The new iMac makes me wonder...

[rest44]

First of all, I have to say that I´ve been w8ing quite some time for this new iMac to serve as my home computer (do regular stuff like e-mail and websurfing, photo and audio editing, and a little gaming now and then but not much).

When I first saw the iMac I was starring at my current computer and thinking: Oh my god!!! ohh my god! This was NOT what I was hoping for!

Don´t get me wrong, but this iMac seams a littler bit of an unfinished piece. The new design it´s not briliant (like it or not) and we don´t fall in love with it (like everyone seams to be with the old iMac design when they first saw it). The keyboard, remote and mouse don´t combine with the looks of the iMac or even with themselfs. The black and aluminium seams like Apple wanted to go "black" (like their new image - see their website) and the same time wanted to go aluminium for the "more pro look" but they got in the middle, at a point of nowhere. It seams like a prototipe or something.

Then the glossy display. Knowing a lot os professionals use iMacs in their work (photos or video) and knowing glossy displays are not the best option for it. Why they put them in their? and not as an option?

How about games? they said at WWDC they want to bring back games into mac and they put a GPU that isn´t what gamers seam to like?

How about the remote not sticking on the side anymore?

For my point of view Apple should be shame of their work on this iMac! It´s not that is not a good computer, it is! But it´s just that they could have done a much better job, and they should! Apple is a company that sell premium products, and we expect premium! There are just to many flaws, it seams it was (un)finished in a hurry and they didn´t take time in details... Or maybe Leopard and the iPhone were such a priority, that the new iMac just suffered from that.

Thank for reading my point of view. Share yours please.


PS: If someone at Apple read this, I´ll give them some advides (maybe they´ll offer me a job in marketing, ohh well.. dreaming, lol): Make 2 versions of the iMac: One black with a glossy display to fit more consumer needs/likes, and one aluminion with matte dispay to fit professional needs. Make acessories with to match the iMacs. Make an option for better GPU (for gamers needs).

 

[Red-red]

In a nutshell really. I personally don't think Jobs was to involved in this. When he was giving his speech he seemed almost, bored to a certain extent when you compare it to the iphone one at the start of the year. IMO apple have certainly missed the mark on this and lost a lot of buisness in doing so. Im resigning my self to having to upgrade my PC and I really don't want to but I just can't bring my self to pay £1600 for a machine that is already out dated never mind one that I will want to keep for 3 years.

I might go down the running OSX on windows route but im not sure how well that works. I'm in a bit of a muddle at the minute as I don't want to carry on using XP, I hate Vista its just awful imo. I love OSX but the imac is a no no and the pro is far to expensive.......hmmmmm

 

[urbanskywalker]

I have watched people complain about the lamp model and the white chin model of imac. It's always them same thing. When a new imac comes out it gets attacked and is generally not seen as good as the last model, but then later the tide shifts until the next horrible model. I also read camera forums, and you see the same phenomena over new cameras. You should hear all the complaining over Canon's lackluster releases. So give the imac six months and people will love it.

 

[davidjearly]

Is it possible to put all the iMac moaning in one thread? Please? Mods?

This is getting out of hand, seriously.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

I might go down the running OSX on windows route but im not sure how well that works. I'm in a bit of a muddle at the minute as I don't want to carry on using XP, I hate Vista its just awful imo. I love OSX but the imac is a no no and the pro is far to expensive.......hmmmmm

Do you play games? If not, get a Mac Mini. It's cheaper, and apart from the GPU, HDD and lack of 802.11n, its just as good.

 

[CEToons]

You've misinterpreted my post

Is it possible to put all the iMac moaning in one thread? Please? Mods?

This is getting out of hand, seriously.

I'm not moaning at all. I stated I like the design and placed an order to buy one. I just wonder if they style wasn't created in part to appease those used to looking at a Windows machine in the hopes of increasing attention and market share.

 

[davidjearly]

I'm not moaning at all. I stated I like the design and placed an order to buy one. I just wonder if they style wasn't created in part to appease those used to looking at a Windows machine in the hopes of increasing attention and market share.

I didn't misinterperate your post at all as you have not posted in this thread before until now. And just to clarify, I don't think I would be alone in describing the OP as moaning.

 

[Red-red]

Do you play games? If not, get a Mac Mini. It's cheaper, and apart from the GPU, HDD and lack of 802.11n, its just as good.

Not anymore no but I like to have a dabble now and again but because I once did play games a hell of a lot, building gaming rigs etc so I know the value and performance of them and I just can't bring my self to buy one of the new ones with that card in them, it's common knowledge Nvidia is wiping the floor with ati at the minute so for apple to go and put a underpowered ati chip in it .
It's a trickey one for me, on the one hand I want to do more work and move away from playing games and try to build a career etc but on the other hand I like playing games and im not sure whether completely cutting them out is a tad extream or not, As a student £1600 is a hell of a lot of money and months of saving.



