Even though this might just be rambling on my part, I feel that I should throw my two cents in as well.
At the beginning of the summer my monster of a laptop (3.4 Ghz hyperthreading, 80GB internal + 160GB internal HDDs, AREA-51M 7700 D900T NVIDIA DDR3 6800FXGO WITH 256MB MODULE video card, 2.5GB RAM, etc.) died on me. It was my baby and I took the upmost care for it. It was perfect for my needs (Powerful and portable), but that is what killed it. Too much power in too small of a space. After it died I began weighing my options (building a PC or converting to Mac), I chose the latter. I also wanted to stray away from the laptop scene as my past experiences haven't been the greatest.
Lo and behold, I set my sights on the iMac.
A beautiful machine, perfect for my portability needs (I take my machine back and forth from school a few times a year), and powerful (with an amazing OS to go on the top with the cherry).
Once I caught wind of the upcoming design, I knew I had to have it (as I'm a sucker for new "shiny" things).
So I have been lurking in the shadows of MacRumors, reading the various sites' predictions, and compiling it all into my own thoughts which is what I want to share now.
I feel Apple can release the new iMacs in two timeframes. Option A) Late July - VERY EARLY August. Or Option B) Late September - October.
Here are my reasonings:
Option A) This is to hit the Back-to-School Rush. Kids going off to a university for their first time, living in a cramped dorm, what better (than a laptop for space) than having a compact, powerful, beautiful machine to show off to their "new amazing roommates-future enemies"? Apple is all about Education so this makes perfect sense to release then. I say that this needs to be VERY EARLY into August because many schools start in the middle of August (my schooling resumes August 22nd). And if Apple waits too long into the month of August, many kids would not have their computers at the start of school. Having a computer is very close to a necessity now-a-days when you're in college. Online courses, registering, lecturing, notes, homework, quizzes, on and on and on. And many people could be forced to buy a different computer upon returning to school if the new design is not out by then.
The two main cons against this are: releasing a new design merely two months before Leopard and the "Back-to-School iPod promotion" currently underway. But I have some reasoning against both of these.
Many people think that Apple could potentially lose money by releasing the new iMacs so shortly before Leopard is due out becuase people will remain reluctant and hold on to buy the iMacs when they come standard with Leopard. From my readings it seems the complete opposite. It seems like people will run out and buy the iMac when it is released because they have been holding out too long as it is and their current machines are dying (like mine already did). And the people not as knowledgable of the "Apple world" will see the new iMacs and buy up and then afterwards find out that Leopard was going to be released shortly after.
With the iPod promotion going on right now, it seems like a perfect time to release a new iMac design. Since there have been recent rumblings throughout the Apple Community about OS/touch screen iPods, Apple could release the new iMacs with the current promotion. Promoting that you can get a "new" iPod with your new iMac before going back to school, only to have the actual NEW iPods be released shortly afterwards. This is the same psychology Apple is using right now with the iMacs. They are still promoting them as the new iMacs, even though we all know they are VERY old in Apple's eye as well as our own. I'm sure people would jump on the bandwagon of getting a new iMac PLUS $199.00 off towards an iPod. That's a Win-Win for everyone. Apple can continue to get rid of their outdated-soon to be updated iPods and consumers can have a "new" iPod as well. (I for one, would do that as I need a bigger iPod and would love getting $199.00 off).
Now Option B) The only reason I can suspect a Late September - October release is to be released RIGHT BEFORE or along side the release of Leopard. They could promote eachother, "synergizing" sales. They could also make a stage unveiling in Paris at the Expo.
I feel there are many cons to this Option, but again that is only my opinion. A couple of them are:
They lose out on the potential sales of an earlier release. Like I said above, I feel people will buy whether they know about the upcoming Leopard release or not. And Apple could lose out on cashing in with people who buy the system then the OS two months later (I would also be one of these people, but I get a rather nice discount through school, not to mention the AMP offer my school gives me).
Releasing the new design around a year (if not longer) than the last update could frustrate some Mac fans and push them away. Becuase it does seem like there is quite a bit of animosity in the air over this constant delay, that has been carrying on long before I joined here. (Some people have been waiting for an update since December '06, if not earlier, if my memory serves me correctly).
I feel I've been blabbing on enough but look forward to hearing what you all think about my thoughts and to input your own as well.
I know that I'm hoping for Option A so I can transfer all my media, documents, etc. over to my beautiful newly redesigned 24-inch (if not bigger) iMac, so I can take the new semester head on.
In conclusion, no matter what Apple decides, they will win either way. They already have a chokehold on our wallets and they know it.
