games in OS X or Boot Camp'ed Windows - nicely. Why wouldn't upgrade video processors - they have so far, in every refresh of the iMac AFAIK.

 

[DLary]

Some way to adjust the height. None of the current iMacs will fit under a standard kitchen cabinet

 

[alent1234]

$900 for 8GB! LOL. That is ridiculous, I saw that for the first time yesterday.

DDR 3 on NewEgg is also priced at riduculous prices. Until Dell and HP start to use more of it and production goes up, prices will remain high.

 

[Irishman]

blue ray is stupid unless you want a massive data disk.. downloading is the future not discs..

Blu-ray, you mean.

And downloading being the future is your opinion. Until and unless I can purchase and have a download be mine with pq and aq as good or better than Blu-ray, then I'll pass.

 

[canyonblue737]

Ok, been through this thread a few times but can I get everyone's simple answer (or guess to this question...)

The iMac will inevitably have a fall update this year (2009.) Do most guess this will be a simple "speed bump/snow leopard" update or do you think the internal architecture have a big change or will the external look change or is that a more likely 2010 and beyond?

Thanks...

 

[iMacmatician]

Ok, been through this thread a few times but can I get everyone's simple answer (or guess to this question...)

The iMac will inevitably have a fall update this year (2009.) Do most guess this will be a simple "speed bump/snow leopard" update or do you think the internal architecture have a big change or will the external look change or is that a more likely 2010 and beyond?

Thanks...

I'm guessing a speed bump type update (and a price drop) in the fall, and then a larger update (component-wise) with Arrandale in 2010.

 

[zedsdead]

I'm guessing a speed bump type update (and a price drop) in the fall, and then a larger update (component-wise) with Arrandale in 2010.

How will the speed bump occur if no new chips are available yet? The only ones that are will be Clarksfield, and it offers far less clockspeed, which Apple will not sacrifice for the iMac.

Price drop in the fall, update in early 2010. Same design, slightly better GPU, slightly faster (via Arrandale), same ports (unless Apple adds an SD slot), maybe a 2TB option.

The idea that the iMac needs to be updated in the fall is ridiculous. It was refreshed 4.5 months ago. The iMac has been on a 10-11 month cycle as of late, and based on Intel's roadmap it doesn't appear to be changing.

 

[iMacmatician]

How will the speed bump occur if no new chips are available yet? The only ones that are will be Clarksfield, and it offers far less clockspeed, which Apple will not sacrifice for the iMac.

They could get custom CPUs with increased speeds like what happened with the 2008 iMac. While I have doubts that it will happen, it's a bit more optimistic than 3.07 GHz as the highest CPU for the third time.

Maybe I should take the more pessimistic prediction…

The idea that the iMac needs to be updated in the fall is ridiculous. It was refreshed 4.5 months ago. The iMac has been on a 10-11 month cycle as of late, and based on Intel's roadmap it doesn't appear to be changing.

Many of us (including myself) were expecting the next update to be H1 2010 until AppleInsider said there would be a fall refresh.

 

[MooTooYoo]

Hey guys

Thinking about getting my first mac for Christmas, and wondered if I would regret it seeing as you guys seem to think the big updates will be in spring?

I don't really want to wait another 3 months after christmas, so could you guys guide me?

Also I have been told it's not worth getting an iMac unless it's with a good graphics card, and don't really think I will be able to get £1500 for xmas :/

 

[MacMini2009]

Hey guys

Thinking about getting my first mac for Christmas, and wondered if I would regret it seeing as you guys seem to think the big updates will be in spring?

I don't really want to wait another 3 months after christmas, so could you guys guide me?

Also I have been told it's not worth getting an iMac unless it's with a good graphics card, and don't really think I will be able to get £1500 for xmas :/

If you want it before Christmas, then buy it. If you can wait till spring next year, then wait.

 

[diadem9]

2010 or 2015?

I doubt if suggestions made now would be considered but in the event that my particular bugbear is not resolved, I'd like to see a more user friendly version of controlling preferences, specifically cookies.

I cannot see the difficulty in providing a check box panel which simply says, for example ...

0 Review your retained cookies and uncheck to delete them.
0 You have received the following new cookies today from ...
Listing ...

0 Site
0 Site
0 Site

... Check if you wish to retain.

The 'delete' option that follows will remove all unretained cookies

0 Delete unretained cookies.

Then list the retained cookies in alphabetical order.

Such a program may exist but it would be a small item to include ... and very helpful

 

[Buzz Bumble]

...
backlight keyboard with black keys, much like the mbp's would be a nice touch.. the white just doesn't match the imac really.. it looks nice but black would match better...

The only current Apple products that the white keyboards and mice match is the Mac Mini, the Mac Book and one of the iPhone models ... none of which actually ship with these keyboards or mice anyway.

Some way to adjust the height. None of the current iMacs will fit under a standard kitchen cabinet

One way around that: you can (or at least used to be able to) remove the stand from the iMac and put it on a wall mount.

Many of us (including myself) were expecting the next update to be H1 2010 until AppleInsider said there would be a fall refresh.

Probably a silly question, but what / when is "H1 2010" ... or was that a typo fo "Q1 2010"?

 

[MacMini2009]

Probably a silly question, but what / when is "H1 2010" ... or was that a typo fo "Q1 2010"?

I think H1 = First Half.

 

[Stephen73]

Realistically

A case redisign for desktop components would be huge. We can't expect this, though a few minor tweaks would be great like:

• iPod docking station built into the keyboard
• An additional USB port at the front or side for regular use of a memory stick (I'm scratching my desk by continually swiveling my iMac around to access the ports at the back)
• Matt screens (without the added price)

Hmmm, seems my basic wishlist is requiring a case re-design.

Okay then, let's go the whole hog... I want desktop components inside. This should instantly allow for the cost savings of the components to be spent on higher specs. I think Apple is trying too hard to make the iMac compact. If I want really compact, I must look at a laptop. I'd rather get a little more functionality.

Apple can also keep their extra RAM. They are so expensive with it that it undermines any improvement they're giving us so 8 GIGs out the box is a bad idea. (I get the feeling that it's in the RAM that they find their big profit margins.)