As for the moaning getting out of hand. Thats what a discussion board is for, it isn't a place to come and talk about your imac fantasy dream you had last night. The machine has flaws and many people think it, take off the rose tinted glasses for a second......

 

[quadgirl]

I'm very undecided about the new iMac as I haven't yes been into a store to try one in person.

About the design: some people are saying it looks better in the flesh, others are hating it and it's now known as 'the iMac Panda'. I think it looks better than the white one, but it would have looked so much better ALL aluminium and glass - without the black border.

The display: Some like glossy, some don't. We should have the option for sure, but would that drive costs up? Not sure.

The Graphics: The lower model has a pretty bad card. There's no excuse in releasing a new iMac with a worse card in it than the x1600 which was in iMac a year ago. The higher radeon (2600 Pro) isn't bad, but not great for gaming. We Apple saying they want to bring back gaming at WWDC the Radeon HD cards are somewhat a strange choice. Good for HD decoding, not gaming. At the end of the day, the best bang for the buck 'gaming cards' are Nvidia's - for sure. Again, there should be an option to go with an Nvidia card.

At least they haven't disappointed with CPUs. When the iMac core 2 duo came out last year I WAS shocked. 'A damn mobile processor in a desk'? Since then, I have changed my mind. Check the benchmarks on Cnet and you'll see that the 2.4ghz Santa Rosa more than keeps up with an E6600 desktop Core 2 duo.

Also of note, it seems that Apple aren't playing the silly game of too little ram and Combo drive in the low end model. Never understood that one (especially in more recent days).

Hey Apple! Bring back the days of being able to open a an iMac from the rear and replacing the drives, etc.

I guess what I am saying is it's impossible to please everyone. Mind you, a mid sized Mac tower WOULD please a lot of people.

 

[urbanskywalker]

The Graphics: The lower model has a pretty bad card. There's no excuse in releasing a new iMac with a worse card in it than the x1600 which was in iMac a year ago.

Do you know for sure it's worse? What are you basing that on?

 

[davidjearly]

As for the moaning getting out of hand. Thats what a discussion board is for, it isn't a place to come and talk about your imac fantasy dream you had last night. The machine has flaws and many people think it, take off the rose tinted glasses for a second......

At which point in this thread did I say I was wearing rose-tinted glasses again?

The forum isn't a just an empty hole in cyber space for a million different threads on the same thing, and yes most people come here to share an appreciation not complaints. All I am saying is that there is no need for so many threads. It is the same issues that everyone has with it.

Some people love the new design and are more than happy with the hardware, others aren't. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that it is unnecessary to repeat in thread after thread after thread.

 

[Durmortec]

Is it possible to put all the iMac moaning in one thread? Please? Mods?

This is getting out of hand, seriously.

I was thinking the same thing when I read the first post. There should be an OFFICIAL complain thread (including the glossy screen) and an OFFICIAL thread concerning the gpus and gaming, since they seem to account for about 80% of the posts on this board. =P

 

[Red-red]

I love the look of the thing, it has definately grown on me and the design of it isn't the problem. It is just that graphics chip it has thrown a massive spanner in the works. If only it had been something that bit more powerful I would of been able to see past it, go "oh that will do" and I would go for it. I just can't though not for that kind of money it just isn't worth it.

Well get the mods to make one then it will be done, in the mean time don't moan about threads. I think when people need to ask questions or put across their opinion about potentially spending months of saving on a product then it isn't so bad really is it?

( But yes some stickies on it would be a smart move )

 

[eRondeau]

Likewise I too was somewhat let-down by the new model. I'm certain the technology is a leap ahead, but you're right -- it does seem a little "unfinished". I thought the same thing about the remote not sticking (does it even match, is the remote still white?) I hate to even admit this publicly, but when I first saw it unveiled I thought it looked like (shudder!) a Dell!

I suppose we will never know what Steve's marketing minions are telling him about further increasing market share. Maybe some people within Apple viewed the previous white case as being a hindrance to switchers? Maybe a million accountants told Apple that they would only buy a black computer with a glossy screen? Maybe major business customers didn't think the white looked "serious" enough for their offices, buying 200 at a time? We'll never know.

The reality is, Apple has tasted big money and big profits for the first time in a long, long time, and perhaps "Think Different." has become "Think Corporate." Ouch!

 

[rest44]

I was thinking the same thing when I read the first post. There should be an OFFICIAL complain thread (including the glossy screen) and an OFFICIAL thread concerning the gpus and gaming, since they seem to account for about 80% of the posts on this board. =P

My post was not just about glossy screens or GPUs; it was about the whole piece not living to expectation. It has many flaws: like trying to be pro and consumer at the same time, and not pleasing neither or them! That´s a marketing error!

