About the same time I was posting yesterday's Lament
for a Budget iMac, MacCentral was publishing the
news that Apple "has decided to keep two original CRT iMacs
available for the education market and consumers - both systems are
priced under $1,000."
I recommend you take you "Lament for a
Budget iMac" web page down and hope nobody remembers which
uninformed journalist wrote it. You are embarassing yourself
with baseless whining.Please do some research BEFORE writing and posting an
article. It makes you look less foolish....but Apple *is* an "overpriced elitist computer company,"
isn't it? Can it afford to be otherwise?
The new iMacs constitute yet one more
Apple product line that pushes design, however functional,
over price. Do you expect this to change? I don't think it
will with the iMac or any other Apple desktop product - not
for a long time.
Truthfully, I don't think most of the
folks shopping for a $799 computer solution are considering
Apple. Apple simply cannot compete with Dell's business
model or, worse yet, with chop shops that assemble their own
PCs from cheap parts on University contracts.You lament there isn't something cheaper than $1199. Check
your facts first before lamenting something that can be held
against us Mac users (like our machines being more
expensive). They aren't. Please revise your article. It
stinks of someone's PC user's propaganda.While it is lamentable that Apple is appearing to abandon
the budget entry level Mac buyer, I believe they are doing
what is necessary to be profitable.No offense, but according to these MacCentral's interview,
your editorial commentary on Apple abandoning users on a
budget is way out in left field. You don't do Mac users any
favors by prematurely flying off the handle and giving
Windoze drones another invalid yet seemingly 'authoritative'
viewpoint to use as to why buying a Mac doesn't make sense.Did Steve Jobs officially write-off the CRT iMacs? I have
been reading that Apple still has $799 iMacs in their
on-line store. I know he said the new iMac signaled the
"Death of the CRT", but did he actually say that no more CRT
iMacs would be sold?
I don't doubt that what you said is true,
but is it actually feasible to abandon that pricepoint.For all the reasons you listed, it would be dumb to abandon
the low end. If Apple is saying bye-bye to the CRT, I think
it will be an extended farewell...I totally agree with your recent editorial. A budget iMac
puts it in range of not less than 3 close relatives, not
mention friends. I anticipate recommending the 600 MHz
Dalmation from Small Dog to those people.I was so glad when I went to the Apple store and saw the
$800 and $1000 "classic" iMac still there. I hope they can
stay there. I completely agree that the new iMacs are great
values, but Apple needs to have a complete $800 system in
the stable.
Good for them - that's exactly what I said they needed to do.
Of course, that didn't stop readers from writing in to call me
foolish and worse for believing Steve Jobs when he said the new iMac
marked the death of CRT computing. After all, how could I be so
stupid as to not even check and see that Apple was still selling CRT
iMacs online?
Yes, it was foolish to take Steve Jobs at his word. After all,
every time Apple introduced a new PowerBook, iBook, Power Mac, or
iMac since Steve's return, it immediately discontinued the previous
model - and sold off the old inventory as quickly as it could.
Yes, it was foolish to see that Apple was still selling CRT iMacs
and imagine that this wasn't a close-out. (Besides, Apple can't ship
LCD iMacs yet, so it only makes sense they'd sell their existing
inventory.)
But, no, those who said that Apple had to abandon the sub-$1,000
market were wrong. Those who said that Apple was only interested in
customers who could plunk down $1,299 and more for an iMac were
wrong. Apple has not abandoned the low end.
Apple will continue selling CRT iMacs for the foreseeable future,
with the 500 MHz/128/20/CD-ROM iMac selling for $799 in indigo and
the 600 MHz/256 MB/40 GB/CD-RW iMac selling for $999 in either snow
or graphite.
In fact, this plus the 14" iBook really changes the
Mac Matrix from two line to three - entry-level (CRT iMac and
12" iBook), midrange (LCD iMac and 14" iBook), and top rung (Power
Mac G4 and TiBook).
Apple realized that they had schools to fill with iMacs and
individuals who won't budget $1,299 for a computer. As I said,
"killing off the successful, affordable sub-$1,000 iMac won't help
Apple increase market share."
There are three kinds of Mac buyers:
repeat buyers, who tend to be loyal to the Mac
Windows converts, who aren't easy to win over
first-time buyers who probably have some computing
experience
Apple's greatest potential for climbing out of their market share
death spiral is first-time buyers, since once they become Mac owners
they are likely to remain loyal. These users don't have dozens of
applications and games for Windows. They don't have a bunch of PC
peripherals. They just want to be productive.
Thanks to iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, AppleWorks, Internet Explorer,
and Apple's OS X email client, these people can buy a new iMac
and become productive immediately. They can connect MP3 players,
digital cameras, and digital video cameras easily - a card Apple
must play effectively against the Wintel world.
Sure, we'll win over some PC users tired of the instability, sick
of the license fees, scared of the viruses, or fearful of .Net, but
most Windows users are not going to switch to the Mac. New users and
first-time buyers are the key to growing market share.
A lot of those potential customers are seeing "Dude, you're
getting a Dell" ads with a $899 price tag featured very prominently.
They might not realize that this doesn't include shipping or the kind
of wonderful application suite Apple provides, but the price sticks
in their minds.
People prepared to spend $899 will ante up for shipping, some
software, and maybe some accessories, but they will quickly dismiss a
$1,299 computer as too expensive. That's why I'm thrilled to learn
that Apple plans to keep the CRT iMac alive and inexpensive at least
in the near future.
Comparing a $799 or $999 iMac with an $899 Dell - that's
something that's more likely to tempt first-time buyers than an
$1,199 iBook or $1,299 iMac. And that makes keeping sub-$1,000 iMacs
available crucial to Apple's future.
Apple, too often perceived as an elitist brand with overpriced
products, needs to remain as accessible to those on tight budgets as
possible. After all, once they go Windows, we've probably lost them
for good.
"Far better for Apple to keep the classic iMac in production for
schools, businesses, families, and individual users who don't want to
budget over $1,000 for a new computer. Even if the classic iMac
represents only 5% of Apple's sales, by embracing the budget buyer
Apple can fight the stigma of being an overpriced elitist computer
company."
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986,
sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and
has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
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