Cheers,
Torrid
At the beginning of the summer my monster of a laptop (3.4 Ghz hyperthreading, 80GB internal + 160GB internal HDDs, AREA-51M 7700 D900T NVIDIA DDR3 6800FXGO WITH 256MB MODULE video card, 2.5GB RAM, etc.) died on me. It was my baby and I took the upmost care for it. It was perfect for my needs (Powerful and portable), but that is what killed it. Too much power in too small of a space. After it died I began weighing my options (building a PC or converting to Mac), I chose the latter. I also wanted to stray away from the laptop scene as my past experiences haven't been the greatest.
Lo and behold, I set my sights on the iMac.
A beautiful machine, perfect for my portability needs (I take my machine back and forth from school a few times a year), and powerful (with an amazing OS to go on the top with the cherry).
Once I caught wind of the upcoming design, I knew I had to have it (as I'm a sucker for new "shiny" things).
So I have been lurking in the shadows of MacRumors, reading the various sites' predictions, and compiling it all into my own thoughts which is what I want to share now.
I feel Apple can release the new iMacs in two timeframes. Option A) Late July - VERY EARLY August. Or Option B) Late September - October.
Here are my reasonings:
Option A) This is to hit the Back-to-School Rush. Kids going off to a university for their first time, living in a cramped dorm, what better (than a laptop for space) than having a compact, powerful, beautiful machine to show off to their "new amazing roommates-future enemies"? Apple is all about Education so this makes perfect sense to release then. I say that this needs to be VERY EARLY into August because many schools start in the middle of August (my schooling resumes August 22nd). And if Apple waits too long into the month of August, many kids would not have their computers at the start of school. Having a computer is very close to a necessity now-a-days when you're in college. Online courses, registering, lecturing, notes, homework, quizzes, on and on and on. And many people could be forced to buy a different computer upon returning to school if the new design is not out by then.
The two main cons against this are: releasing a new design merely two months before Leopard and the "Back-to-School iPod promotion" currently underway. But I have some reasoning against both of these.
Many people think that Apple could potentially lose money by releasing the new iMacs so shortly before Leopard is due out becuase people will remain reluctant and hold on to buy the iMacs when they come standard with Leopard. From my readings it seems the complete opposite. It seems like people will run out and buy the iMac when it is released because they have been holding out too long as it is and their current machines are dying (like mine already did). And the people not as knowledgable of the "Apple world" will see the new iMacs and buy up and then afterwards find out that Leopard was going to be released shortly after.
With the iPod promotion going on right now, it seems like a perfect time to release a new iMac design. Since there have been recent rumblings throughout the Apple Community about OS/touch screen iPods, Apple could release the new iMacs with the current promotion. Promoting that you can get a "new" iPod with your new iMac before going back to school, only to have the actual NEW iPods be released shortly afterwards. This is the same psychology Apple is using right now with the iMacs. They are still promoting them as the new iMacs, even though we all know they are VERY old in Apple's eye as well as our own. I'm sure people would jump on the bandwagon of getting a new iMac PLUS $199.00 off towards an iPod. That's a Win-Win for everyone. Apple can continue to get rid of their outdated-soon to be updated iPods and consumers can have a "new" iPod as well. (I for one, would do that as I need a bigger iPod and would love getting $199.00 off).
Now Option B) The only reason I can suspect a Late September - October release is to be released RIGHT BEFORE or along side the release of Leopard. They could promote eachother, "synergizing" sales. They could also make a stage unveiling in Paris at the Expo.
I feel there are many cons to this Option, but again that is only my opinion. A couple of them are:
They lose out on the potential sales of an earlier release. Like I said above, I feel people will buy whether they know about the upcoming Leopard release or not. And Apple could lose out on cashing in with people who buy the system then the OS two months later (I would also be one of these people, but I get a rather nice discount through school, not to mention the AMP offer my school gives me).
Releasing the new design around a year (if not longer) than the last update could frustrate some Mac fans and push them away. Becuase it does seem like there is quite a bit of animosity in the air over this constant delay, that has been carrying on long before I joined here. (Some people have been waiting for an update since December '06, if not earlier, if my memory serves me correctly).
I feel I've been blabbing on enough but look forward to hearing what you all think about my thoughts and to input your own as well.
I know that I'm hoping for Option A so I can transfer all my media, documents, etc. over to my beautiful newly redesigned 24-inch (if not bigger) iMac, so I can take the new semester head on.
In conclusion, no matter what Apple decides, they will win either way. They already have a chokehold on our wallets and they know it.
Cheers,
Torrid
TV 2.0 (i.e. new mac mini)
The mbps have stayed the same price since they were released last year.