Gamers don´t have the same needs as professionals in design (for example). That´s my whole point! You can´t please to professionals that do photo edition with glossy screens. You can´t please gamer with an outdated GPU.

They tryed to make it an one in all, but it doesn´t fit for any. That´s my point! Make 2 imacs: one for consumers/gamers (make it black, with glossy) and make one for pros (make aluminion, with matte)and make acessories to go with the iMacs!!!! The remote, keyboard, mouse and iMac not fitting on eachothers design it a big flaw for a company that care so much about the design of their products!

 

[flopticalcube]

My post was not just about glossy screens or GPUs; it was about the whole piece not living to expectation. It has many flaws: like trying to be pro and consumer at the same time, and not pleasing neither or them! That´s a marketing error!

Gamers don´t have the same needs as professionals in design (for example). That´s my whole point! You can´t please to professionals that do photo edition with glossy screens. You can´t please gamer with an outdated GPU.

They tryed to make it an one in all, but it doesn´t fit for any. That´s my point! Make 2 imacs: one for consumers/gamers (make it black, with glossy) and make one for pros (make aluminion, with matte)and make acessories to go with the iMacs!!!! The remote, keyboard, mouse and iMac not fitting on eachothers design it a big flaw for a company that care so much about the design of their products!

Maybe you were expecting too much from Apple. They could have done a lot better by offering multiple graphics options but the HD2600 is not an outdated card. Quite the opposite in fact. Its a bit ahead of its time and it performs worse on older games than it does on newer ones. To be fair to Apple, they didn't really have much of a choice in the low-power mid-range graphics department. Its a long way from the 2600 to the 2900. Very odd why they didn't just stick with the 8600M from the MBPs but they must have had their reasons (power?, cost?, politics?) The keyboard and mouse are a complete mess. Apple dropped the ball on that one.

 

[dirtleg]

I don't know. I kind of like the look of it. And it has the innards that make an upgrade look quite attractive to me. I have been waiting since January for the new iMac to arrive. And while it could have made a bigger splash with a better GPU, optional matte screen and perhaps a couple of other bells and whistles, I think they have done a nice job of creating a new look, bumping the hardware and just producing a nice home use computer. After all that was the intent, I think. To make a product to appeal to the widest audience that it could without offering a long menu of options and model choices. If you don't care for the result, pick one of Apples other pc's, or go with a Dell, Gateway or one of the plethora of Windows machines available. Let's not forget one of the major attractions of a Mac is the OS and the simplicity of operation. Even on our old G3, I have never connected a peripheral that did not just "plug and play". I can not say the same for my Windows beast at work.
I'm happy with the new iMac. I feel for those the were waiting and were disappointed in what has been presented by Apple. But, life does go on. I will be ordering a new iMac in the next few days, and looking forward to Leopard being brought out in October. I will probably use this new iMac for another five years and then start the wait for whatever Mac will replace that one. Circle of life and all that jazz.

 

[Wild-Bill]

Maybe you were expecting too much from Apple. They could have done a lot better by offering multiple graphics options but the HD2600 is not an outdated card.

No. Apple reserves the outdated cards for the Mac Pro. Apple, it seems, are not concerned with graphics performance on any of its machines. Just graphics profit.

 

[big.birdd]

harsh

a bit harsh, but you are right on a lot of points of course, this imac update was very disappointing.

 

[skubish]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/1C25 Safari/419.3)

I don't agree its a much better design than the old one and has many features the old one didn't. Everyone gets fixated on the glossy screen to notice it has 7200rpm drive, fw800 and 4gb max ram.

 

[rest44]

Maybe you were expecting too much from Apple. They could have done a lot better by offering multiple graphics options but the HD2600 is not an outdated card. Quite the opposite in fact. Its a bit ahead of its time and it performs worse on older games than it does on newer ones. To be fair to Apple, they didn't really have much of a choice in the low-power mid-range graphics department. Its a long way from the 2600 to the 2900. Very odd why they didn't just stick with the 8600M from the MBPs but they must have had their reasons (power?, cost?, politics?) The keyboard and mouse are a complete mess. Apple dropped the ball on that one.

It´s not me expection to much; it´s Apples policy that doesn´t make sence! Marketing errors! You can´t say: "we´re into games"; and offer such a low GPU. If some of your core clients are professionals working with photo editing, you can´t stuck them with glossy when glossy doesn´t work with their demands.

And the "2 worlds design" (consumer and pro) make us think that Apple is delivering iMacs for consumers and pros. But in my opinion it doesn´t work well because both have diferent needs/taste.

Make 2 diferent iMac lines: pros and consumers, and don´t stuck of in the middle way of nowhere. That´s my point of view, cause this iMac isn´t good enough for everyone in the macworld.

And deliver us finished products! It´s not only the iMac.. it´s everything in the box; and acessories are not matching the design of the iMac.. big flaw here!