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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: kevkrom

Anyway, I am just being argumentative at this point. I didn't realize that computers are often sold without monitors.


81 posted on 12/29/2004 9:42:42 AM PST by Rodney King (No, we can't all just get along.)
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To: freepy smurf

OS 9 software will run if you set up OS X for it. I setup a clean OS X so it will only run 64 bit programs.


82 posted on 12/29/2004 9:43:04 AM PST by Andy from Beaverton (I only vote Republican to stop the Democrats)
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To: HAL9000

Could this offering serve as the basis of a digital home recording studio? If so, I'd pick one up in a heartbeat, since Apple's music recording software is pretty damn good.


83 posted on 12/29/2004 9:48:52 AM PST by Hemingway's Ghost (Spirit of '75)
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To: general_re

Performance Tests: Apple Power Mac G5 


84 posted on 12/29/2004 9:52:09 AM PST by Andy from Beaverton (I only vote Republican to stop the Democrats)
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To: ryanjb2

A 1.25 GHz G4 is equivalent to an Athlon 1700+, which was released 09/10/01.

There is no one-to-one correspondence between the GHz rating and performance because of the differences in architectures.


85 posted on 12/29/2004 9:56:34 AM PST by liberte
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To: Hemingway's Ghost
Per Apple's page on Garage Band

I'd say yes, depending on wheter the DVD drive is available

"Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 processor 600MHz G3 or faster required for GarageBand

G4 or faster required for GarageBand software instruments

733MHz G4 or faster required for iDVD

256MB of physical RAM

Mac OS X v10.2.6 or later (Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later recommended)

QuickTime 6.4 or later (QuickTime 6.5 included)

Display with at least 1024-by-768-pixel resolution

DVD drive required to install GarageBand and iDVD; or 250MB to install iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie only."

86 posted on 12/29/2004 9:58:12 AM PST by Vermonter
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To: freepy smurf
Will all of your old software work on your new Mac?

If you are talking about old Mac software, 99% yes. The 1% is not needed anymore.

87 posted on 12/29/2004 10:01:27 AM PST by Swordmaker (Tagline now open, please ring bell.)
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To: HAL9000

I have never owned a Mac, but if this is true I will get one.


88 posted on 12/29/2004 10:03:25 AM PST by jpsb
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To: general_re
Why reinvent the wheel? One, two, three - shall I go on?

Barefeats was G5 tests, not G4 tests, which seem to have disappeared. But they're all useless. They're comparing the G4 a couple of generations ago against the fastest from Intel and AMD at the time. The technology difference for the PPC from those tests to what would be used in this system could be compared to the difference between the Athlon XP's Palomino and Barton cores, or maybe even between a Thunderbird and Barton, depending on what Apple pulls.

Aside from that, we need to find a G4 1.25 vs. the latest Celeron or Sempron. That's the price range we're talking about here.

89 posted on 12/29/2004 10:04:52 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: HAL9000

I wouldn't buy one for $20.


90 posted on 12/29/2004 10:05:21 AM PST by KoRn
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To: kevkrom
Couldn't you just make "10" louder?

You missed it.

91 posted on 12/29/2004 10:06:20 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: general_re
Why reinvent the wheel?

Because it doesn't really matter what we think - what matters is what we can prove. So I'm challenging you to a duel.

92 posted on 12/29/2004 10:06:31 AM PST by HAL9000
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To: HAL9000

Wow, it comes with a 56K modem, huh? How quaint.


93 posted on 12/29/2004 10:07:44 AM PST by jpl (The tribe has spoken, now for goodness sake, get a life.)
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To: Zechariah11
Thanks for commenting on the obvious. I thought I was alone in wondering who in the world would want a computer without a monitor. It's kind of like buying a television without a screen -- although you can always buy it seperately.

Zech, Apple's first computer that does not have a built in monitor is priced at $1799 right now. Previously, their lowest priced computer WITH a monitor was $799. Many of us already have good quality LCDs or flat screen CRTs, so why duplicate that piece of equipment? Now you don't have to shell out a couple hundred bucks to buy something already sitting on your desk top. Not every PC comes as part of a "bundle" either.

94 posted on 12/29/2004 10:08:44 AM PST by Swordmaker (Tagline now open, please ring bell.)
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To: Rodney King
Nigel Tufnel.

You got it. Congratulations, you are a cultured man, at least in a cool, warped sense. :)

95 posted on 12/29/2004 10:08:55 AM PST by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
You missed it.

Actually, I didn't -- isn't this what the guy asks? (With the follow up response something like "but... this goes to 11!")

96 posted on 12/29/2004 10:11:12 AM PST by kevkrom (If people are free to do as they wish, they are almost certain not to do as Utopian planners wish)
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To: Zechariah11
So you could have a second complete computer (for wife, kids, work, etc.) unless you want to lug your monitor from place to place.

Except that my wife already has a complete second computer... her monitor came from at least the system she had before that, if not earlier, and my monitor is on its third system. CPUs become obsolete a lot faster than monitors.

97 posted on 12/29/2004 10:12:10 AM PST by Sloth (Al Franken is a racist.)
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To: Andy from Beaverton

The topic is the G4 - got anything positive for that?


98 posted on 12/29/2004 10:13:49 AM PST by general_re ("What's plausible to you is unimportant." - D'man)
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To: antiRepublicrat

You're shifting the goalposts - I don't blame you, but the original claim was that a 1.25 GHz G4 would match a 2.5 GHz P4. Sorry, but no.


99 posted on 12/29/2004 10:14:53 AM PST by general_re ("What's plausible to you is unimportant." - D'man)
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To: HAL9000

What all did you have in mind?


100 posted on 12/29/2004 10:15:24 AM PST by general_re ("What's plausible to you is unimportant." - D'man)
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